# UK Tier 2 (General) Dependent Visa versus Separate Tier 2 (General) for Spouse



## cowper (Jun 13, 2012)

Hi

My company is moving me to London on a Tier 2 (General) visa. My wife works for another firm, which has also agreed to relocate her to London. Now, we are not sure if my wife should apply with me as a dependent or should ask her employer to get a separate Tier 2 visa for her. 

I understand that applying for a separate visa would be tedious for my wife and her employer because of resident labour market test requirement etc. While applying as a dependent with me is straight forward with minimal documentation. 
But I am concerned if I wife would be able to continue working with her employer if I loose my job. In that case, can my wife apply for a Tier 2 (General) without leaving the UK and can I apply as her dependent? Or is there a cooling period before she can do that? 

To summarise, my question is given an option should spouse prefer separate Tier 2 (General) visa or a Tier 2 (General) Dependent visa? I have researched about this a lot on internet but could not find any satisfactory answer. I would appreciate if someone could throw some light in this regard.

Thanks a lot!


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