# Tier 2 Visa Application Question/Worry



## krossetti (Aug 8, 2012)

Hi everyone!

New to the forum and hope I am doing this correctly....

I have been living in the UK for nearly two years (came over in October 2010) under a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa. Several weeks ago, I was offered a job under the shortage occupation list (Special Needs Teacher) as well as sponsorship.

So far so good--was assigned a certificate of sponsorship and number, and used this to apply online. I returned to Canada since, from my reading, I was not under a category I could ‘switch’ under and would need to reapply for entry clearance.

I applied online with the number given to me by my sponsor and went yesterday to submit all my supporting documents, biometrics, etc. 

Today, however, I have been looking over the information my sponsor gave me and have noticed that the certificate they have assigned me says “Tier 2 General (Switching Immigration Category).” Naturally, I freaked out because everything I have read says that I CANNOT switch categories. 

I emailed my employer (the ones who are sponsoring me) with this information and they emailed back with the following:

"With this certificate the information is generated automatically, I have no control over this personally, as us being a sponsor we are only able to apply under Tier 2 (General). When applying for an overseas candidate then they will already have a visa so we are switching your eligibility to work in the UK from a Tier 5 visa to a Tier 2 (General).”

I was still in the UK when they assigned the certificate (just returned to Canada 2 days ago) and my Tier 5 visa has not yet expired.....but I still feel like this is wrong. 


My sponsor has done this before and me not to worry.....but, I can’t help but think maybe they are mistaken and have screwed something up somewhere. So, obviously, I am now very worried that my application will be rejected. I did pay for priority, so I should know by Friday or Monday, but in the meantime am panicking. 

I am just wondering if anyone has any experience with this sort of situation? Does it seem like my sponsor has made a mistake (despite their reassurances that they have not)? On the certificate of sponsorship my employer did include the number of my current tier 5 visa, and noted my current immigration category (Tier 5) so I am hoping that it is the case that the original certificate of sponsorship wouldn’t have been approved if this was a mistake?

If they have made an error, might my application to the UK border agency still be approved? Everything else is correct--sponsor is A-rated and has certified maintenance of funds, etc. In the forms I filled in and submitted I included all the details of my tier 5 visa, and noted that I was applying under Tier 2 general.....

Finally, if my visa is refused because my sponsor did make a mistake in the sub-category, will my sponsor be able to ammend and reassign the certificate, allowing me to reapply? 

Any help or insight at all would be appreciated! I am due to return to the UK on 24 August and am freaking out!

Thanks!
Kristen

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Technically my Tier 5 Visa is still valid until October...I assume I cannot hold two different visas and so, under that logic, am hoping that ‘switching’ does make sense in my situation....that I am able to ‘switch’ now because my old visa is still valid and I cannot hold two different ones....but that I would not be able to ‘switch’ past October because my old visa would be expired. Ahh, I don’t know...


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

krossetti said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> New to the forum and hope I am doing this correctly....
> 
> ...


Provided everything else is ok with your certificate of sponsorship, your application should go through. The only stipulation about Tier 5 YMS visa is you cannot switch 'in country', i.e. while you are still in UK. Since you've applied in Canada, you haven't broken any rule and all that will hopefully happen is your current leave will be superseded by your new Tier 2.

Should your application fail, you will have the right of appeal.


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## krossetti (Aug 8, 2012)

Joppa said:


> Provided everything else is ok with your certificate of sponsorship, your application should go through. The only stipulation about Tier 5 YMS visa is you cannot switch 'in country', i.e. while you are still in UK. Since you've applied in Canada, you haven't broken any rule and all that will hopefully happen is your current leave will be superseded by your new Tier 2.
> 
> Should your application fail, you will have the right of appeal.


Thank you so much for the information!

Just to clarify--my sponsor was correct in noting that I was switching immigration categories (because I was still eligible in the Tier 5 category) and all should be fine because I applied here in Canada? My concerns stemmed from the fact that the UK border agency said that workers in Tier 5 were not eligible to switch...so what you are saying is that rule only applies to switching while inside the Uk? If you apply from your home country and you still happen to be in possession of a valid Tier 5 visa you can legally apply for ‘switching’? 

Would there be any other reason my visa would be rejected in relation to this? I am absolutely positive all of my documents were submitted correctly and that my sponsor included all of the relevant information on their application (job is shortage occupation, they did a resident labour market test, my salary was above 20,000 a year, etc.). 

If it is rejected, is it better to appeal or reapply? 

Thanks!!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

krossetti said:


> Thank you so much for the information!
> 
> Just to clarify--my sponsor was correct in noting that I was switching immigration categories (because I was still eligible in the Tier 5 category) and all should be fine because I applied here in Canada? My concerns stemmed from the fact that the UK border agency said that workers in Tier 5 were not eligible to switch...so what you are saying is that rule only applies to switching while inside the Uk? If you apply from your home country and you still happen to be in possession of a valid Tier 5 visa you can legally apply for ‘switching’?


Yes, that's true. Once you leave UK, you can apply for another visa, even if your YMS visa is still valid. It simply means your new visa will supersede the existing one. 



> Would there be any other reason my visa would be rejected in relation to this? I am absolutely positive all of my documents were submitted correctly and that my sponsor included all of the relevant information on their application (job is shortage occupation, they did a resident labour market test, my salary was above 20,000 a year, etc.).
> 
> If it is rejected, is it better to appeal or reapply?


Not having seen your application, I can't be certain, but if as you say, you meet all their requirements, I don't see why not. 
Appeal is better as you don't have to pay again (other than a small appeal fee).


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## krossetti (Aug 8, 2012)

Thanks Joopa! I really appreciate the information and reassurance. 

Sorry to continue to be a pain...but just to clarify one more time...

My specific concern here is not about anything to do with my own application that I have submitted. Rather, I am worried that my sponsor has indicated the wrong category on the certificate of sponsorship, and that this is what will cause my application to be denied.

Basically, on the information they have given me, instead of just saying “Tier 2-General” it says “Tier 2-General (Switching Immigration Categories)”

So, I am concerned that although I have applied outside of the UK, my application will be refused because technically my YMS tier 5 visa is what I am switching from...and everything I read on the UKBA (and on this forum) says that this is not allowed (I cant’ find anything distinguishing between whether you are applying inside the UK or abroad)

The only thing that seems slightly promising is a notation under switching that if I am not in an eligible switching category, I must return to my home country and make a general tier 2 application. But again...my CoS does not just say ‘general’ it says ‘general-switching immigration categories.’ So, this seems to support what you said, that the rule only applies to the YMS while you are ‘in country’ (I hope). 

My biggest concern here is the wording. I know that under normal circumstances it is fine to Canada and apply for a new entry clearance under a different category even if your old one is still valid(which I have done). The thing that I am worried about it the CoS itself and the fact that it says ‘Switching Immigration Category’ on it...it seems to me that these are only meant to be issued to applicants who are actually able to apply from inside the UK. 

Is my sponsor correct? Would the system have ‘automatically’ generated this kind of certificate because I was previously in the UK under a visa (regardless if it was a visa that I was allowed to switch while still in the UK)? Or, have they ignored the fact that Tier 5 is not a switchable category and just applied as though I was in the UK and switching my category? 

My sponsor did mention that they had to send it to the UKBA to approve the certificate of sponsorship...so surely if this was an error on my sponsors part it would have been caught and the certificate would not have been allowed? According to my sponsor they had to include the details of my Tier 5 visa in the certificate (unfortunately I only have the main details, and not the entire certificate, so I can’t verify this). Or am I bit naive for thinking that the UKBA would not issue a CoS if it would be invalid? 

What I am really hoping is that even though the certificate of sponsorship I have applied under says ‘switching immigration categories’ (which would not be allowed if I applied inside the UK) because it I have applied in Canada (and applied under the general Tier 2 category while my Tier 5 was still technically valid and used the sponsorship number I was given) it should still go through? There isn’t another category that my sponsor should have applied under? Or, even if there was, because I am now in Canada it shouldn’t matter? 

Basically I am just worried that they should have applied for a restricted certificate or something like that, and that because of this they are going to refuse my application under the basis that I do not qualify for a General Visa under the ‘switching’ category and I won’t really have grounds to appeal because it was my sponsor who made the error in the first place? Am I wrong in thinking that you are only supposed to say an employee is ‘switching’ if they are actually switching in the UK? 

Or, am I (hopefully) worrying for nothing? This is seriously keeping me up at night 

Thank you for any and all help!
Kristen


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

You are overthinking it, I feel. You are out of UK, you aren't living in UK under Tier 5 at the moment, so you are free to apply for any other visa category you are eligible for. The wording on CoS is immaterial, even though I cannot possibly be 100% certain


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