# Tier 2 Work Visa General UK



## DalRiada (Aug 7, 2012)

Hello everyone, I have been reading the forums for a little while and I am hope that if I explain my situation you are able to assist me.

My girlfriend is a Singaporean citizen currently living in Australia. We met each other at University in Australia nearly 10 years ago and have been good friends until we recently went on holiday together and now are in a relationship. She would now like to move to the UK (Scotland).

I was wondering if anyone could offer advice on visas. Our current plan is for her to visit the UK and stay with me while looking to apply for jobs that may be willing to sponsor her. We are aware she will need to leave the country to apply for her work visa once she has a sponsorship. She has a masters degree in translation and interpreting but would like to work in Marketing if possible. 

I am a UK citizen earning £19,000+ a year, and have been for a number of years.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

DalRiada said:


> Hello everyone, I have been reading the forums for a little while and I am hope that if I explain my situation you are able to assist me.
> 
> My girlfriend is a Singaporean citizen currently living in Australia. We met each other at University in Australia nearly 10 years ago and have been good friends until we recently went on holiday together and now are in a relationship. She would now like to move to the UK (Scotland).
> 
> ...


If you have serious plans for your future together, an easier route might well be settlement. It could be difficult to obtain a work visa without sponsorship and expertise in one of the 'shortage occupations' though she does have impressive (and more importantly useful) qualifications that would sit within a diverse range of organisations and businesses, so it's not a "no chance" option either.

However, you already earn enough to act as her sponsor if you _are_ serious about your relationship, and on this basis she could apply to enter the UK as your fiancée (a 6-month visa allowing you to marry, after which she would apply for Further Leave To Remain for a further 5-year probationary period). Note: she would not be able to switch from a Visitor visa and would have to apply from her home country. Alternatively, you could marry overseas before this, and she could avoid the initial fiancée visa and apply directly for the 5-year probationary spouse visa afterwards (again, from overseas).


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## DalRiada (Aug 7, 2012)

Hello 2farapart,

Thank you for your reply, it is much appreciated! Yes the relationship is serious and we do hope to be married one day, I guess we wanted to avoid being rushed into marriage because of visa difficulties. It is still something to consider though.

I guess I was searching for advice on the Tier 2 General Work visas before thinking about fiancee visas. Are there any hints in how to maximise chances of finding an employer willing to sponsor? Has anyone else had expereince with this route of getting a visa?


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## krossetti (Aug 8, 2012)

DalRiada said:


> Hello 2farapart,
> 
> Thank you for your reply, it is much appreciated! Yes the relationship is serious and we do hope to be married one day, I guess we wanted to avoid being rushed into marriage because of visa difficulties. It is still something to consider though.
> 
> I guess I was searching for advice on the Tier 2 General Work visas before thinking about fiancee visas. Are there any hints in how to maximise chances of finding an employer willing to sponsor? Has anyone else had expereince with this route of getting a visa?


Hi there,

I have actually been sponsored on a Tier 2 visa...and from my experience it’s not easy. I am a teacher and finding a teaching job itself was relatively easy for me (I have a Masters and several years of experience) but I searched for months (I should mention that even though I am special needs teacher, which is a shortage occupation) before finding a school that was willing to hire me AND do the sponsorship, and this was with already being in the UK (my tier 5 visa was due to run out). The reality for me (at least in teaching) is that there are TONS of oversees teachers with either youth mobility visas or ancestry visas...for after 2-5 years, they hire another one. Sad, but true. 

One thing I would advise doing is looking on JobCentre Plus. If a job isn’t on the shortage occupations list (found on the UKBA website) then you can still be sponsored if your employer has done a ‘resident labour market test.’ In order to do this test, the job has to be advertised on JobCentre Plus. So, if your girlfriend can do one of the shortage occupations, I would advise to apply for jobs related to those. Chances are, if it’s in high demand and there are not a lot of applicants from the UK they would be more open to hiring an oversees worker. If not, look in JobCentre Plus and start contacting as many employers as she can who are advertising positions that might be suited. 

I applied for probably 50 or 60 positions and was often told ‘we’re interested but we can’t sponsor you.’ I eventually went with a teaching agency who knew what schools were willing to do sponsorship and got me an interview at one of those. That way, I was being judged on my own merit for the position and not immediately dismissed as being a ‘hassle.’ So, this might be another route to consider, if there is an agency or umbrella company that finds permanent work for what your girlfriend wants to do. It’s in their best interest to find her a job (they get a hefty finder’s fee) and it cuts down on the huge amount of work she’ll have to do otherwise. 

Basically, the company/school/employer has to have a sponsorship licence and these are not cheap, or easy to obtain. IF they already have one when she applies then she is much more likely to find success (the only instances I have heard of an employer gaining a licence to specifically employ someone was then that person had already been working there for a few years on another kind of visa). Even still, there are quite a bit of hoops for the sponsor to jump through as well to make sure it all goes through. 


Another thing to stress to a potential employer is that she plans on staying indefinitely--I was told a lot of places are reluctant to hire from oversees sometimes because of the fear that they will up and return to their home country. If she stresses though that she wants to settle in the UK permanently they might see sponsorship as a huge benefit (effectively it ‘locks her in’ to that position for 3 years, unless she can find a new sponsor). 

I am assuming you’ve looked at all the other visa routes? For instance, if she is under 30 when she applies (even if it’s only by a few months) I believe she qualifies for a youth mobility visa, which would last for 2 years. If you both lived together during that time in the UK with evidence to prove it (utility bills, lease, etc.) then after the two years you could apply for a partner visa....might be another option if it applies?

Anyway, hopefully that helps! Good luck!


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## DalRiada (Aug 7, 2012)

Krossetti, thank you very much for taking the time to write this very helpful response. My girlfriend also asked me to pass on her thanks!

As a Singaporian citizen I don't think she can apply for a Youth Mobility Visa, as my understanding is that it is only for certain countries.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

DalRiada said:


> Krossetti, thank you very much for taking the time to write this very helpful response. My girlfriend also asked me to pass on her thanks!
> 
> As a Singaporian citizen I don't think she can apply for a Youth Mobility Visa, as my understanding is that it is only for certain countries.


Australia, NZ, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Monaco.
Those on ancestry visa can apply for settlement (ILR) after 5 years.


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## Lil_M (May 16, 2012)

Hi DalRiada,

I'm currently going through the process of the Tier 2 work visa route, and am still waiting for my company to get there Sponsor License. It might be tedious to go through, but the list of companies that could potentially sponsor a worker from overseas can be found here:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/s...nsors/pointsbasedsystem/pbsregisterofsponsors

From my own overseas job experience, I would suggest to others to try to find companies on the list of Registerd Sponsors that your girlfriend could work for, and see if any of them might be interested. 

In my case, I've gotten the interest from my potential sponsoring company, no problem. It's the UK branch of the company I currently work for, so I've got the expertise and they want to hire me. But now we're still in the insanely long process of waiting for their Sponsor License to be approved (which is merely step 1 of 3... *sigh*...)

Good luck!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Lil_M said:


> Hi DalRiada,
> 
> I'm currently going through the process of the Tier 2 work visa route, and am still waiting for my company to get there Sponsor License. It might be tedious to go through, but the list of companies that could potentially sponsor a worker from overseas can be found here:
> 
> ...


UKBA takes a great deal of care over approving sponsor's licence, and it can be a long drawn-out process. It involves a personal visit to their premises and going through their books, to see they are what they claim to be, a genuine company with a good record of staff employment and retention. They want to spot a potential scam whereby an employer is just a front for facilitating work visas and illegal immigration. While I'm not claiming your prospective employer is in any way dubious, it's a process that cannot be hurried or skimped.


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## Lil_M (May 16, 2012)

Joppa said:


> UKBA takes a great deal of care over approving sponsor's licence, and it can be a long drawn-out process. It involves a personal visit to their premises and going through their books, to see they are what they claim to be, a genuine company with a good record of staff employment and retention. They want to spot a potential scam whereby an employer is just a front for facilitating work visas and illegal immigration. While I'm not claiming your prospective employer is in any way dubious, it's a process that cannot be hurried or skimped.


Thanks for the details. That's kind of what I figured... And I've been trying to be patient and understanding. It's just frustrating when we were originally told around the time of application (mid April) that it would be a 6-10 week process and it's already been double that time...


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## DalRiada (Aug 7, 2012)

As a follow up to the points above.

My girlfriend is coming to the UK to look for work sponsorship as I explained above, then to leave the UK to apply for her visa. Before that I plan on visiting her for a holiday for a couple of weeks then we will come here together. 

My question is, will she get a hard time at the airport because she is coming through with her boyfriend (me, who is a UK citizen)? Is there any way of handling it so it minimises any hassles she might have and we show them we are trying to be honest and do things the right way?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

DalRiada said:


> As a follow up to the points above.
> 
> My girlfriend is coming to the UK to look for work sponsorship as I explained above, then to leave the UK to apply for her visa. Before that I plan on visiting her for a holiday for a couple of weeks then we will come here together.
> 
> My question is, will she get a hard time at the airport because she is coming through with her boyfriend (me, who is a UK citizen)? Is there any way of handling it so it minimises any hassles she might have and we show them we are trying to be honest and do things the right way?


She can attend a job interview as a visitor, but that needs to be pre-arranged. It's difficult to predict what may happen at the border, as much depends on whom you meet and any 'vibe' you transmit, like 'Are they hiding something? Can they be trusted?' The minimum requirement is sufficient financial resources, return ticket and strong ties at home, like a job or family responsibility. You just have to be persuasive and convincing. Answer questions briefly and to the point, but don't volunteer information not asked for.


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## DalRiada (Aug 7, 2012)

Joppa said:


> She can attend a job interview as a visitor, but that needs to be pre-arranged. It's difficult to predict what may happen at the border, as much depends on whom you meet and any 'vibe' you transmit, like 'Are they hiding something? Can they be trusted?' The minimum requirement is sufficient financial resources, return ticket and strong ties at home, like a job or family responsibility. You just have to be persuasive and convincing. Answer questions briefly and to the point, but don't volunteer information not asked for.


Thank you for the reply Joppa, what do you mean by pre-arranged? Does it need to be organised before she even visits the UK? She can't find and have interviews while she is here and then go apply for her visa overseas?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

DalRiada said:


> Thank you for the reply Joppa, what do you mean by pre-arranged? Does it need to be organised before she even visits the UK? She can't find and have interviews while she is here and then go apply for her visa overseas?


That is so. She cannot job-hunt from scratch while on a visitor's leave, and if the immigration officer finds out what she is up to, she can be denied entry and sent home. Not that they are likely to find out if she keeps quiet about it, and they won't send someone to spy on her. So if she manages to get in as a general visitor (seeing friends, sightseeing etc), then she can fix up with a job (very difficult if she needs a sponsored visa) and go home and apply for Tier 2 General.


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## Katvet2007 (Jun 27, 2013)

*Lil_M*

Hey Lil, and or anyone else that can chime in with advice, 

I'm just hoping I can pick your brain about your Tier 2 visa application process. In short, I'm hoping to relocate to the UK in just a few weeks but my employer still has yet to hear back about his sponsorship approval. On my end I've been trying to get my application stuff ready here in the US and get the 'biometrics' testing done. That has been the major headache to be honest. I have previously just been living in New Zealand for the past 4 years and OMG the process for that working visa was CAKE in comparison! My profession was on the short list there but is sadly been taken off the UK list so I'm back in the big mosh-pit. 


1. How long did it take once your employer to become a sponsor?

2. Once you recieved the reference number from your sponsor how long did it take to process your application?

3. Did you go through a visa application company or did you organize everything on your own? 

4. Did you do your biometrics testing in the US or can I do it in the UK if I'm already there?


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## lovestravel (Apr 9, 2012)

Katvet2007 said:


> Hey Lil, and or anyone else that can chime in with advice,
> 
> I'm just hoping I can pick your brain about your Tier 2 visa application process. In short, I'm hoping to relocate to the UK in just a few weeks but my employer still has yet to hear back about his sponsorship approval. On my end I've been trying to get my application stuff ready here in the US and get the 'biometrics' testing done. That has been the major headache to be honest. I have previously just been living in New Zealand for the past 4 years and OMG the process for that working visa was CAKE in comparison! My profession was on the short list there but is sadly been taken off the UK list so I'm back in the big mosh-pit.
> 
> ...


My husband is on a tier 2 visa. Our experience was a bit stressful because the company almost messed everything up, caused us to delay our move and was not honest with us. The hr department would have moved us over illegally had I not been scouring this forum for information.

It's been a few months but this is the timeline as close as I can remember it.

Company filed for sponsorship July 11. They did not file for priority rush and we found out it normally takes 4-6 months for that to process. When we found out what happened we refused to move and hired our own solicitor the company hired their own solicitor to make a case for priority processing on the sponsorship. I think it took a couple of weeks after that for it to be approved.

Once the sponsorship was in place it took about a week to get the reference number to our attorney and begin our visa process. We hired Kingsley Naples in London and they were very competent. It took our attorney a week in total I think to get our visa application done, biometrics scheduled and done, and our application hand carried to the consulate in ny via aaa visa services in ny I believe and have the visas in hand. 

I think you have to have your biometrics done prior to leaving. Our attorney got a priority appointment scheduled for us within a day or two. You have to send your biometrics papers with photos in with your passport and application and all your papers to apply for the visa. As soon as we had our biometrics done we sent our visa application packet to the visa agent in ny super fast priority overnight by 8am. The agent carried our packet to the consulate immediately upon receipt and we had an answer within 24 hours. The visa agent then picked up our visas and shipped them super fast overnight to us. We got them the day the movers arrived to pack up our lives.


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