Tier 2 dependent (out of UK) status When Tier 1 applied

[danilesh]

Hi,

I am currently in the UK on Tier 2 (gen) and am applying for tier 1 in next 2-3 days.

My spouse is currently out of UK. She has a tier 2 dependent visa stamped on her passport and is to travel to UK by end of April 2011.

If I get a tier 1 visa approved before her travel, can she still travel on her current tier 2 dependent visa or does she need to reapply as a visitor?

Alternately, will it help to send the tier 1 application by post, so that the biometrics appointment happens in 2 weeks time and another 2-3 weeks for approval, such that my status remains tier 2 migrant until her travel?

As the deadline is 5th April, need some advice on this urgently please. Thanks in advance.

Regards,

[geriatrix]

See Applying Tier 2 Dependent when Tier 1 is applied

[danilesh]

Dear sushdmehta,

Many thanks for such a quick response !

Actually the reference you mentioned is a bit different, as the peson wants to apply for Tier 2 dependent when he is applying for tier 1 - which can be quite a risk..

In this case, my wife already has a tier 2 dependent visa stamped and also has a valid ticket for april end. So will she be prevented from entering the UK, if my status changes to tier 1 on or before before her travel date? (Do they have such fantastic systems tracking each migrant's status) And do you foresee any issue there..

Please also help in understanding what is the avg time taken to get a tier 1 approval letter -
a) from the date of posting a tier 1, if I send by post
b) If I want to apply using the 'in-person application' route

Appreciate your help and support !

Thanks & Regards,

[geriatrix]

Perhaps the information in the link I provided wasn't clear enough, so let me try again.

1. The day you are granted Tier 1 (General) leave, your wife's Tier 2 dependant leave will become invalid.
2. In such case, if she travels to UK as a Tier 2 dependant, the IO may deny he entry under 321(A)(1).
3. I cannot comment whether or not UKBA systems are "fantastic" enough to track real-time changes in migrants's immigration status / history but all I can say is that the risk is yours to take and you need to decide whether it is worth it.

[danilesh]

Dear sushdmehta,

Thanks for your quick response !

In the meanwhile I also browsed thru some sticky's in this forum to find out approx time taken fro tier 1 - which seems to be @ 3-4 weeks.
Hence I guess I am planning to try thru the postal route - and hope that it will provide sufficient time for my family to travel to UK before my tier 1 approval comes in

Thanks again for all the help and support.

Regards,