Tier 2 general visa - company takeover

[medici]

Hi,

My wife is in UK since April 2012 initially on tier-2 ICT dependent visa till Sept 2016.
Dec 2016 onwards till now, she is on tier-2 general visa sponsored by her employer.

Now that her company is taken over by a new company, she has been given a new CoS by her new employer but there is a 6 year count down.

Is that from the time when she arrived in UK - 2012, or from the time her tier-2 general visa was in active - Dec, 2016?
Please advise.

Thanks!

[CR001]

From the time she has held Tier 2 General main visa holder, i.e. December 2016.

Note, the 6 year cap does NOT apply to Tier 2 Dependent visa holders.

[medici]

Thanks for the response.

Her current visa expires Dec 2019.
As she is currently on vacation in India, presume she can travel back to UK using her existing visa even if the employer has changed and she has a new unrestricted CoS from her new employer.
Am I correct?

[CR001]

Should be ok and she should be prepared for any questions on arrival back in the UK as clearly her tier 2 circumstances have changed. She should probably return sooner rather than later to avoid visa cancellation as she will then be subject to the 12 month cooling off period. There are stated procedures in place when takeovers happen.

[medici]

She is planning to return by 1st week of Nov giving her a month's time before her current visa expires. Is that sufficient time?

[CR001]

She really should not have left the UK and stayed to resolve her visa issue first. Are you on a Tier 2 dependent visa??

See page 63 in link below on takeover guidance.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 1566914256

[medici]

She is on maternity leave at the moment and joining back in Nov.
No, I have Tier-2 General visa as well.