Tier 2 - Job at Risk due to COVID19

[rajtargotra]

Dear Experts,

Please could you share your valuable advise and help us to come out through this difficult times.

Here is our situation:

My wife came to the UK in October 2014 on Tier 4 , in March 2016 she got Tier 2 and since then she is working as a Tier 2 main applicant. I have joined her as a Tier 2 Dependant in June 2016.

Now, due to COVID19 her company is making some organisation changes because of which few jobs are at risk. It is not confirmed as yet that she is one of them, but we are still preparing for the worse if it happens.

May I kindly request you to please help me answer the following questions so that we can plan and decide our future accordingly.

1. if she is made redundant and unable to secure another Tier 2 sponsorship, will she be eligible to switch visa to another category within the UK ?

2. Can she switch to Tier 4 visa and pursue a degree in the UK, will she be eligible for ILR via 10 years route in October 2024 ?

She first arrived in the UK in October 2014 and She is eligible for ILR via Tier 2 (5 years route ) in March 2021.

3. Can I work full time as a Tier 4 dependant as I'm currently working now as Tier 2 Dependant ?

4. If I try to find Tier 2 sponsorship and become main applicant, will our clock changes back to 0 and we will be eligible for ILR after 5 years?

5. If I become Tier 4 main applicant and she becomes dependant, can she still apply for ILR in 2024 via 10 years route?


I will be really thankful if you could please answer the above questions at the earliest possible.

Best regards
Raj

[CR001]

1. Potentially only tier 4, Innovator visa or Start up visa.

2. All visas count for long residence ilr. https://www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa/ ... -this-visa

3. Yes.

4. Yes, only the 5 year clock resets and NOT the 10 year clock. You also have to apply from home country for tier 2.

5. All visas count for ilr based on 10 years long residence.

[rajtargotra]

Many thanks for your quick response CR001.

You are a life saver !

Regards,
Raj