Converting from HSMP to Work permit

[sekinat]

Hi. I am new to this forum and this is my first time.
I have a friend who started his journey into the UK from India as a student. He obtained 1 year student visa. On completion of his course, he later got one year HSMP expiring in March 2006. Now, I have just found him a job as a tester and the company is willing to support his application for work permit (5 years). Is there going to be a problem?

Also, can he file an application to renew his HSMP at the same time the company files for a work permit? Please help urgently.

Regards

[MWazir]

Why is your friend interesting in switching for a work permit. As long as he is on HSMP, he is free to work for anyone he likes. He should let his new employers know that he does not need a work permit to be employed as his current visa allows him to work.

Also, can he file an application to renew his HSMP at the same time the company files for a work permit? Please help urgently.

That makes little sense to me. He will file for his extension on HSMP (£300+) and then a work permit will come through after which he will have to apply for another FLR (£300+ again).

[olisun]

if he applies for WP and FLR after he has applied for FLR, then his HSMP visa will get nullified.

[sekinat]

Thanks guys. May be I did not make this clear enough. His HSMP expires inn 2 months. He would get a work permit for 5 years instead of a 3 years extension for his HSMP.
I understand this does not affect his permanent leave to remain when he is ready to apply.

What does FLR mean?

[MWazir]

He would get a work permit for 5 years instead of a 3 years extension for his HSMP.

On the otherhand he is restricted to being just employed by his work permit sponser. Should he decide to change employment - say in 2 years time - he has to convince his new employer to sponser his work permit or apply for HSMP all over again with no guarentee of success.

Can he switch to WP - Yes he can
Can he apply for FLR based on HSMP while his employer processes a work permit - Yes he can do that as well. Until he applies for FLR based on WP, that work permit document does not come into effect. He cannot ofcourse apply for FLR for both.

I hope this is clear enough for you.

[John]

He would get a work permit for 5 years instead of a 3 years extension for his HSMP.

Well yes, but so what? In three years time he can get ILR.

Following on from comments above, the plan is extremely ill-conceived. Can I ask, how did the subject of a WP even get raised at all?

The plan is equivalent IMHO to say Chelsea FC or Man Utd etc .... voluntarily applying to play next season in the Championship rather than the Premiership. Would it make any difference, after all they can still play football, can't they! Of course it makes a difference .. very obviously!

Same with downgrading from HSMP to WP.

Save the employer the hassle and expense of getting a WP ... he can just start work whenever.

[MWazir]

What does FLR mean

I missed this out from your previous post.

FLR stands for Further Leave to Remain. Any applicant such as a WP or HSMP holder will need to apply for FLR for
A) Switching into a new visa category (Subjected to the switching rules)
B) Extending his leave to remain in his current category.

This is in addition to getting a Work Permit issued or getting an incountry HSMP approval.