Sposorship licence taking forever

[robbied1972]

Hi,

My girlfriend and I have been talking for 2 years and i finally had time to visit her in Bangkok in January, I spoke to the owner of an Asian Fusion restaurant who I know relatively well and said I had been to visit my girlfriend and she said she would like her to come here and work for her as her qualifications are in the same industry, my friend has applied for the sponsorship licence and it has been 7 weeks already, i know these things take time but my question is whilst this process is ongoing can we apply for a visitors visa for her to come here?

Would her coming as a visitor have any effect on her work permit application when she gets the COS from my friends company?

Also would she have to return to Thailand for a period of time before she can apply for the work permit?

Thank you in advance

Robbie

[robbied1972]

Any advice?

[Fozza19]

Hey Robbie,

Firstly - I'm no expert.

Secondly - back in February my wife's Tier 2 extension had taken the full 8 weeks so she called to see what was up only to find that the COS hadn't been submitted by the employer.

It'd be worth checking with the employer to make sure everything was done correctly before calling the home office, though.

[priasda85]

I'm in a similar situation. However my understanding was you can't apply for T2 General Extension without COS.
Is it possible to submit the application without COS but once the COS is ready go for the appointment.

[Frontier Mole]

Robbie,

I would check with your friend to see if she has had a reply from the HO, I am expecting a rejection of the application or a visit to be arranged to check that the business is suitable to sponsor a migrant.
There is an 8 week service level requirement to decide a licence application, hence one of the above has to have happened by this point.

The other issue is there are a good number of hoops to jump through to get a licence and one issue will be having to potentially advertise the job in the UK first.

What role is your girlfriend hoping to undertake? That will have a massive bearing on wither the business will get a licence and what the business will have to do to recruit her.

Be aware even after they get a licence they will have to apply for permission to get a RCOS at the next monthly panel.

Visit visa.... not seeing that as a good idea at the moment.

[robbied1972]

Hi All,

OK, it has been about 7 weeks since my friend submitted the application, it is not her that is dealing with it though as it is a friend of hers that does the accounts, she is based in England somewhere and we are based in West Wales, she is coming here for a meeting which is happening over the weekend which I will attend.

I did all the research for the application and got the list of documents they needed to send for them as my friend is Chinese and doesn't fully understand English, her friend that is dealing with it is from the UK however.

The job will be managing the front of house of an Asian Fusion Restaurant and also being the under-manager so that the owner can take some time off if needed as it is a real bottleneck.

They have advertised the job in a local newspaper as per the 28 day rule, in a Chinese newspaper in London, on their website (constantly) and on Indeed (constantly) as the staff turnover is a problem, the opening is there for my girlfriend as she is comes from Thai/Chinese heritage and what the owner wants is someone who can communicate with the Spam staff and also in front of house as she speaks Thai/Chinese/Korean and English, her degree is in tourism and hospitality and she has worked in that industry for the past 10 years after attaining her degree.

The problem in attracting people in the UK that may partially have the skills is that we are right out on a limb here, there is a bus service but no trains and is not in a city but rather a small tourist area and therefore it is not really that appealing to most.

The salary meets the threshold set out by the Home Office and she is perfectly suited to the role.

The application is independent of myself and I am not in the equation at all, they will ensure she has the £945 needed etc.

I spoke to the owner last night and she said her friend who submitted the application had said there is a problem getting Thai and Malaysian workers to the UK and that I hadn't read all of the documentation where it says this, I read absolutely everything and made notes and I have never come across the UKVI singling out ethnic groups and not letting them in, this would surely be a human rights issue and damage Thai / English relations, i would like to hear if anyone knows what she is talking about?

I will now meet with them over the weekend but if you have any comments I would like to hear them before the meeting.

Thanks

Robbie

[robbied1972]

Hey Robbie,

Firstly - I'm no expert.

Secondly - back in February my wife's Tier 2 extension had taken the full 8 weeks so she called to see what was up only to find that the COS hadn't been submitted by the employer.

It'd be worth checking with the employer to make sure everything was done correctly before calling the home office, though.

Did this take long to resolve?

[robbied1972]

I'm in a similar situation. However my understanding was you can't apply for T2 General Extension without COS.
Is it possible to submit the application without COS but once the COS is ready go for the appointment.

I am not sure about this, i was going to get all the information together for my girlfriends visa and then submit it with the COS once we have the sponsorship licence in place.

Additionally I don't understand the rule that the COS can only be submitted via the SMS after the 10th of the month, is it right that if you submit it say on the 5th it will not be applied until the following month?

[CR001]

Hey Robbie,

Firstly - I'm no expert.

Secondly - back in February my wife's Tier 2 extension had taken the full 8 weeks so she called to see what was up only to find that the COS hadn't been submitted by the employer.

It'd be worth checking with the employer to make sure everything was done correctly before calling the home office, though.

Did this take long to resolve?

If you read the users topic, you will see the partner has left the UK as visa was refused etc.

uk-tier-2-employer-sponsored-visas/empl ... 79947.html

[robbied1972]

Hi All,

Just spoken to someone from workpermit.com to see if there was any issue with bringing Thai or Malaysians to work in the UK and they said categorically No, however he did say that my girlfriend would have to be on the RFQ level 6 (£30,000) to get here, I looked into it and understood that she would only need £20,800, can anyone shed any light on this please?

Robbie

[CR001]

Hi All,

Just spoken to someone from workpermit.com to see if there was any issue with bringing Thai or Malaysians to work in the UK and they said categorically No, however he did say that my girlfriend would have to be on the RFQ level 6 (£30,000) to get here, I looked into it and understood that she would only need £20,800, can anyone shed any light on this please?

Robbie

How old is your girlfriend?? If she is over the age of 26, she is classed as an experienced worker for Tier 2 sponsorship and needs the minimum of £30k or whatever the SOC lists as salary for experienced worker, whichever is higher. And yes, she must be sponsored at RQF Level 6. Where did you get that salary from??

What is the SOC that is being proposed?

SOC - Standard Occupation Code - found in Appendix J : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... illed-work

[CR001]

They have advertised the job in a local newspaper as per the 28 day rule, in a Chinese newspaper in London, on their website (constantly) and on Indeed (constantly)

There are very specific requirements and advertising portals that must be used to meet the RLMT requirements. Page 122 and 123 in link below. Advertising on the government Find A Job website is mandatory.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... _FINAL.PDF

What is the exact position that they have advertised??

[robbied1972]

Hi All,

Just spoken to someone from workpermit.com to see if there was any issue with bringing Thai or Malaysians to work in the UK and they said categorically No, however he did say that my girlfriend would have to be on the RFQ level 6 (£30,000) to get here, I looked into it and understood that she would only need £20,800, can anyone shed any light on this please?

Robbie

How old is your girlfriend?? If she is over the age of 26, she is classed as an experienced worker for Tier 2 sponsorship and needs the minimum of £30k or whatever the SOC lists as salary for experienced worker, whichever is higher. And yes, she must be sponsored at RQF Level 6. Where did you get that salary from??

What is the SOC that is being proposed?

SOC - Standard Occupation Code - found in Appendix J : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... illed-work

She is 29 and the position is as assistant manager / front of house manager, that is a very high wage for where the position is advertised, as the guy from workpermit.com said it is designed to keep people out i guess?

[CR001]

It is not designed to keep people out. It is designed to offer highly skilled migrants an opportunity where an emoyer is unable to fill a position At RQF level 6.

What salary was the job advertised at?

Many people get tier 2 VISA but to be honest, for the job/position that your girlfriend and friend are looking at sponsoring, the chances of a successful visa are very slim.

[Frontier Mole]

Sorry to throw water on the whole scheme of things - the role as described does not meet RQF6 requirements and will not qualify for sponsorship. Front of house / restaurant managers are at best RQF4 and the business will be refused a licence either at initial application or after a visit by the Home Office.

The role would have to be advertised with a stated salary range that includes £30k as a possibility.

What normally happens is the role will be stated as BDM or PR role and guess what the Home Office be visiting as this is a known abuse route.

The other complications include her previous refusal, that will heap more scrutiny on the whole matter.

You have a mountain to climb I am afraid.

[Frontier Mole]

Apologies - the visa refusal was for another entirely different case. Ignore that part.

The other points are still very valid though, the mountain still needs to be climbed...