How to switch from tier 4 to tier 2 UK visa

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It may be tough and stressful to secure your first graduate job, especially if your ability to stay in the UK is at stake. Recent improvements have made it easier for students to apply for a visa. The procedure to switch from Tier 4 to Tier 2 UK Visa is set to change.

As of January 1, 2021, with the implementation of the new points-based immigration system in the UK, students in the UK will be able to stay in the nation after completing their studies and finding work. However, to make this transfer, you must have a job offer. With no job offer, there is no option to move from a Tier 4 Student Visa to a Tier 2 Work Visa or Skilled Worker Visa.

How soon you can apply

First, consider your application window. Ph.D. students have always been able to switch to Tier 2 after 12 months of study, but for other students, the earliest a CoS could be issued was the day your results were published until recently. Students were frequently left with weeks or even days before their Tier 4 visas expired. As a result, if the CoS is delayed or the job offer is not yet finalized, they will lose their opportunity to apply in the UK and benefit from all of the aforementioned benefits.

A change to the immigration laws in January 2018 pushed the earliest deadline for granting the CoS back from results day to the formal end date of the course, which was a positive thing. Then, in March of this year, another rule modification pushed it back even further, to three months before the course’s formal finish date, which is even better. Most Tier 4 visas include a four-month extension after the formal course finish date, known as the “post-study period” by the Home Office. This gives most people seven months to gain a CoS and submit a Tier 2 application.

There is one situation in which this modification does not benefit you. Your Tier 2 employer will most likely wish to wait until your results are released before issuing the CoSif your job offer is conditional on your qualification or a specific result. However, this is about the job criteria, not the Tier 2 visa requirements.

Starting work

After receiving their results, those who apply for Tier 2 can begin working on it immediately. This is because Tier 4 leave granted before October 1, 2019, comes with a work condition allowing you to join a permanent job if you apply for Tier 2 after ” completing” your degree. While the Tier 2 regulations were changed between January 2018 and April 2019 to enable those who haven’t “finished” their course to apply for Tier 2. Also, the Tier 4 work restrictions requiring accepting a permanent job were never changed.

It implies that if someone asks for Tier 2 before receiving their results, they will only be able to work part-time until their Tier 2 leave is approved. Hiring workers beneath Tier 2 becomes more difficult as a result of this undesirable situation. Following campaigning by international student advisers and UKCISA, the infringing Tier 4 employment condition will be amended beginning October 1, 2019. If your Tier 4 visa is awarded on or after that date, your work conditions will allow you to start a Tier 2 employment as soon as you have submitted your Tier 2 application at the end of your course. Unfortunately, this change in the rules, which takes effect on October 1, 2019, will not apply to persons who already have their Tier 4 leave.

All people who switch from Tier 4 to Tier 2 UK Visa will eventually be subject to the new condition. Meanwhile, it’s completely OK to ask your Tier 2 employer if you may start on a temporary contract and then switch to a permanent position after your Tier 2 leave is approved.

Traveling before you apply

The second change is significant, as it affects all Tier 2 applications, yet it has gone unnoticed. It is a modification to the Tier 4 Policy Guidance, which explains and interprets the regulations, rather than to the immigration rules themselves. For many years, those who switch from Tier 4 to Tier 2 UK Visa were unable to use their visa’s 4-month post-study time to travel and re-enter the UK securely and confidently before submitting their Tier 2 application.

The UKCISA’s advice was always the most cautious: do not attempt to travel and re-enter the UK during the post-study period if you were contemplating a Tier 2 application. It wasn’t just a case of being turned down for admittance. Even if you were allowed to return to the UK as a Standard Visitor, it wouldn’t assist because visitors can’t upgrade to Tier 2.

As a side note, the government’s white paper on the planned new post-Brexit immigration system for the UK starting on January 1, 2021, does include a proposal. This proposal allows some visitors to move to skilled labor, but that’s in the future. As a result, you can now travel freely during your post-study term before returning to the UK to submit your Tier 2 application. When you re-enter the UK on a Tier 4 visa during the post-study term, the Border Force Officer must be satisfied that you will depart the UK before your visa expires.

It’s good to include some proof that you’ll be applying for Tier 2 shortly in your carry-on luggage. So, if you land your ideal job and your boss agrees to sponsor you for a Tier 2 visa, reward yourself with a vacation or a trip back home. It will be alright as long as you return on or before the expiration date of your Tier 4 visa.

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