UK Work Visas

Yes, you can switch from T5 Religious Worker visa to T2 Minister of Religion visa from inside the UK.

Yes, you can apply for switching into T2 Minister of Religion visa from inside the UK using Super Priority Service whereby your application will be decided by the Home Office UKVI within 24 hours of biometrics enrolment date.

Yes, a Student visa holder can switch into T2 Minister of Religion visa from inside the UK.

You can renew / extend your Skilled Worker visa from inside the UK using Super Priority Service (decision within 24 hours) or using Priority Service (decision within 5 working days).

As specialist Skilled Worker visa solicitors, we can provide Super Priority Service or Priority Service for renewal of your Skilled Worker visa.

To be eligible for extension of Skilled Worker visa / Tier 2 General visa, you should meet the following requirements:

• You must be in the UK with leave to remain as a Tier 2 General migrant or as a Skilled Worker;
• score 50 points from mandatory non-tradeable points;
• score at least 20 points from tradeable points;
• have have funds for maintenance in the UK or your Skilled Worker sponsor has certified your maintenance in the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS);
• meet the suitability criteria and not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal.

A total of 70 points are required to be eligible to apply for extension of Skilled Worker visa / Tier 2 Generarl visa; 50 points from mandatory non-tradeable points and the remaining 20 from tradeable points.

If your new or prospective employer does not hold the sponsor licence for Skilled Worker visa, your employer can apply for Skilled Worker sponsor licence to be able to sponsor you for renewal of your Skilled Worker visa. Our expert team of Sponsor licence solicitors can provide the required legal help and assistance to your prospective employer with an application for Skilled Worker sponsor licence application.

The Tier 2 General visa category has been replaced by the Skilled Worker visa. You can extend or renew your Tier 2 General visa by making an application under the Skilled Worker visa category. Your employer / sponsor should assign you with a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) so that you can apply for your visa renewal as a Skilled Worker.

Applicants can be new entrants for a maximum of 4 years. The 4 years include time spent in any Tier 2 route or as a Skilled Worker, whether or not that permission was for a continuous period. An applicant cannot be considered as a new entrant for only part of the time they are applying for. If the applicant is applying for more than 4 years, or if granting the application would mean they would have more than 4 years’ permission in total (whether continuous or not) as a Tier 2 migrant and/or as a Skilled Worker, they cannot score tradeable points as a new entrant. They will need to score tradeable points in another way.  

If your application for renewal / extension of Skilled Worker visa has been refused by the Home Office UKVI, you may have one of the following options available to you:

Option 1: You can file an Administrative Review (AR) against the refusal of your application if you believe that the Home Office caseworker has made a caseworking error in deciding your application for renewal of Skilled Wokrer visa. Our expert team of Skilled Worker visa solicitors can help you with your application for an Administrative Review (AR) of the Home Office UKVI refusal decision.

Option 2: You can submit a fresh application within 14 days (if your leave has already expired whilst the application was pending with the Home Office UKVI) by using a new Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned by your employer to you. Our specialist skilled worker visa solicitors can provide the required legal help and assistance with your fresh application for extension of Skilled Worker visa after the refusal of your application.

No, you do not have to resign from your current job before applying for Skilled Worker visa extension through your new employer and you can resign and after you have been granted extension of your Skilled Worker visa.

If your application for Skilled Worker visa gets refused for any reasons, your current visa will remain intact and you can continue with your job with your current employer, if you so wish.

Following changes in the Immigration Rules with effect from 1 December 2020, there is no time limit set by the Home Office UKVI as to maximum period for which a person can extend his/her Skilled Worker visa. It is therefore possible for a person to extend Tier 2 General or Skilled Worker beyond 6 years if for any reasons an application for ILR cannot succeed for the time being and the extension application is the only option available.

You can apply for ILR as a Skilled Worker 28 days before you complete 5 years qualifying period for ILR.

You can apply for ILR as a Skilled Worker online using application form SET (O).

You can apply for ILR as a Skilled Worker using Super Priority Service for decision within 24 hours or using Priority Service for decision within 5 working days.

Our specialist team of Skilled Worker visa solicitors can provide expert legal help and assistance with your application for ILR as a Skilled Worker.

The applicant must have spent a continuous period of 5 years in the UK, consisting of time with permission in any of, or any combination of, the following routes:

• Skilled Worker
• Tier 2 (General)
• Global Talent
• Innovator
• T2 Minister of Religion / Tier 2 (Minister of Religion)
• T2 Sportsperson / Tier 2 (Sportsperson)
• Representative of an Overseas Business
• Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent)
• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
• Tier 1 (Investor)
• Tier 1 (General)

The most recent permission must have been in either the Skilled Worker or Tier 2 (General) route. An applicant does not need to have switched from Tier 2 (General) to Skilled Worker before applying for settlement as a Skilled Worker, as the definition of Skilled Worker in the Immigration Rules includes those with permission in the Tier 2 (General) route.

The applicant must meet the continuous residence requirement as set out in Appendix Continuous Residence during the qualifying period for ILR as a Skilled Worker / Tier 2 General Migrant.

To apply for ILR as a Skilled Worker, you must meet the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement as set out in Appendix KOL UK.

You do not need to meet an English language requirement for settlement, as you will have met this in your previous Skilled Worker visa application.

No, you are not allowed to combine time spent under ECAA Turkish Worker visa or ECAA Turkish Businessperson visa with time spent under Skilled Worker visa to apply for ILR after 5 years as a Skilled Worker. Your qualifying time for ILR as a Skilled Worker will start from scratch once you switch from ECAA Turkish Wroker visa or ECAA Turkish Businessperson visa to Skilled Worker visa.