Tier 2 ICT extended against the odds

We were recently instructed by the HR department of a prestigious five-star hotel in London’s West End. The hotel had been employing one of its senior most managers on a Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) leave for the past 9 years and wished to continue to do so.

However, before approaching us they had been advised by several other prestigious law firms that it would not be possible to extend their leave any further, as the applicant had already spent 9 years in the UK, and his role was not meeting the skill level required for sponsorship.

After an initial discussion with the HR director and the manager, we came to understand the complexities of the application and the reason why other firm declined to take this instruction on. After much analysis of the complex immigration rules and guidance we found out that this applicant will come under different immigration rules and as such there was no time limit for them to stay in the United Kingdom. We advised that there was no time-limit in relation to the number of times or duration that the applicant could extend his leave.

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“We enquired with a few other law firms and were told that we could not extend the Tier 2 ICT leave any further . . . Thank you for everything, you have been our backbone and turning point during this process”

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We proceeded to draft detailed grounds of representation and submitted the application and explained that despite our client’s role not meeting the skill level required for sponsorship (RQF 6), that given his circumstances, the skills threshold requirement did not apply to him, as he was applying to continue to work for the same sponsor and to perform the same role.

We also provided an alternate solution to our client, should the Tier 2 (ICT) extension application be refused. We also advised our client that should the Tier 2 (ICT) application for further leave be refused, that we could submit a different application to regularise his stay until he met the qualifying period for indefinite leave under the long residence category. Consequently, we advised our client to apply for his Tier 2 (ICT) leave a few weeks before the expiry of his current leave, using the super priority service, as this would allow him to prepare and submit a further in-time application, should the Tier 2 (ICT) application be refused.

Our client and his family dependants attended the super priority service appointment, and within a few hours we received the fantastic news that all the applications have been approved. Our clients were all delighted as were his employers who were very keen to retain the manager who has been a star performer within the organisation. We saw the happy client and his family at our offices and thanked them for their valuable gifts that they showered on us. An happy family got their issues resolved through the commitment that we provide for all our clients and the further leave would allow the applicant and his family to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom with confidence in the year 2020.

At Marsans we will work collaboratively with your HR personnel and employees to advise on all immigration matters. If you or anyone you know requires advice on applying for further leave to remain as a Tier 2 migrant or if you are an employer stuck without knowing what to do with valuable employee in relation to their Tier 2 leave, please contact us and we are happy to offer our professional assistance.