While doing my master degreed in the UK (Tier 4) I found a part-time job. After a few months, I asked my employer if I could get a visa sponsorship to stay working in the UK. They initially said no, because the requirements to provide visa sponsorship in the UK were difficult, especially, the labor research market.
However, students switching from Tier 4 to Tier 2 are exempted from the labor research market and thus, providing a visa sponsorship to a student with Tier 4 is a lot easier than sponsoring someone else. After a few conversations with human resources, I realized that the problem was that the company was not aware of these exemptions and, therefore, it was in my best interest to explain this to them as clear as possible. I decided to draft an email and send the information that I share below. It worked for me, I hope it works for you.
1. Employers are exempt from having to carry out the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) according to page 119 of the Tiers 2 and 5: guidance for sponsors, which can be found in the link below.
2. Employers are exempt from paying the Immigration Skills Charge: Page 20 of the Tiers 2 and 5: guidance for sponsors which can be found in the link below.
3. The issuing of the CoS is not subject to the national annual limit and so does not require prior approval from UK Visas and Immigration. Therefore, you are likely to have the CoS issued to you within a shorter timeframe.
The previous information can also be checked in the following webpages of UK universities:
- Kings College London https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/student-advice-support/ags/pdfs/immigrationadvice/tier-2-advice-guide.pdf
- University of Cambridge: https://www.internationalstudents.cam.ac.uk/visas-after-studying/tier-2
Situation summary & tier 2 visa processing times
- All of the above is possible because the student falls under “unrestricted” sponsorship category, as he or she is already in possession of valid UK non-travel visa (tier 4) and applying to switch within the UK.
- People within this category are allocated unrestricted certificate of sponsorship (CoS); these are allocated to employers on unlimited basis, and if some have not been used up in a given tax year, I can be assigned one straightaway free of charge.
- Once the unrestricted CoS is issued, I can then apply for a tier 2 visa using premium service, which then also takes one day, or they priority service that takes up to 10 working days. The most important part is that apply before the current visa expires. (Times may have changed)
Source: https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers/sponsorship-certificates
Please share this link with any of your friends or any person that may need a visa sponsorship or may find this information useful.
