Sometimes, sadly, a job will end before the Skilled Worker (formerly Tier 2 visas) sponsorship period is up. This could be because the employee was fired or was made redundant. If you have a Skilled Worker visa, this job will determine how long you can stay in the UK, so you need to get help and make plans quickly.

What supporters of skilled workers must do

A Skilled Worker worker’s sponsor has to tell the Home Office within 10 days of the worker’s last day of work. They will have to tell the Home Office the last known address of the worker.

Cancelling the Skilled Worker visa

When the Home Office finds out that the job is over, they will decide whether or not to cancel the visa. Most of the time, this won’t happen right away. Visa users will usually have some time before their permission to stay in the UK ends.

Caseworkers are told by the Home Office to check to see if another visa has been given or if a new application has been made. Most of the time, they won’t do anything in these situations or if the amount of leave left is less than 60 days. This means that the visa will still be valid until the date it was supposed to end. If a new application is turned down, the caseworker might think about taking away the licence right then.

If the present visa has more than 60 days left on it, the Home Office would usually cut the remaining time on the visa to 60 days. This time doesn’t start until you get a letter telling you that the visa has been cancelled, which can take a few weeks after the company tells the Home Office.

The Home Office can decide to let a visa last longer if, for example, it would affect children or if there are medical or other reasons to do so. In this situation, it’s important to tell the Home Office and show proof.

In some cases, like if the worker caused the sponsor’s licence to be revoked or is being fired for very bad behaviour, the Home Office may cancel the visa right away, leaving no time for the worker to leave the country.

Starting a new job

During the time left on your visa, you can look for a new job in the UK that might be willing to support you. The company would need a sponsor licence to hire you, but they might be willing to apply for one so they can hire you.

The new company doesn’t have to post the job opening anymore, but they do need to be able to prove how they found you and that this is a real job opening.

If the new employer can give you a Certificate of Sponsorship and you can apply for a visa before your present leave ends, you will be able to stay in the UK until a decision is made. But until your visa application is approved, you won’t be able to start working for the new company.

Leaving Britain

If you can’t get a new visa before your current one runs out, you would have to leave the UK to escape being an overstayer. It is a crime to overstay a visa without a good reason.

If a person has overstayed for any amount of time, a new application from inside the UK is generally denied. There is an exception if there are good reasons that aren’t your fault or the fault of your agent and if you apply within 14 days. Except in rare cases, it wouldn’t be a good idea to send in a late application.

Once you are outside of the UK, you could apply for a new visa as soon as a company gives you a Certificate of Sponsorship. There is no longer a need to leave the UK for a year (this was called the “cooling off period” before).

If the new application is made within 14 days of the present permission ending, there will be no break in continuous residence. This means that the time you spent in the UK before leaving can count towards the five years you need to live there before you can ask for indefinite leave to remain. If you put in your application later, the five years would start over when your new visa was given.

Think about getting help on employment law.

When a job ends, it can cause a lot of trouble, so it’s important to think about what can be done to fix the problem without the job ending. Employers don’t always know the right steps to take when someone is laid off or fired, so they may need to be convinced to go through a formal review process instead of firing the person right away.

Talking to an employment lawyer could help you figure out what your rights are as an employee and if there is a way to negotiate a different result.

How can we help?

We know that this is a hard situation for you, and we can help you figure out what to do next. When applying for a new visa, you should be careful because getting turned down could hurt your future standing.

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Instruct me

If you want to instruct me, my name is Atty Lindoven Magsino, BSc, MBA, GDL, LLM, Solicitor at MBM Solicitors located at 83A First Floor, South Road, Southall, UB1 1SQ, England, United Kingdom. Telephone: 02035002141. Fax 02085710811. Mobile: 07446 888 377. Email: don@mbmsolicitors.com or attydonmagsino@gmail.com