Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to provide immigration advice; I am merely sharing my personal anecdotal experience to shed light on what you might encounter in the process.

NB: Since publishing this blog, it seems like the Tier 2 General restricted visas cap has been hit multiple times since December 2017 meaning that only salaries > £50k – £60k or select shortage positions are now being approved, and many people are being turned away. You can read more about this on Fragomen’s website or in this Guardian article.

I was fortunate enough to be in a position where my employer was willing to sponsor me to stay in the UK following the termination of my Tier 5 (Youth Mobility) visa. Overall, my visa was slated to expire in September 2016, but I broached the sponsorship topic with my manager in December 2015, as you should prepare for a generous lead time to go through multiple steps, especially if your employer is not already a Licensed Sponsor (which my employer was not). Check that the business that you’re asking to be a sponsor is eligible to be a sponsor and that your job is eligible for sponsorship. Alternatively, your business could already be listed on the register of sponsors. It’s worth noting here that if you do get sponsorship before your tier 5 visa expires, then your tier 5 visa gets annulled; you can’t keep both visas at the same time, but you also don’t need to cancel anything yourself as the annulment will happen automatically.

Depending on how quickly your legal / admin team move at your company, you could get approval to be a Licensed Sponsor in a short time frame. All in, my HR department sorted all of the paperwork and payments (it costs up to £1,476 to just get the Licensed Sponsor status for a Tier 2 General type visa) and received approval in about a month and a half. During this time, they also put out an advertisement for my role in two places and were required by law to interview anyone who was qualified for the job and show proof of reasons that other candidates were not suitable for the job (residential labour market test). The guidance for these adverts and the HR / legal processes that the sponsoring organisation must adhere to can be found here. If your company isn’t currently a Licensed Sponsor, it’s worth reading through this guide yourself so that you will be able to assist your company in the process. My company also had an external law firm’s help in this process, and I do not know the fees associated with this process.

Once the residential labour market was complete and my company had received Licensed Sponsor status, the next step was to apply for my Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). The HR department applied for this, and depending on the timing of when you submit the application for a CoS, you should receive a CoS, at the latest, one month later, as there is a limited monthly quota for restricted certificates. Following the successful receipt of a CoS, I followed the instructions on the government website for applying for a Tier 2 General, namely submitting the requisite documents, inputting the CoS number my employer received (which is valid for 3 months from the date of issue), and paying a. the healthcare surcharge, which was about £900, and the fee for the visa itself which ranges from £400 to £1200 depending on whether you’re applying for a 3 year visa vs. a 5 year visa, and if your occupation is a shortage occupation.

Once you’ve followed all the instructions and the paperwork is submitted, you’ll then be invited to book an appointment with the immigration office from which you are applying (outside of the UK – in my case, I went home to Toronto to apply from the Toronto UK immigration office) to take your biometrics and process your documents. Keep in mind, switching from Tier 5 (Youth Mobility) to Tier 2 General requires that you apply from outside the UK. If you’re extending your visa or switching from other visas, you may not have to apply from outside, but specifically switching from the Tier 5 Youth Mobility visa requires you to physically leave the UK. So, I booked my appointment with the Toronto UK immigration office a few weeks in advance, and booked a one-way flight to arrive the day before my appointment. You need to ensure that you submit the application and have it approved before your CoS expires, so keep the 3-month CoS validity in mind when timing your appointment.

Going into the UK immigration office to submit my documents was a pretty standard experience. Make sure you have all of your documents as listed on the Gov UK guidance, and print out any automated e-mails that were sent to you, including one confirming your payment of the healthcare surcharge, as you’ll need this to submit your application. If you are in a rush, it is advisable to pay extra for the express processing of your application which puts your application at the front of the line. I did not, and I submitted my application during a time when peak student visa applications were taking place, so I waited a while. You can also check the visa processing time website to gauge how long your application might take. My processing times for both my visas from the Toronto, Canada office are listed below for reference:

Tier 2 (General)

Date of Biometrics Appointment: 09/06/2016

Date Application Received: 10/06/2016

Date Visa Granted: 21/06/2016

Date Passport Available: 22/06/2016

Tier 5 (Youth Mobility)

Date of Biometrics Appointment: 09/07/2014

Date Application Received: 10/07/2014

Date Visa Granted: 21/07/2014

Date Passport Retrieved: 22/08/2014*

*They did not notify my when my passport arrived, so I ended up having to go to the office to check if my passport had come back (and it had). Passports usually come back quite quickly after the visa is issued, so if you haven’t received notice after a week, I’d just walk in during passport pickup time to check.

 A note of advice – work out what you’re responsible for paying in this process and what your employer will take on upfront; this will save you from surprises down the line. The total cost of this visa, including the round trip flight was about £4,000. My employer paid for all things visa related, and I paid for the flight, which seemed like a fair bargain.

How was your Tier 5 to Tier 2 experience?