Friend might be being used for a visa

Jox

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/studying/adult-students/conditions/


Can you work while you are a Tier 4 (General) student? (Students who applied to us before 4 July 2011)
You are allowed to:

do part-time work during term time (see below);
do full-time work during vacations;
do a work placement as part of your course;
work as a postgraduate doctor or dentist on a recognised Foundation Programme; and
work as a student union sabbatical officer for up to 2 years.
You can do this work without needing to seek our approval.

For more information about work placements, see the Your course of study page.

The work you do must not fill a full-time permanent vacancy (other than on a recognised Foundation Programme), and you must not be self-employed, employed as a doctor in training (except on a recognised Foundation Programme) or as a professional sportsperson, coach or entertainer.

The maximum amount of part-time work you can do during term time is:

20 hours per week if you are studying a course at or above UK degree level or a foundation degree course, and/or if you made your Tier 4 (General) application on or before 2 March 2010; or
10 hours per week if you are studying a course that is below UK degree level and is not a foundation degree course, and you made your Tier 4 (General) application on or after 3 March 2010.
You can work full-time during vacations, within the above limits. If you have completed your course and you apply to remain in the UK under the points-based system before your existing permission to stay expires, you can work full-time (within the above limits) until your application is decided.

RAS

If the BF has a relevent student visa, he can work part-time.

He may be like a lot of people who have routinely studied one course after another to claim the visa and have done that legitimately under the rules that applied at the time. Just that in the last three years the rules have got a lot tighter and not always fairly so.

For example the Government routinely change the rules literally overnight so that people who came here thinking they were allowed to work for two years after graduating (enough to pay off a lot of their fees) and then the Govt changed the rules retrospectively at midnight one day and they are not even allowed to stay long enough to attend their graduation ceremony.

A decade ago people routinely came in on visa to study a degree and then signed up at a college of varying repute to do an NVQ that allowed them to work full-time or took three GCSE equivalent qualifications in the same subject over 5 years so they could work almost full-time and still study full-time according to the rules. Some of the colleges had no teaching accomodation, organised "lessons" outside normal working hours and had very few "teaching" staff anyway.

Not saying this guy did that but this is the sort of thing that the last and this Govt have clamped down on. They have now gone rather the opposite way and colleges have to demonstrate the students are attending regularly. They have to know where the student is living and this may have to be within dailiy commuting distance. So it can be very intrusive.

uk_american

Just a few thoughts from someone who is legally here on a work permit and spends too much time following the activity of the UK Border Agency and Theresa May on immigration topics.

1. Your friend's BF may be here legally and with his permission to stay about to run out this year. The UKBA periodically adjusts the rules/requirements to match the immigration needs of the country. Sometimes people are grandfathered into a scheme when it is closing, other times they are told 'tough luck', find another permit that you qualify for or leave.

2. That being said, the story doesn't ring true exactly.
He can work part-time on a student visa. TRUE, as the other poster mentioned.
He could have been here as a student for 9 years. TRUE. While the current administration is cracking down, there were no time limits in the past to force someone to graduate and leave or move to a work permit. One could go from one course of study to the next, the permit would be granted per course of study. (OP-Hopefully he's very well educated?)

What strikes me as odd, however, is your line that he could no longer work as a carer. This makes it sound like he was on a work permit rather than a student permit, as a student permit wouldn't care if he flips burgers at McDonalds or works in the library. A Tier 2 sponsored work permit would care however, and occupations are periodically reviewed on this list: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/workingintheuk/shortageoccupationlistnov11.pdf
It may be that the story is somehow confused. Even more reason for your friend to proceed with caution at worst, or to try and help him to understand the rules at best.

If anything, to be able to help her BF, best if your friend can get information about exactly what type of permission he has to be here. Then, either review the UKBA website, or seek legal advice as mentioned earlier. For example, if he has legally been in the UK for 10 years, he may qualify under long residence to apply for permanent residency:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas-immigration/settlement/applicationtypes/applicationformset(o)/

3. A final thought--there is nothing to stop them from applying for the marriage visa from *outside* the UK. Many couples have to do just that, and while it may take longer, it's a valid entry option, once granted, so that he could come back.

Let us know how it goes OP?

barbarawright

As has been said before, registrars aren't stupid nor are naturalisation officials. Why not leave it to them to sort out?

stinkybeard

UK_american - thank you.

Yes, it does sound from what he and she have told me that he is on a sponsored permit and his occupation has subsequently been removed. Though I am not sure how that fits in with the student thing as he only works part time.

stinkybeard

It will probably come down to the registrars and naturalisation officials. I would not be forgiven for interfering and never sought to from the outset.

Just concerned that she does not cause herself legal bother or lose the things she has worked hard for.

InsideInsurance

stinkybeard wrote: »

She travelled to France with him for a weekend and met his 'brother'. Whether it was his 'brother' or a 'brother from another mother' I have no idea.

If she's been out the country with him and they let him back in then he isn't an overstayer. That doesn't mean he is doing what he should for his class of visa but does mean he has one and its currently in date.

Prior to naturalisation my wife was forever grilled at the border as to how she had the visa she had.

I am not saying he is a good egg but there is way too little info to suggest he is a bad one. As a friend you should voice your concerns but accept her decision and if you're proven right then be there to help without gloating

uk_american

Just taking a quick look stinkybeard...

http://www.ukvisaworks.com/healthcare-staff/119-tier-2-visa-senior-care-assistants.html

Seems her fella might be truthful, in that his occupation may have been eliminated in March 2011, therefore he cannot currently renew again with the same skillset.

Sidenote: you cannot have 2 forms of visa active at the same time. Either he's on a student tier 4 or he's on a sponsored tier 2. It sounds likes he's on a sponsored tier 2, if the issue is the elimination of his title from the shortage occupation list.

Difficult position...

barbarawright

stinkybeard wrote: »

It will probably come down to the registrars and naturalisation officials. I would not be forgiven for interfering and never sought to from the outset.

Just concerned that she does not cause herself legal bother or lose the things she has worked hard for.

Hopefully he's completely genuine but on the offchance he isn't, these things do get found out. I work next door to a register office so get to hear quite a bit of gossip. There's a reason for the 'Just Cause and Impediment' bit - I can think of a couple of occasions recently where someone did stand up. Most recently the groom was arrested (it was assumed for immigration fraud though it's then dealt with by a different set of staff).

stinkybeard

Thank you for the information - very useful.