decision

Picture: Observation wheel of the new spot 🎡 or such an adventure traits?

When contranct is about to over or any other circumstaces sings to its termination, it becomes a time of personal iterest in eligibility of your further rights to work and stay in country. In some cases it might be just a simple switch to another position, but in others causes to issue a new VISA.

For the UK, Skilled worker đź’Ľ is a one of a such a common ways of being employed for foreigners. Despite the certain benefits, the major drawback of this option is a limitation of your rights. All your rights and eligibility to stay in country is restricted to the particular employer. Depending on the industry or academia as a type of your employment, you may a have a different routes of VISA issuing.

Academia tends to a be a way more tough route due to the additional approvements, necessary for issuing VISA. And one of them is ATAS, or Academical Technology Approving Scheme. In some particular cases, both PhD students and post-doc resarchers might need to apply for this certificate. Being relatively simple in submission, the overall ATAS application reviewing process may be counted as «mini-version of the US 🇺🇸 / Canada 🇨🇦 VISA reviewing process». It literally prescribes you (see “How long application take” section) await for 6 weeks in general with no fast-tracking options. So that, now you aware of applying as early as it possible, with 3 … no, how about 6 months in advance recommendation! 🤯 Even more, from the form above you’re also aware of canceling any settiling plans while awaiting for the result decision.

Unfoturnately and as long as the form says, being NLP researcher in AI and with nationality mentioned in list, I found that I need this ceritficate. So far, I got 2 and a half months remaining of my eligibility to stay, and that becomes a story of almost 🔥76 days of limbo🔥 awaitance for submitting a new Skilled worker VISA application. And that time has become a series of lessons learned a hard way.

Back more than 2 months ago I submitted ATAS by the beginning of October 2023 with further issues corections within following days of the same week. So that quick response from ATAS department may cause you a relief of their quick interest and your application consideration. Even more, that was my second time application, which makes me at least more-or-less proven applicant. That means I knew for how long to await for the decision so I can barely arrange the plans. To clarify, you’re not eligible for submitting more that 1 ATAS application for academia positions in the UK at the time.

After a 6 weeks of pacient awaitance, the patience has become no longer a working strategy. And that point where you may start investigate how others cope it. The latter become a reason I was running into the following case, and that makes you guess you’re not the only there with long-term awaitance. Your overall goal is to obtain Certificate-of-Sponsorship, or CoS in short. The latter prescribes your starting day of the contract, and ending day (if applicable and in the case of the fixed term contract). You may strongly recommend to start being active after 6 weeks and even after 2 months of awaitance! Your HR is the only rescue team from this, and you should get the most out of conversation with them.

Sadly to say, I found the related team in a very improfessional way. Through the journey of assisting and finding a way for issuing documents without ATAS took me the whole month! Throgh this, you realise on how useless the calls to HR and how you should form messages to reach the team.

So that end of the story that was sorted just in 7 days of my remaining eligiblity to stay in the UK:

  • HR team found a way on how to issue Certificate of sponsorship without ATAS certificate. 🎊 (credits to the following video)
  • I’ve submitted my VISA application as switch-to Skilled Worker VISA under the fast-tracking service within the UK
  • Got the confirmation from the Home Office, followed by issuing and delivering a new Biometric Residene Permit (BRP) within just 5 working days 🏎️

Credits to the VISA fast tracked option 🎊

Breathe out, rightâť“ Yes, and how was that afterwards:

I called 🤙 and booked an appointment at the local Legal Center which is at 14 West Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 9HB, the next day and been informed to bring all the necessary documents for case explanation.

During my apporintment, the advisor at legal center has navigate me straightaway to the Sponsor guidance part-2 at GOV.UK, and provide the following and general comments to this case:

Legal advisor: If the home office accepts and grants with rights to be in UK under certain conditions, covered by “employment allowed” section then the overall process of issuing an ATAS certificate is no longer applicable. The latter means that it may have status “Refused” which could be treated as “Not Applicable”.

In other words, if your employer accepts the conditions that are later on confirmed by the Home Office, then it is no longer your responsibility as well as eligibility to have a wrong right to work in the UK.

The decision of the Home Office is final, so anything that prevents it is likely no longer applicable. For any further circumstances on that, the employer’s organization is taking responsibility.