ILR for Work Permit Holder

[Terpe]

Hello to all
I am a new member here so please be patient if I posted in wrong section.
My wife of 15 years is from Philippines. We originally met in Japan where I worked as a Engineering consultant to various Railway operators for the bullet trains.
We came to England in 2002 and my wife is now dual citizen. We have managed to find a way through many changing regulations to our status today. This even included getting married again here in England as our Japanese marriage documentation was not accepted for settlement.

I hope I can offer some helpful comments/insights to others.

As for now, I am asking for some advice on behalf of a good friend.
She is from the Philippines and has been working as a carer for the same employer for nearly 5 years. Her work permit will expire 2011
Last week she passed her Life In UK test
She wants to apply for ILR
This young lady is single.
Now to the issue. Part of the requirement for ILR for her status (work Permit) is a letter from her employer confirming her past and current status and that she is required for continuation in the same employment. She is concerned that her employer will not fulfil this and that she will need to return home. It seems that her employer has refused others in the same situation (for whatever reason)

Does anyone have any experience of this?
Is there any workaround?

The employer is a large national company employing care workers.

Thanks in advance for any help
I would like so much to help her. She is a wonderful lady and her family rely so much on her for help

Terpe

[joebloggs]

she should be ok using a letter from her employer stating her start date and her salary.

[Terpe]

Thank you Joebloggs for you reply.
The biggest concern is the requirement for such a letter to state the employment will continue.
My friend has the worry that if she will ask for such a letter now the employer may not agree and either state her employment will not continue, or worst case terminate her now. As far as I understand it the work permit is applicable only for the employer stated and is similar to a fixed term contract.
We are concerned for her position/status. She has been very hard working and honest, and although there has never been any implied condition of employment beyond her current work permit, this must be a common situation for all work permit holders upon expiry.

Thanks for your consideration

[katie37pinayuk]

Thank you Joebloggs for you reply.
The biggest concern is the requirement for such a letter to state the employment will continue.
My friend has the worry that if she will ask for such a letter now the employer may not agree and either state her employment will not continue, or worst case terminate her now. As far as I understand it the work permit is applicable only for the employer stated and is similar to a fixed term contract.
We are concerned for her position/status. She has been very hard working and honest, and although there has never been any implied condition of employment beyond her current work permit, this must be a common situation for all work permit holders upon expiry.

Thanks for your consideration

hi terpe. has your friend tried asking for the letter from her employer yet? i understand her work permit is until 2011, but is she permanently contracted to the employer? mine's until 2012 but my contract with the employer says permanent so i did not need to tell her to state in the letter for my employment to continue. maybe she can just plainly ask for a letter of employment stating her contracted hours, start date, position, hourly ate.annual salary, etc.

[joebloggs]

Thank you Joebloggs for you reply.
The biggest concern is the requirement for such a letter to state the employment will continue.
My friend has the worry that if she will ask for such a letter now the employer may not agree and either state her employment will not continue, or worst case terminate her now. As far as I understand it the work permit is applicable only for the employer stated and is similar to a fixed term contract.
We are concerned for her position/status. She has been very hard working and honest, and although there has never been any implied condition of employment beyond her current work permit, this must be a common situation for all work permit holders upon expiry.

Thanks for your consideration

sorry didn't see your reply, the employer might not suspect what the letter i spoke about is for, they should tell them, they need it for sponsoring a friend or family member for a visit visa or some other excuse. just ask for a letter that states her start date and salary.
she should be able to get ILR just with that, without mentioning continued employment.

i know of people who got ILR using the letter i spoke about without mentioning continued employment,
and yes it happens a bit.
your friend would have 30 days to find another employer with the same type of job and get them to apply for a new permit.

[Terpe]

I have spoken with UK Border Control a couple of times.
I asked them directly and I did not get any specific help. Basically the guy I spoke to just told me that all the requirements are clearly indicated in the form guide and that if all the requested documentation was not with the application then it would likely fail and the fee is non-refundable. (very helpful)

I spoke again with another guy and just talked around the principles of the situation. I was pretty much given the same response. I got the feeling that they did not really want to say anything (probably not the appropriate grade!!)

Anyway, last Friday I sent e-mails to both British Embassy and to UK Border Control to request information. Don't know how long I must wait for any response.

My friend's employer has actually terminated employment before when they understood people are actually applying for ILR. The only reason I can think of is that once ILR is gained they would no longer have any hold over that employee.
The way this employer treats it's work permit employees is not nice, they use it as a means to increase working hours and refuse holiday requests.

I'll keep everyone informed on what transpires.
Thanks Joebloggs for your latest input. Where could I research this topic on the internet?

[joebloggs]

well as i've said b4 I have read that some people have got ILR in the same situation as your friend sending the letter that i've mentioned..
if your friend is so worried aobut work getting rid of her, can she not find another employer who can sponsor her?

[Terpe]

joebloggs,
Thank you so much for your continued attention. She told me that her work permit only allows her to work the the same employer. what do you think ??