Mandatory and discretionary refusals and curtailment of leave for Tiers 2 and 5 migrants

UKVI will apply a mandatory refusal to any migrant who has made a false representation to obtain supporting documents for their visa application. There will also be a mandatory refusal where a migrant has not disclosed material facts or made false representations or provided false documents or information, even if this was not material to their application and even where this was without the migrant’s knowledge.

For Tiers 2 and 5, permission for a migrant to enter or remain in the UK will be subject to a mandatory curtailment if the migrant fails to start working with the UK sponsor or where the employment ends. Mandatory curtailment will also apply where the “temporary” migrant is not pursuing the purpose of their leave to enter and is non-compliant. The rules relating to curtailment have been applied on a discretionary case-by-case basis although, in practice, non-compliance usually leads to curtailment of leave.

If a migrant is subject to mandatory curtailment, they will normally be given 60 days to make an application to vary their leave or change their sponsor. This is helpful for migrants whose employment may have ceased for legitimate reasons and not for non-compliance, as they can use the 60 days to find another sponsor. The migrant will be subject to enforcement action if they have not made a successful application to vary their leave or change their employer within the 60 days from the date of the mandatory curtailment.

Discretion will be exercised if the migrant has a dependent child or if the migrant has an application that is outstanding for leave to enter or remain with another sponsor, or in another immigration category, or has a legitimate pending appeal.