Question of Tier 2 Work Visa - UK

Question

I was on a UK Tier 2 Work Visa which was issued for three years and which has just expired. I left the UK permanently on the day before the expiry date of the visa. The position I was working in (research) was a fixed-term contract (3 years).

Can I apply for another position in the UK? If I am selected, naturally, the organization will apply for a Cert. of Sponsorship.

But I was recently given to understand that the UK does not allow for Work Permit holders whose permits have expired/ ended to apply for a new work permit for a period of 12 months from the date of expiry of their previous work permit.

Is this accurate? I have not been able to find any such information on the Border Agency site but I was told this verbally by a UK Immigration Lawyer.

Any inputs on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Edit (new): Above I mentioned the point about the 12 month timeframe. More accurately, I was told by this lawyer that the 12-month limit actually is from the day you leave the UK evidenced by the arrival stamp on your passport as the UK does not issue an exit stamp on your passport.

Edit: I had posted this question to this site's sister site and was redirected here.

Answer 1

Your lawyer was correct. The information can be found here. To quote:

25. Where you left the UK before your last period of Tier 2 leave expired, the 12 month period during which you will not be able to reapply can start earlier than the date your leave expired but only if you can provide evidence of having not been in the UK for a period of 12 months immediately prior to that date. Acceptable evidence may include, but is not limited to:

• travel tickets or boarding card stubs, but only if your sponsor, or previous sponsor also submitted an SMS report at the time, confirming that your employment in the UK had ended;

• exit or entry stamps in your passport which confirm that you were not in the UK;

• a letter from your overseas employer confirming the date you started or restarted work overseas, after returning from the UK;
• any other evidence that shows you were not in the UK.

Where evidence is produced and accepted, we will calculate the cooling off period to start from the earliest date supported by that evidence.