Documents to be submitted - HSMP

[jimmy50]

Hello everyone
Here is what I'm looking to submit for my HSMP visa:

1. Qualifications
Bachelor's degree original certificate – 30 points

2. Earnings in UK – 40 points
I will be applying for the period June 1st 2006 – May 31st 2007. I worked in Australia from June 1 until September 12 2006, and then took a short break, moved to the UK and worked from October 16 until May 31st 2007 in the UK. Note that I therefore should qualify to have my UK salary pro-rated.

So I have provided:
For period worked in Australia:
-Pay slips from Aussie employer
-Australian tax return notice of assessment (which only covers part of the period I am claiming for in Australia)
-Bank statements from Aussie bank showing wage going in
- Letter from Australian employer stating salary
For period worked in UK:
- Pay slips from UK employer
- P60 (which again only covers part of the period worked)
- Bank statements showing wage going in
- Letter from UK employer stating salary

3. Age – 20 points
- Australian driving licence

4. Previous UK work experience – 5 points
- UK wage slips referred to above

5. English requirement
- Letter from Melbourne University stating my degree was in English.


Total: 95 points

The thing I am not sure about is 'previous UK work experience'. Do I qualify for the 5 points on offer just by having worked in the UK, or do I need to have worked at least 12 months in the UK? If it's the latter, then I won't get those 5 points and therefore my total points will be 90.


Anyway i would much appreciate if any of you could have a look at what I intend to submit and let me know if I have forgotten something. Thanks very much!

[PounceQuick]

It doesn't matter. Even if the case worker doesn't award the 5 points you still have more than enough points to qualify.

[gordon]

Not to be nitpicky, but presumably the letter re English language instruction indicates degree conferral to you on the relevant date? And the letter from the UK employer indicates not just the annual (or annualised) salary rate but the actual salary paid to you in the relevant period?
A covering letter should include an explanation that cumulative figures on tax returns do not correspond completely to the earnings claimed, and an explanation of the expected proration (8mos UK, 4mos Aus).
AG

[jimmy50]

Not to be nitpicky, but presumably the letter re English language instruction indicates degree conferral to you on the relevant date? And the letter from the UK employer indicates not just the annual (or annualised) salary rate but the actual salary paid to you in the relevant period?
A covering letter should include an explanation that cumulative figures on tax returns do not correspond completely to the earnings claimed, and an explanation of the expected proration (8mos UK, 4mos Aus).
AG

Good questions.

The letter does indicate the conferreal on the relevant date.

However, I have 2 different situations with the 2 letters from employers that I have:
- The letter from the Australian employer states my salary on an annualised basis as well as on a net fornightly basis (which is how often the pay cycle was). However, the fornightly figure they give matches all the pay slips except the final one, because I didn't work for an exact fortnight on my last pay slip, just part of the fortnight, and because I had extra leave remaining paid to me. I don't know if it's a problem that the letter states gross salary on an annualised basis but net salary on a fortnightly basis either.

- The letter from the UK employer appears to be fine, as it breaks down exactly what I earned in each pay period (on a gross basis) as well as my annual salary.

The question is, given that for my Australian employment I already have pay slips PLUS the tax return (granted it only covers part of the period) PLUS bank statements, is it best that I don't submit the letter at all? Or will it help verify, even if it's not perfect? I mean, is there a chance they could reject my application because my letter wasn't exactly what they wanted, even though I had the necessary pay slips, tax return and bank statements??

And, perhaps depending on the answer to the above, do I submit my UK employer letter (which does appear to cover all bases), even though I also have pay slips, P60 (covering part of the period) and bank statements?

Sorry this is quite complex but I'd really appreciate your help.
Cheers

[apeterso925]

Since you have 2 documents that corroborate each other from your Australian employer (the payslips and your bank statements), I would omit the letter. With that last amount not matching, it may hurt more than it helps.

But since it sounds like your letter from your UK employer matches your payslips, I *would* include that.

Basically, extra evidence is only a good thing if it supports your claim. For example, when I applied for EC, I decided *not* to include a very substantial portion of my available savings, as I thought the ECO might suspect that I had no intention of actually working (e.g. that I was merely using HSMP as a way to veg in London for 2 years). Who knows if that would be a reason for EC refusal, but I didn't want to chance it.

And I absolutely plan to work, the money I omitted is my retirement someday...so I chose to show the consulate only the funds I had and *intended to use* - which is perfectly acceptable, as you aren't required to show them every penny you have, only that you have some pennies.

Good questions.

The letter does indicate the conferreal on the relevant date.

However, I have 2 different situations with the 2 letters from employers that I have:
- The letter from the Australian employer states my salary on an annualised basis as well as on a net fornightly basis (which is how often the pay cycle was). However, the fornightly figure they give matches all the pay slips except the final one, because I didn't work for an exact fortnight on my last pay slip, just part of the fortnight, and because I had extra leave remaining paid to me. I don't know if it's a problem that the letter states gross salary on an annualised basis but net salary on a fortnightly basis either.

- The letter from the UK employer appears to be fine, as it breaks down exactly what I earned in each pay period (on a gross basis) as well as my annual salary.

The question is, given that for my Australian employment I already have pay slips PLUS the tax return (granted it only covers part of the period) PLUS bank statements, is it best that I don't submit the letter at all? Or will it help verify, even if it's not perfect? I mean, is there a chance they could reject my application because my letter wasn't exactly what they wanted, even though I had the necessary pay slips, tax return and bank statements??

And, perhaps depending on the answer to the above, do I submit my UK employer letter (which does appear to cover all bases), even though I also have pay slips, P60 (covering part of the period) and bank statements?

Sorry this is quite complex but I'd really appreciate your help.
Cheers

[jimmy50]

Since you have 2 documents that corroborate each other from your Australian employer (the payslips and your bank statements), I would omit the letter. With that last amount not matching, it may hurt more than it helps.

But since it sounds like your letter from your UK employer matches your payslips, I *would* include that.

Basically, extra evidence is only a good thing if it supports your claim. For example, when I applied for EC, I decided *not* to include a very substantial portion of my available savings, as I thought the ECO might suspect that I had no intention of actually working (e.g. that I was merely using HSMP as a way to veg in London for 2 years). Who knows if that would be a reason for EC refusal, but I didn't want to chance it.

And I absolutely plan to work, the money I omitted is my retirement someday...so I chose to show the consulate only the funds I had and *intended to use* - which is perfectly acceptable, as you aren't required to show them every penny you have, only that you have some pennies.

Thanks for that. You don't see any way that they would reject my application because I provide an employer letter for one country and not the other? Could the case worker question why I'm not providing one for my Aussie employment?

I know I sound a bit paranoid but it seems to me you have to assume the case worker is brain dead (or at best, easily confused) and can't work out anything for themselves...!

[apeterso925]

Lol - or at least overworked, as government workers often are, and therefore prone to mistakes (except I'm still in awe of how organized and careful they seemed to be with my application).

One should never assume anything of course, but the following scenario strikes me as a reasonable possibility: your UK employer was willing to provide a letter, while your Aussie one was not. That's merely a fact and not something suspicious...but you're right, we can only speculate how the caseworker will interpret it.

Also, since the letter isn't required to begin with, I somehow doubt that you'll be penalized.

Thanks for that. You don't see any way that they would reject my application because I provide an employer letter for one country and not the other? Could the case worker question why I'm not providing one for my Aussie employment?

I know I sound a bit paranoid but it seems to me you have to assume the case worker is brain dead (or at best, easily confused) and can't work out anything for themselves...!

[gordon]

As long as you provide adequate documentation for your Aus earnings, it should be fine. You can rather easily justify including additional documentation for your UK earnings because they will be the basis for the proration to its annual equivalent. For the Australian earnings, you have only to demonstrate that you were employed for the period in question; because of the proration, the actual earnings figures there are less relevant, and thus might not demand corroboration to the same extent.
AG

[jimmy50]

Not to be nitpicky, but presumably the letter re English language instruction indicates degree conferral to you on the relevant date? And the letter from the UK employer indicates not just the annual (or annualised) salary rate but the actual salary paid to you in the relevant period?
A covering letter should include an explanation that cumulative figures on tax returns do not correspond completely to the earnings claimed, and an explanation of the expected proration (8mos UK, 4mos Aus).
AG

Thanks for all your help Gordon and others. I am about to submit the application now. I was just wondering what exactly you meant by: "A covering letter should include an explanation that cumulative figures on tax returns do not correspond completely to the earnings claimed"

Does that mean that I should explain that the tax returns don't cover the whole period I am claiming for? Or do you mean something else by this?

Oh yeah - do you think it's ok to send via registered post (I am in the UK) or is it best to courier?