HSMP REJECTION - LAGOS TAX CLEARANCE! VERY VERY URGENT

[onyeekwo@gmail.com]

Greetings,

My situation is quite complicated, it is a pity I heard of this forum so late.

I have applied for HSMP early this month, I was refused - could not verify my tax clearance. I finished a masters degree here in the uk, graduated in July 2006, but I am not earning enuff to use UK earnings. I applied in June 2007 so I used earnings in the period before school, as I fall under the 'recent students finishing school in the last 12 months' category.

Now I used the paper tax clearance, 2003 - August 2004, as the electronic tax clearance in lagos only began in 2005 (i mentioned this in my cover letter). I believe this is where the problem lies. I also gave letter from company and payslips. Now I have 4 days to do a review, and if I want to reapply I must do it in July while I am still a recent student.

So I need to know -

- do i review through a lawyer or alone, restating the fact that b4 i left the country the electronic tax card was unavailable?
- is there a way of converting old paper tax to the card one, can this be done b4 end of july, and should i then reapply with this?
- is there any other document i can use instead of etax, eg letter from company tax consultant stating card was not being used in my time?
- I graduated July 2006, am i still a 'recent student' now in july 2007??

Pls any feedback would be apprciated as i have no time left.

Thanks

[ball1333]

1) Under what visa category have you worked in the UK since finishing your course in July 2006? Have you overstayed/worked illegally?

2) Given that your query regards tax issues specific to Nigeria, you may find that it's better to work with an immigration lawyer who is familiar with applicants from Nigeria. However you may not be able to find one within the time you have left to submit your request for review.

3) Is there any way you can write a letter that explains to the caseworker step-by-step, in detail, how to use the evidence that you actually provided to come up with the required points? No whingeing, no moaning, no excuses, just, "My letter of refusal from [date] cites "[quote the actual words on your rejection letter]" as the reason(s) my HSMP visa application was refused. I dispute this reasoning on the grounds that I provided [whatever they say is lacking].

I included the following documents in my application materials to corroborate my earnings as stated within my HSMP 1 application form:

• . Here is an explanation of how the documents that I provided with my initial application serve to corroborate my claimed earnings of GBPXXXXX: [numbered steps, 1 through whatever]."
  
  If it is true that your earnings from the period you are claiming cannot be verified using ONLY the evidence that you provided in the envelope with your initial application, there is no point applying for a review. If there's no way that your claimed earnings could be deduced from your available documents a review request is pointless. You should also consider whether you have worked illegally in the past year. Being an overstayer/illegal worker can be bad news when you go for EC or FLR. IF you have been on a work permit for the past year so you are not technically illegally working, continuing on that path until you have the points to switch to HSMP might be the most feasible option.
  
  4) Now, bearing in mind that you most likely do not _want_ to go back to Nigeria for an extended period, the possibility of going there to work for a year and then qualifying for HSMP may be worth considering. If you could take your cool UK qualification back to Nigeria and make a load of money according to the tables set out in the HSMP Guidance, could you qualify for HSMP next year without excuses or extra explanations?

[onyeekwo@gmail.com]

I am actually on SEGS visa right now but it will expire in a few months, and not enuff time for me to get a job that will give me the 25pts i need.

Apart from the clearance I also issued payslips and letter from employer so that should be enuff even if the payslip cannnot be used.

I will definitely follow ur advice, but ant further advice based on what I have just added?

Thank u very much, much appreciated.

[makon]

You may also have to explain that at the time you got ur tc there was no e-tc. also, call ur caseworker and ask him what u can do to make the tc acceptable

gd luck

[ball1333]

Glad to be of some help. Now, what about your current employer getting you a work permit? Any chance of that happening? Just checking.

[onyeekwo@gmail.com]

Well I definitely have that in mind, havent disussed it with them but there is a chance and I plan to discuss it this week, just dont want to put all eggs in one basket ...... Thanks again

[olumighty]

Onye,
I will advise you talk to your current employers to get you a work permit for now so you can have enough time tow ork on your HSMP application.

As for your HSMP application, did you include a cover note explaining your application cercumstances including you tax clearance?

You can send in your request for review clearly explaing all circumstances, i think you have a good case.

[onyeekwo@gmail.com]

Yes I did include a note stating all those things, I think I just got a bad caseworker ....

Is there anyone who has a format for the review request, or is there no set format?

Are there anything i should look out for or be careful about when writing this?

I heard in the caseworker guidelines there is something about - errors to avoid when writing reviews - does anyone know the link?

I think i will review this with a Nigerian lawyer i know tomorrow.

THANKS AGAIN Y'ALL

[waa15]

It is clearly stated in the guidance notes that your past earnings - 12 out the last 15 months will be considered.
So, why "used the paper tax clearance, 2003 - August 2004"?

I don't understand.