After getting visa

[entrepreneur123]

After getting visa can we add new services in our business? For example, i got visa based on Accountant. Now can i add management/business consultancy services in it? These all services are NQF4 or above level. I personally think there should not be problem but thought should double check because usually its very normal for an accountant to give business consultancy services. Many Thanks

[cpmlkhan]

After getting visa can we add new services in our business? For example, i got visa based on Accountant. Now can i add management/business consultancy services in it? These all services are NQF4 or above level. I personally think there should not be problem but thought should double check because usually its very normal for an accountant to give business consultancy services. Many Thanks

Yes certainly you can add services as many as you like BUT NQF4 or above.

[ECOTROT]

After getting visa can we add new services in our business? For example, i got visa based on Accountant. Now can i add management/business consultancy services in it? These all services are NQF4 or above level. I personally think there should not be problem but thought should double check because usually its very normal for an accountant to give business consultancy services. Many Thanks

Maybe I (or you) have misunderstood something, because you say you have the Entrepreneur visa?

The NQF4 requirement is a requirement for initial applications for those who are switching from a PSW visa.

AFAIK this is not a requirement for extension applications, either for you or your employees.

Granted it might be strange if you submitted a business plan for an accountancy firm and then you started serving vietnamese street food out of a van, but I can't see anywhere in the rules or guidance which says this is not allowed. It doesn't even have to be the same business when you apply to extend, so long as you have spent the money on a business which employed 2 people for 12 months, and you are registered as a director of a company for 3 months.

Maybe someone can correct me, but this is what I read from the rules. I think you can add whatever service you like if you think it is good for your business.

Anyway, good luck!

[ECOTROT]

After getting visa can we add new services in our business? For example, i got visa based on Accountant. Now can i add management/business consultancy services in it? These all services are NQF4 or above level. I personally think there should not be problem but thought should double check because usually its very normal for an accountant to give business consultancy services. Many Thanks

Maybe I (or you) have misunderstood something, because you're talking about after, when you have the Entrepreneur visa?

The NQF4 requirement is a requirement for initial applications for those who are switching from a PSW visa.

AFAIK this is not a requirement for extension applications, either for you or your employees.

Granted it might be strange if you submitted a business plan for an accountancy firm and then you started serving vietnamese street food out of a van, but I can't see anywhere in the rules or guidance which says this is not allowed. It doesn't even have to be the same business when you apply to extend, so long as you have spent the money on a business which employed 2 people for 12 months, you were registered within 6 months of your specified date, and you are registered as a director of a company for 3 months prior to applying to extend the visa.

Maybe someone can correct me, but this is what I read from the rules. I think you can add whatever service you like if you think it is good for your business. And you can even ditch your initial idea and start a brand new company, so long as you meet all the extension requirements.

Anyway, good luck!

[krishan2014]

After getting visa can we add new services in our business? For example, i got visa based on Accountant. Now can i add management/business consultancy services in it? These all services are NQF4 or above level. I personally think there should not be problem but thought should double check because usually its very normal for an accountant to give business consultancy services. Many Thanks

Maybe I (or you) have misunderstood something, because you're talking about after, when you have the Entrepreneur visa?

The NQF4 requirement is a requirement for initial applications for those who are switching from a PSW visa.

AFAIK this is not a requirement for extension applications, either for you or your employees.

Granted it might be strange if you submitted a business plan for an accountancy firm and then you started serving vietnamese street food out of a van, but I can't see anywhere in the rules or guidance which says this is not allowed. It doesn't even have to be the same business when you apply to extend, so long as you have spent the money on a business which employed 2 people for 12 months, you were registered within 6 months of your specified date, and you are registered as a director of a company for 3 months prior to applying to extend the visa.

Maybe someone can correct me, but this is what I read from the rules. I think you can add whatever service you like if you think it is good for your business. And you can even ditch your initial idea and start a brand new company, so long as you meet all the extension requirements.

Anyway, good luck!

Please clarify me if I am wrong. I am getting the feeling from the above passage that you are trying to imply that even someone who switched from PSW visa into Tier 1 Entrapreneur visa is allowed to work at the level which is lower than NQF 4 after getting the entrepreneur visa and the rules that say you should be working at NQF 4 or above only apply before the initial application.
Probably you are right; but think about it logically. Why would Home Office put this restriction in the first place if they do not mind somebody (who is Graduate) working at low skilled jobs that require manual work.
I think it can cause problems during extension if they find out that somebody who switched from PSW into Tier 1 Entrepreneur category is/was working in low skilled jobs. The Home office is trying to give the graduates the opportunity to use their knowledge and skills to earn money themselves and improve the economic environment of this country and that is the only reason PSW applicants had to show only 50k instead of 200k.
As being entrepreneurs; people in this category including myself are allowed to do any business or any number of businesses as long as they are working at the level of NQF 4 or above. This does not apply to their employees as there is no rule defined for entrepreneur's employees and they are not regulated by immigration rules by being the settled workers.
But after drafting the above argument; one question comes to my mind, why are they asking us to prove that we are working as self employed or director of company 3 months prior to the extension. Why are they asking that? Are they trying to say that after 6 months of entering the category and before 3 months of exiting the category; we can stay without being self-employed and director?

Why don't they say that We should be either self-employed or director all the time in this category? Anyway, I am just exercising my cognitive abilities and will appreciate someone who will willing to add their views about it.

Lastly, one question, how do we prove that we are working as director of the company within 6 months of entering the category. Is it by Current appointment report for the company or by some other method.

Thanks

[ECOTROT]

Please clarify me if I am wrong. I am getting the feeling from the above passage that you are trying to imply that even someone who switched from PSW visa into Tier 1 Entrapreneur visa is allowed to work at the level which is lower than NQF 4 after getting the entrepreneur visa and the rules that say you should be working at NQF 4 or above only apply before the initial application.
Probably you are right; but think about it logically. Why would Home Office put this restriction in the first place if they do not mind somebody (who is Graduate) working at low skilled jobs that require manual work.
I think it can cause problems during extension if they find out that somebody who switched from PSW into Tier 1 Entrepreneur category is/was working in low skilled jobs. The Home office is trying to give the graduates the opportunity to use their knowledge and skills to earn money themselves and improve the economic environment of this country and that is the only reason PSW applicants had to show only 50k instead of 200k.
As being entrepreneurs; people in this category including myself are allowed to do any business or any number of businesses as long as they are working at the level of NQF 4 or above. This does not apply to their employees as there is no rule defined for entrepreneur's employees and they are not regulated by immigration rules by being the settled workers.
But after drafting the above argument; one question comes to my mind, why are they asking us to prove that we are working as self employed or director of company 3 months prior to the extension. Why are they asking that? Are they trying to say that after 6 months of entering the category and before 3 months of exiting the category; we can stay without being self-employed and director?

Why don't they say that We should be either self-employed or director all the time in this category? Anyway, I am just exercising my cognitive abilities and will appreciate someone who will willing to add their views about it.

Lastly, one question, how do we prove that we are working as director of the company within 6 months of entering the category. Is it by Current appointment report for the company or by some other method.

Thanks

Well I appreciate you exercising your cognitive abilities!

In answer to your question, current appointment report is the standard way to prove this. Even though they will check themselves, it is easy and relatively cheap to prove by getting this from the companies house website.

With regard to the rest of your post, I genuinely would like to hear from PSW entrepreneurs who have run into problems from not offering a NQF level 4 service as part of their business?

I think it makes sense that the visa gives the flexibility to genuine entrepreneurs to see an opportunity and make money out of it, regardless of whether it is the same role as before, or whether it's at the same NQF level. That's sensible IMO. If they wanted to make rigid requirements pinning people down to the jobs they applied under, then they could have done so. But then the scheme wouldn't make much sense, as that is not in the spirit of entrepreneurship.

But you make a good point when you ask why then do they have this initial requirement in the first place when it comes to the PSW switch, if they don't care what you do once you have the visa. But at the same time, you do have the visa. This means that you met those requirements to their satisfaction. What you do next is a different matter.

So I would like to hear from people who had trouble, either re-entering the UK or just out of the blue from altering their services/NQF level. My interpretation of the rules is quite literal. To me it implies that there was a reason that the extension requirements for the visa specifically do not include anything about this. It very deliberately leaves open the possibility of there being more than one business (which I think may be the logic behind the 6 month/3 month requirement), and the guidance even says that this flexibility is deliberate.

I suspect that the majority of this type of mid-visa trouble would come if they discovered that a Tier 1 entrepreneur had not registered within 6 months, since this is a mandatory requirement for extension, like spending the funds, but I would like to hear about any such trouble from anyone on here. My instincts say it is not that common.

Personally, I would send an anonymous email to the work policy team asking them, if you are unsure about whether you can do what you are planning. You'll normally get a pretty clear answer within a few days. I suspect that they would just restate the rules for extension, which actually say nothing about changing services or NQF levels. But it's worth checking for yourself, instead of listening to me!

Good luck though