Home Office letter required for UK experience?

[speedking]

I want to claim 5 points for UK experience with the Masters degree I earned in the UK between Sep/2002 and Sep/2003.

Required documents are 1) original Home Office letter of student permission and 2) original letter from institution. The problem is, I don't have either...

As a Brazilian, I was not required to have a visa to enter the UK, because the course did not last for more than one year. So, I never received a letter from the Home Office giving me permission to study in the UK. When I arrived, I had my passport stamped at the airport with a "Leave to enter for/until 31 October 2003 - No recourse to public funds - Work (and any changes) must beauthorised".

1) Would it be sufficient to send a notarised copy of my passport (personal details page and the stamped page)?

2) Regarding the institution letter, I don't have the original acceptance letter, but I have asked the university to send me a letter stating that I have been a full-time student in that period and that I have earned a MSc degree. Is that enough?

[gorajim]

Hi,

In order to claim 5 points in this category, you need to successfully claim points in the Previous Earnings category. No other evidence is required or is accepted.

Your Previous Earnings should be for any consecutive 12 months from the 15 months immediately prior to your application.

Since your Previous Earnings relate to 2002-2003, I am not sure this will be considered successfully for any points. Therefore, it will not be possible to get 5 points under Previous UK Experience either.

Please note the following clause in the Caseworker guidelines:


What if an applicant has not been awarded points for Previous Earnings?

Where an applicant has not been awarded any points for Previous Earnings, we will not award any points for this category and there is no requirement to assess any evidence.

[gorajim]

PS: Apropos my earlier note, I think I missed mentioning that your Previous Earnings HAVE to be in the UK.

[speedking]

Hi gorajim,

In order to claim 5 points in this category, you need to successfully claim points in the Previous Earnings category. No other evidence is required or is accepted.

The HSMP form says that "you can claim five points if you have previous experience of living in the UK if EITHER (1) you have successfully scored points for previous earnings which were earned in the UK, OR (2) you have gained a degree level qualification or higher in the UK in the LAST 5 YEARS".

So, I think my Masters degree qualifies for 5 points since I obtained it in Sep 2003.

Your Previous Earnings should be for any consecutive 12 months from the 15 months immediately prior to your application. Since your Previous Earnings relate to 2002-2003, I am not sure this will be considered successfully for any points.

Unless you have been a full-time student, in which case you can claim points for earnings in the 12 months prior to your period of study. That's what I read in the HSMP form.

Am I missing something?

[gorajim]

Sorry for the blunder. My mistake. Please ignore the reply that I posted to your query.

Sincere Regrets.

[speedking]

Sorry for the blunder. My mistake. Please ignore the reply that I posted to your query.

Sincere Regrets.

No problem...

Anybody out there with experience in this matter?

[sule]

speedking,

Was your masters for at least 1 academic year, or the combination of terms which total at least 1 year in the UK?

If you meet this criteria you can submit a notatised copy of you personal details page and your stamp conferring leave to enter.

[speedking]

Was your masters for at least 1 academic year, or the combination of terms which total at least 1 year in the UK?

My masters was for 1 year, from Sep/02 to Sep/03.

If you meet this criteria you can submit a notatised copy of you personal details page and your stamp conferring leave to enter.

That's what I guessed from the information I read in the HSMP form and guide. But you know, the HSMP team seems to be quite strict with their rules, so I was wondering whether someone had the same problem and managed to be approved by showing alternative documentation...

[sule]

Thats fine you can send a notarised copy of your passport as an alternative for the HO letter. You will however also need to get a letter from the university where you completed your masters confirming you enrolled, duration etc