Which is better ? -Apply for Tier1 from UK or home country

[rajesh_kksh]

Hi,

Please can anyone advise on the following questions I have ?

I am in London at present with Work permit valid till end December. I plan to apply for Tier1 and upon its receipt, shall continue to work till October end after which I need to head back home to India for 3 months. I will be back in UK in January for fresh job search. I have the following questions :-

1) Is it better to apply for Tier1 while still in UK or from India ? Are there any advantages/disadvantages in either case?
2) Are there any restrictions on the maximum period of time I can stay away from UK after getting Tier1 approval ? I plan to stay in India for upto 3 months after I receive it. Would this be fine ?
3) Is there any difference in the documents I need to submit for Tier1 while applying from within UK and from India ? I am getting allowances here at the moment so am thinking of submitting the India salary slips and tax return docs(as mentioned in guidance notes). Would they suffice or do I need to provide the UK tax returns (P60 etc which the company sponsoring my work permit is filing on my behalf?).

Responses would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Raj

[geriatrix]

1. Eligibility criteria remain the same, irrespective of where you apply from.
2. Currently, it seems that applications from within UK are taking more time to be approved (UKBA advertised processing time stands at 10 weeks as on date). Applications in India seem to be getting approved faster (read a post saying advertised time there is 15 working days, but I believe it is about 4-6 weeks in real terms).
3. As long as you meet the requirements for Tier 1 extension when it is due, there is no limit on absences from UK. However, there are limits for ILR purposes wherein one cannot be outside UK for more than 90 days at a time and not more than 180 days in 5 years (business trips not counted as absences when supported by letter from employer).
4. Documentary evidence for income depends on where you have worked during the 12 months you are claiming points for, so again independent of where you actually apply from.

If planning to apply from within UK, read the Tier 1 policy guidance available on the UKBA website. If planning to apply from India, read the Tier 1 guidance available on VFS website (I am told that there are subtle differences between the two. e.g.- maintenance funds requirements).

regards

[hussainkothari]

The points that you need to demonstrate are the same.

However,

1. The maintance funds requirement in India is more than UK (GBP 800) and this has to be over 3 months period.

2. In UK in a fee of GBP 750 you can apply for yourself and dependants (any number). From India you need to pay a different fee for every dependant.

I personally believe that the verification process would be less if you are applying from the UK. They would suspect less of all documents generated in the UK (payslip / bankstmts) than India.

-H

[rajesh_kksh]

Thanks guys. I have the following queries. Please advise.

1) As far as ILR is concerned, please can the below link be checked ? It seems the 90 day rule applies in the last year and also one could remain outside UK for upto 450 days during the 5 year period. Are there any different rules to get ILR whilst on tier1 or is the below policy generic? Not sure if I am missing anything but if anyone knows about any specific rules on this, please let me know as I have to be in India for just upto 90 days.So I wanted to be sure.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... uirements/

2) As far as the documentary evidence is concerned, I will be submitting Indian salary slips only while submitting documents in UK. My Indian salary and converted UK allowances(in INR) are reflected in the Indian salary slip. I do not receive any salary slips in the UK and so will be providing the Indian proofs which will help me in gaining points as well.I have checked with some people that this should be fine as I do not get salary as such in UK. But some confirmation from you chaps would do no harm.

Please advise.

Cheers,
Raj

[CoolestGuyC]

As far as the documentary evidence is concerned, I will be submitting Indian salary slips only while submitting documents in UK. My Indian salary and converted UK allowances(in INR) are reflected in the Indian salary slip. I do not receive any salary slips in the UK and so will be providing the Indian proofs which will help me in gaining points as well.I have checked with some people that this should be fine as I do not get salary as such in UK. But some confirmation from you chaps would do no harm.

All the salary which you earned while you were in UK (even if it was in credited in your Indian Bank A/c. in INR) cannot be "uplifted" to GBP. For example if you worked in UK for six months, and INR 4.0 lacs was credited to your Indian account(in whatever form, Indian salary or UK allowance), this would be considered as earning of GBP 5000.00 only and NOT GBP 5000.00 X 5.3 (uplift ratio) = 26500 GBP.

Please be careful when you calculate your earnings, it would be best if you consult the BIA points calculator (giving correct uplift ratios and locations of work).

You can take a hint from following thread:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=27816
I am not saying that yours is similar case, but this case would help in understanding the earning rules.

[geriatrix]

As far as ILR is concerned, please can the below link be checked ? It seems the 90 day rule applies in the last year and also one could remain outside UK for upto 450 days during the 5 year period. Are there any different rules to get ILR whilst on tier1 or is the below policy generic? Not sure if I am missing anything but if anyone knows about any specific rules on this, please let me know as I have to be in India for just upto 90 days.So I wanted to be sure.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... uirements/

ILR and naturalization are two different things. It's ILR first and then Naturalization (after a year of ILR, I believe). The 450 days limit is for naturalization, 180 days for ILR. The 90 days rule applies for both: 90 days in last year for Naturalization, but 90 days limit for any trip for ILR. See this. Though outdated, another useful link here

regards

[rajesh_kksh]

Thanks for the links..The 90 day rule is now clear.

For the previous earnings, I think my case is slighlty similar to the link above. I have been in the UK since 16 months now so I guess I have to show the allowances and Indian salary in UK terms(without uplift). The new tier1 guidance does not have the same wordings but overall I think it means the same as mentioned in the quote above.

103. The country in which the applicant has been working, rather than their nationality, determines the income bands against which the earnings will be assessed.

The query I am left with is this.
The earnings column in my Indian salary slip includes - Basic sal, HRA, Conveyance & flat allowance, foreign allowance in INR and tax on allowance (since my company pays the tax and it is included separately in order to show the true total or gross amount). The sum of all these components matches the Gross amount in form16.

I plan to submit the salary slips for last 12 months and the Indian bank statements. Would just these two be fine when I submit for Tier1 from UK? Would Form16 be accepted as proof ?

w.r.t coolestguys comments, I think it is not the salary credited to the account but rather the gross salary(before tax) which will be assessed as mentioned in the guidance.I wonder why they ask for the bank statement (which shows only the actual net) then!! For the UK allowance received in India, the UK company files the return separately. Do I need to provide any document around that or would the Indian tax return or form 16 which incudes the amounts anyway suffice ?

Please advise.

Cheers,
Raj

[geriatrix]

Salary slips and Indian bank statements would be fine.

Please note that Form16 is not a tax document, SARAL / ITR is. But, unless you are claiming income for April-March (Indian tax period), tax documents are of *no use* as evidence of previous earnings.

Please note that whilst tax documents are included in the list of acceptable documentation, they will rarely be of use. This is because tax documents are usually produced at the end of a fixed tax period and will therefore not show the entire period for which the applicant is claiming previous earnings unless they exactly mirror the period claimed. Applicants should therefore be cautious about using such documentation unless they are satisfied that that it details the exact amount of earnings for which they are claiming points.

What CoolestguyC has explained above or what I had mentioned in my first response (regarding uplift factor) is exactly what para 103 (that you have quoted) essentially means. In other words:

I guess I have to show the allowances and Indian salary in UK terms(without uplift).

regards