Extension earnings-what's acceptable / overcoming shortfall

[Spear]

I have 5 more months before extension - however I'm a couple thousand quid short to make the earnings to get 75 points.
I'm in an highly skilled environmental job (required MSc, years of experience, membership exams)- but science jobs in the UK don't pay as much as the Home Office apparently believes.
My question - based on the rules of part time earnings being accepted, I'm asking members what do you think would be accepted by the home office ?
What do you think of these ideas and acceptability by the home office ?
Examples:
1. Self employment without a business. For example I give a course for 20 - 50 GBP per head. Friends / associates attend and pay. That could give up to 1000GBP per month. What evidence is acceptable??.

1B. Other self employment without a business. If I fix my colleagues computer and charge them a pretty penny. My colleague signs a receipt for services. Is this acceptable. I'm thinking why not?. The rules accept several part time jobs.

2. A part time sales job where I get paid by commission. Would this be acceptable. Especially in many sales job depending on the product you can get your friends to buy it - or you buy it yourself -thereby driving up your earnings.

3. With self employment you can pay yourself as much as you want. You could register business, and regardless of sales / contracts pay yourself Handsomely. Many businesses open with a loan and for years without making a $1.00 in profits have to pay workers every month. What stops a Highly skilled Migrant from doing this.

Just random thoughts and a realisation that the Home Office may not have thought the changes through as extensively as they should have.

[James.Dunlop]

Hi

If you are self employed, the thing is to look to the profits of your business as they constitute your earnings for tax purposes and are what the Home Office will accept.

Starting a company and paying yourself a salary that the company can not afford not only sounds artificial to the point of fraud for HSMP, but also involves a large tax bill. As someone with a full time job, any salary would probably cost you / the company:

Employer's NI: 12.8%
Income tax: 40% (or 22% if you are a lower rate tax payer)
Employee's NI: 1% (or 11% if you are below the upper threshold)

[gulgon]

Hi mate,

I would not advise you to apply to ways that Home Office might esteem as dodgy and investigate.

Work very hard for part-time and you will cover the gap.

I started a part time telemarketing job which pays 7.25 in london, just to make sure I am far above the required income which will contribute me getting 75p.