HSMP and working holiday VISA (advice needed urgently!!)

[adam83]

Hello,

I'm on a working holiday VISA and wanting to apply for an HSMP at the end of August. Does anybody know how the 12 month working rule applies? Is it measured in working weeks (52), days (i.e. 365) days, is untaken holiday pay considered "work"???

I've heard different things said, nobody seems to know for sure, but this is vital to whether I can pursue an HSMP or not. I've worked both as a temp and permanent. To break it down;

Permanent - 34 weeks
Temp - 66 days

In my wishful thinking, that translates to (34 weeks x 7) + 66 = 304 days in total. Therefore, according to this rule I have 61 days to work in the UK.

I am permanently employed, but have been offered a 3 month temping contract starting Monday which would bolster my earnings enough to qualify me for the £23,000 threshold.

If I was to accept this offer and work the 3 months would it jeapordise my HSMP application?

Any help appreciated!

Thanks
Adam

[gordon]

My understanding (from speaking with solicitors and caseworkers, reading the notes) was that all paid work in the twelve-month period would count, be it permanent, temporary, contract, self-employed, full-time, part-time, etc., so long as you have the documentation. So you choose a continuous period of twelve months (say, 1 Aug 06 - 31 July 07), or a tax year, and count any and all received earnings in that period. Received earnings include regular earnings, bonuses, and vacation payouts.

Accepting an offer that allows you to claim income points for HSMP seems to be very attractive for your purposes; the fact that it would be temporary for 3 months would not itself jeopardise your application; may I ask why you seem to hesitate, since, based on your earlier post, you otherwise might not even be eligible to submit an HSMP application?

G

[adam83]

My understanding (from speaking with solicitors and caseworkers, reading the notes) was that all paid work in the twelve-month period would count, be it permanent, temporary, contract, self-employed, full-time, part-time, etc., so long as you have the documentation. So you choose a continuous period of twelve months (say, 1 Aug 06 - 31 July 07), or a tax year, and count any and all received earnings in that period. Received earnings include regular earnings, bonuses, and vacation payouts.

Accepting an offer that allows you to claim income points for HSMP seems to be very attractive for your purposes; the fact that it would be temporary for 3 months would not itself jeopardise your application; may I ask why you seem to hesitate, since, based on your earlier post, you otherwise might not even be eligible to submit an HSMP application?

G

Hi Gordon,

The situation is I don't want to work in excess of the 12 months that I'm entitled to work in the UK. I've been working since June last year, with a week not working here and there, and I'm not sure if I accept this contact offer whether 3 months would be deemed in excess of a 12 month working holiday period, hence I would be breaking the law and possibly subject to deportation (in theory). Obviously I don't want to take any chances as I might like to return to the UK in a couple of years, and don't want to do anything to jeapordise any future HSMP application.

I'm working permanently, my employer requires a month notice and if I was to accept this job offer I would have to quit Monday, and cause another series of complications.

It's a bugger!

[gordon]

Oh, I see. I'm not an expert on this, but my understanding would be that, in the first instance, you would have to restrict your working to the equivalent of 12 months (according to your WHM visa conditions), and then find a twelve-month period in which your earnings would meet the threshold. It sounds like taking the new assignment might be cutting it close on the WHM visa front, but might work. Are you certain that you're calculating work-time correctly?

Can you translate your working days completely to weeks or days? I would have read your numbers as follows:
You can work 52 weeks, 5 days each = 260 days

Temp work: 66 days
Permanent work: 34 weeks, 5 days each = 170
Remaining working days: 260-66-170 = 24 days

Or alternately:
Temp work: 13.2 weeks
Permanent work: 34 weeks
Remaining work: 52-13.2-34 = 4.8 weeks

I'm not sure how the WHM work time is calculated, but maybe you could check. (As I say, I'm not an expert, but I'd have calculated it differently - or maybe my maths are wonky).

It's a gamble, however, isn't it? You'd have to make sure that you qualify for HSMP, since quitting on such short notice would scupper any future employment or work-permit chances in your current employ. But I agree that over-working could be messy going forward.

G

[kck9]

Can a working holiday visa holder run a business, i mean limited company?