I am applying for ILR next month with both self-employed (SE) and employed earnings (Tier 1 General).
I only recently surpassed the income threshold for paying Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on my self-employed income. I thus recently cancelled my small-earnings exemption, and HMRC issued me with a Class 2 NICs bill for the period covering 7/4/2013-5/10/2013. The bill is dated 7/1/2014, and it says that the next bill for the period covering 6/10/2013-6/4/2014 will be issued in April (after my PEO appointment).
My questions are as follows:
1) Is payment of this invoice sufficient? I am only claiming points for SE income earned from May 2013 onwards, so I don't believe not having paid Class 2 NICs prior to April 2013 should be a problem (my SE earnings for 2012-2013 were still below the Class 2 NICs income threshold).
2) I have not yet paid the HMRC bill because I am not sure how to evidence payment for UKBA purposes. What can I submit with my application as evidence? Annex A of the Immigration Directorate Instructions states the following (note my comments in red):
I have searched the board extensively on this topic and haven't found anything that addresses the Class 2 NICs evidence aspect. I know this seems like a small point (submitting a bill that shows Class 2 NICs are invoiced twice a year rather than quarterly), but I also know the UKBA can be super finicky if your situation doesn't line up exactly as they state.If the applicant is claiming earnings from self employment in the UK, he/she must provide evidence that he/she was paying Class 2 National Insurance contributions during the period/s of self-employment used to claim points. National Insurance contributions may be paid by quarterly bill or direct debit, or the applicant may have applied for a small earnings exception certificate. Applicants must provide one of the following documents, according to their individual circumstances.
If the applicant’s National Insurance is paid by quarterly bill: The applicant must provide the bill from the quarter immediately before the application. This must be an original document and not a copy. I don't pay quarterly - will the bill described above still be sufficient? Also how does submitting just a bill prove payment of NICs?
If the applicant’s National Insurance is paid by direct debit: The applicant must provide a copy of the most recent bank statement issued before the application, showing the direct debit payment of National Insurance to HM Revenue & Customs. Please see the requirements for bank statements above. I don't have a direct debit set up as I only just cancelled small-earnings exemption
If the applicant has low earnings: The applicant should provide an original small earnings exception certificate issued by HM Revenue & Customs for the most recent return date. no longer applicable as I've exceeded SE income threshold
I would appreciate any help on this!