HSMP Extention and Self Employement

[aj77_hsmp]

I have been working as an employee from last 3 years but according to new rules, I won’t be able to achieve 75 points due to age restrictions and expectations of higher salary i.e. 35000 or above.

The only option left is to become self Employed as still I have 10 months to apply for Extension for the 5th year.

I am planning to buy a running business with the help of my friends on Partnership basis i.e. franchise of McDonald, KFC or Dominos Pizzas etc.

I could be a sole proprietor or a partner in those business opportunities.

My idea is to submit following documents of that business to fulfill requirements of Section 8.

1. Registeration Document with HMRC confirming that I am registered for Tax purpose.

2. Sale/purchase invoices of last 4 months.

3. Unaudited Business Accounts

4. Utility Bill showing the name of Business

5. VAT Registration

6. IELTS Result

For Section 7 I have the plan to submit following documents

1. P60
2. Bank Statement
3. Wage slips

Showing that I can't achieve 75 points as a salaried person
And now I am Self Employed and working as salaried person too.

!. My question is, will these documents be enough to get Extension as profits might not be very high in those 4 months?

2. And it won’t be a limited company but a sole proprietor or a partner. Will partnership or working as sole proprietor could affect my extension.

4. Will I be eligible to apply under Transitional Arrangements as I worked as salaried employee for most of the time of my stay in UK and fulfilled the section7 as a salaried employee?

5. While applying under transitional Arrangements of Self-Employment. Can I continue my job as salaried employee or only working full time as Self Employed person?

I would be thankful if some senior member or moderator could reply these answers

[LondonBlonde]

aj77 - If you follow this plan, I believe you may be rejected on the basis that your original field was probably not running a food franchise. If you originally entered the country as an IT professional for instance, and started a contracting business for IT services, I think this would work. However the same person might be rejected for FLR as the owner of a mcdonalds.

You might consider contracting for several companies at once within your skilled profession. I think you will have a much better chance when applying for FLR as self employed.

Good luck to you - LondonBlonde

[ajani]

aj77-hsmp
Please note the difference between the transitional arrangement for self employed and those stated under the immigration rules which are more stringent.

It is very unlikely that the transitional arrangement will be in place for another 10months which is when you hope to apply for extension.

If you intend to apply as Self employed then focus on meeting the requirements in the immigration rule and not the transitional arrangement.

As stated by LondonBlonde above, ensure that your business is within your arrear of Profession as stated in your initial application.

[ajani]

Can somebody please advise me on this. Is it necessary to submit payslips for income earned prior to self employment in Section 7 in order to satisfy the requirement for transitional arrangements?

[Spear]

I always wonder about the fields of employment persons undertake verses their defined skills and what is acceptable. Look at the following senarios:
If an MBA grad opens a corner store - that does not sound very highly skilled - however if he opens a corner store outlet chain then thats a different story (eg. Starbucks).
If a chemistry graduate sells T-Shirts made with a unique ink product he developed??. But all he is doing is selling T- Shirts. Not very highly skilled.
If an IT professional sells his own IT products on the net or ebay?? Is that his field. He's just trading like many unskilled net traders.
If an IT professional open an store that sells IT products ??.
It is really a grey area.
All in all MBA / business grads have the most flexibility. However whan it comes to a medium sized business a lot of fields are involved, eg. accounting, law, management, science, IT, psychology. In your covering letter you can point out you managed the areas of the business that are related to your skills.
But does the HO want us to really limit ourselves. They would want us to open companies. Are we really limited to the business model of contracting in our field of study? For most businesses it boils down to selling a range of product - some of which may not be related to your field of study.

By the way AJ77 a franchise like McDonalds. KFC needs over a million dollars start up funds - not to mention meeting rigid food industry standards

[aj77_hsmp]

Well I would like to know that where it's written that you can only do business related to your specialised field.I would be thankful if you could provide me the link.And if they want business only through corporate firm then self employment is not right word for it.Self employed has broader meanings.In the guidance notes they asked for self employment not necessarily through corporate firm or in your specialised field.I did Master of Public Administration,Certified Accounting Technician course and have experience related to finance in textile sector but I couldn't get the job in my specialised field either,though I did CAT course here in UK.

Buying a franchise doesn't need million but 100000 pounds and we are 4 partners

[LondonBlonde]

Well I would like to know that where it's written that you can only do business related to your specialised field

If you're asking if this all makes sense, or if the new rules are fair, the answer is no. You should have been up for ILR this year, right?

Under the old rules for FLR, you could not be employed outside your field of expertise. HO even stated that you could not retrain for another profession while under HSMP. Many people having trouble finding work stayed unemployed rather than risk failing FLR by working outside their field.

I've not see this specifically mentioned in the new rules, however I would not bet on them letting you off easy in this regard. You have only one more FLR, yes? I would wait until after this is approved before taking on the franchise. Otherwise, you could lose everything on a failed attempt at FLR.

[aj77_hsmp]

London Blonde wrote:

Under the old rules for FLR, you could not be employed outside your field of expertise. HO even stated that you could not retrain for another profession while under HSMP. Many people having trouble finding work stayed unemployed rather than risk failing FLR by working outside their field

Under the old rules you just need to prove that you are economically active to qualify for extention not necessarily to do the job in your own specialised field, according to my knowledge

[ajani]

LondonBlonde,

Is it necessary to submit payslips for income earned prior to self employment in Section 7 in order to satisfy the requirement for transitional arrangements?

[LondonBlonde]

LondonBlonde,

Is it necessary to submit payslips for income earned prior to self employment in Section 7 in order to satisfy the requirement for transitional arrangements?

Ajani - I would send the payslips with your application even though as you correctly say you might not need to. Your objective is to remove any possible reason HO can use to reject your application.

[ajani]

LondonBlonde,
Thanks for your advise. Makes sense to me.