Tier 1 general extension and self employed + employed

[tier1manintension]

I am currently on Tier 1 general visa expiring on June'2013. I am seeking honest advice from senior members about my current situation on what to do.

My initial application granted on June'2011 for 2 years and now i have a extension coming in June for another 3 years.

I am employed as well as self employed. still i am short of around £5,000K to get my points to reach 100. i need £40k+ to reach my criteria.

my employed income is not very good. employed income is £28k p/a, so i planned ahead and started self employment last year. needed to get more £12k to reach £40k.

did some good projects for the company based in India. earned around £7k from my self employment. still short of £5k. now i am tensed to the core. i don't know what to do. my present compnay is willing to sponsor me on tier 2 visa. I asked them to help me on my current situation, they said we can help you only if you switch to tier 2. i do not want to get bond with the same employer for another 3 years. please advice me what to do.

Also things to consider:

while in self employment, i was working for the company called 'Anosales' which is small company, have around 10 employees. I was doing work for their client which is individual living in UK. i raised invoices on the company names BUT the money transferred in my bank account was from their individual clients. reading through this forum i planted doubts in my mind as someone posted that its not normal and UKBA will not consider this as my income. is this true?


if this is the case then i would definatly go to tier 2 route. and if this is not true then i would have to search some contract within 2 months to cover up my £5k short.

senior members please advice.

[selva]

I am currently on Tier 1 general visa expiring on June'2013. I am seeking honest advice from senior members about my current situation on what to do.

My initial application granted on June'2011 for 2 years and now i have a extension coming in June for another 3 years.

I am employed as well as self employed. still i am short of around £5,000K to get my points to reach 100. i need £40k+ to reach my criteria.

my employed income is not very good. employed income is £28k p/a, so i planned ahead and started self employment last year. needed to get more £12k to reach £40k.

did some good projects for the company based in India. earned around £7k from my self employment. still short of £5k. now i am tensed to the core. i don't know what to do. my present compnay is willing to sponsor me on tier 2 visa. I asked them to help me on my current situation, they said we can help you only if you switch to tier 2. i do not want to get bond with the same employer for another 3 years. please advice me what to do.

Also things to consider:

while in self employment, i was working for the company called 'Anosales' which is small company, have around 10 employees. I was doing work for their client which is individual living in UK. i raised invoices on the company names BUT the money transferred in my bank account was from their individual clients. reading through this forum i planted doubts in my mind as someone posted that its not normal and UKBA will not consider this as my income. is this true?


if this is the case then i would definatly go to tier 2 route. and if this is not true then i would have to search some contract within 2 months to cover up my £5k short.

senior members please advice.

I am not sure about invoice issue but would like to note one point.
Will you be able to get settle(ILR) if you switch to tier 2 ?
If the answer is NO, then better to find some projects to cover 5K

[akan]

I am currently on Tier 1 general visa expiring on June'2013. I am seeking honest advice from senior members about my current situation on what to do.

My initial application granted on June'2011 for 2 years and now i have a extension coming in June for another 3 years.

I am employed as well as self employed. still i am short of around £5,000K to get my points to reach 100. i need £40k+ to reach my criteria.

my employed income is not very good. employed income is £28k p/a, so i planned ahead and started self employment last year. needed to get more £12k to reach £40k.

did some good projects for the company based in India. earned around £7k from my self employment. still short of £5k. now i am tensed to the core. i don't know what to do. my present compnay is willing to sponsor me on tier 2 visa. I asked them to help me on my current situation, they said we can help you only if you switch to tier 2. i do not want to get bond with the same employer for another 3 years. please advice me what to do.

Also things to consider:

while in self employment, i was working for the company called 'Anosales' which is small company, have around 10 employees. I was doing work for their client which is individual living in UK. i raised invoices on the company names BUT the money transferred in my bank account was from their individual clients. reading through this forum i planted doubts in my mind as someone posted that its not normal and UKBA will not consider this as my income. is this true?


if this is the case then i would definatly go to tier 2 route. and if this is not true then i would have to search some contract within 2 months to cover up my £5k short.

senior members please advice.

For a Business it doesn't matter who is paying for the services you have given. It could be individual or a company. UKBA may ask you the proof of work that has been carried out , like email exchanges (but this is confidential data between you and your client so they may not ask these). You can get a letter from the company you have done work stating that xyz project is been done by Mr ABC and their UK counterpart will pay for the services. Simple letter, no hassle, job done.

[muditmalhotra]

i might be completely off track

but why you need to show 100 points ?

i thought requirement was 75 + 10 + 10 which is 95.

can you correct me if I am wrong ?

[tier1manintension]

Thank you all for your thoughts...

As far as invoice is concerned, the company will provide me a letter stating that I have worked for their client based in UK and because of transfers of payment across the country considering the forex conversion charges, client paid me directly in my bank account through their personal account.

I know I required 100 points as on ukba site it clearly states the following.

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If you are not in one of the categories above, you cannot apply to Tier 1 (General).

How many points do you need?
Your total points score must be at least 95 points if you currently have permission to stay in the UK as:

a Tier 1 (General) migrant under the Immigration Rules in place before 19 July 2010;
a highly skilled migrant;
a writer, composer or artist; or
a self-employed lawyer.
If you are in any other eligible category, your total points score must be at least 100 points (unless you are covered by the HSMP Forum judicial review judgment - see below)


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Also regarding the ILR if I switch to Tier 2 general, my understanding is I am eligible for that. Still if someone can clarify me on this as ukba site states the following.

####? ######

This 5-year continuous period can include any time that you have spent in the following immigration categories before you applied under Tier 2:

member of the operational ground staff of an overseas-owned airline
minister of religion, missionary or member of a religious order
qualifying work permit holder
sole representative of an overseas business
representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation
any Tier 1 category, except Tier 1 (Post study work)
highly skilled migrant
innovator

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Ukba site provides all the information but I must agree that the wording they use in manner in which anyone can get confused. So still want a copy confirmation from senior members whether I will be eligible if I switch to Tier 2 NOW.

I am seriously considering the tier 2 option as I am not able to find any work at the moment which can cover £5k. Still I can work around on this as many do. But I do not want to do any doggy things considering I have tier 2 option from my company.

I have been long thinking the advantages and disadvantages of switching visa.

Tier 1 advvantages/
1) I can switch company anytime and do some good contract work.
2) 100% I will get my ILR after spending another 3 year.

Disadvantages/
1) I will have to find some work to cover £5k or do some doggy work.
2) as applications fees are going higher from 6 April, I found out I will have to spend £3500+ on application fees for me, my wife and my daughter.
3) if I do some work or doggy work, I will have to pay tax on those, so that will come around £1500+ or more.
4) after doing all these things I am not sure whether they will grant me visa or not as they can ask for more n more documents to verify my self employed income and if I am unable to submit one of those then they will reject me.

TIER 2 advantages/
1) I don't have to do anything as my company will sort out my visa things.
2) I don't have to spend any money
3) as far as ukba website contents says, I am able to get ILR after 3 years.

Disadvantages/
1) I will not be able to switch jobs as I am tied up with company.
2) see people earning more in contracts and I earn less in my permanent job. I will have to sit quietly for 3 year and try not to cry about my pay.. Hummmmm. Seems difficult task to me.
3) feel free to add if you think one.

Well, I can always find some umbrella companies which can sponsor me and I will be able to freely do contract jobs in future. The not that easy to find one though. But as saying goes / nothing is easy /

ALSO, one of my friend on tier 1 was doing contact for Microsoft in reading for more then 8 months is now at home from last 3 months searching for another one. So basically I do not want to caught up in a situation where I earn more for 3 months and sit home for 2 months for searching another one.

Please guys let me know your thoughts