Case approved after initial rejection

[highranger]

Hi There

I sent my HSMP application on the 23rd Dec 04 and received a rejection letter on 13th Jan 05. I have asked the HSMP team to review my application once again and still ... I am quite confident about the approval.

Case Background:

Age: Under 28 years - 05 points (Approved)

Education: Masters degree - 25 points (Approved)

Work Experience: 30 months - 25 points (Not approved)

- Job offer letter
- Probation completion letter
- Reference letters
- Work experience letters

PS: No tax returns since salary was below taxable limit

Significant Achievement: 15 points (Not approved)

- Nearly 15 Press articles & Releases (Both UK & International)
- Copy of British Patent application
- UK National award for Innovation in Electronics field
- 3 more Awards in Ireland and Asia
- Industry and Academic References
- Funding support letters from Business angels and other investors
- Business Plan

Basically, I need the HSMP to start-up a company in the UK and have been working in the business incubation unit of a UK University since 15 months trying to commercialise the technology.

My queries are:

1. Will the same case worker handle my application again / is it passed onto a higher authority?
2. All the achievements were part of the team - will it bear any effect on the approval of points for the significant achievement?
3. Suppose, I need to submit one or two additional documents - will they consider that during the review or should I resubmit my application with fresh fees?
4. What more documents do you think I should have submitted?

Any advice/comments will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Sher]

HSMP is a scheme to get (prospective) economy and exchequer contributing 'workers'.

U will have to strongly look @
- as to whether yr work experience qualifies as graduate level one ? (Remember, u r not claiming points for earnings ..... so in the view of the case-worker, it might not clearly be adding up ..... esp. if the company u have worked is unlisted/unknown/marginal)
- in achievement, do u stand tall individually .... and in present incubation, r u indispensable ?

I wonder if this scheme is a better fit for you ..... take a dekko
http://www.workpermit.com/uk/science_en ... quirements

[highranger]

Sher, Many thanks for your advice.

U will have to strongly look @
- as to whether yr work experience qualifies as graduate level one ?

Yes, I Graduated as a BEng and then only worked as a Software Programmer in a medium sized company.

- in achievement, do u stand tall individually .... and in present incubation, r u indispensable ?

Yes, I am the leader of the team and will be sitting at the Director level in the company being formed. [Will be the Managing Director till we get sufficient funding and are in a position to hire a more experienced person for that role]

I wonder if this scheme is a better fit for you ..... take a dekko
http://www.workpermit.com/uk/science_en ... quirements

Presently, I am under the SEGS (Science, Engineering and Graduate Scheme) Visa which has been granted only for 1 year.

[Sher]

Does this look like a better fit ? What say ....
http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/workin ... vator.html?

[highranger]

Does this look like a better fit ? What say ....
http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/workin ... vator.html?

I easily qualify for Innovator's visa and it comes with a lot of strings attached to it. For example, number of employees to be hired within the first 18 months, the company salary should be the only source of income, et al. It really doesn' t offer the flexibility as HSMP offers.

[bani]

I suggest you contact your caseworker directly to ask what information is lacking.

Maybe you should have submitted payslips or tax returns to further support the work experience. The achievement does have to be a personal achievement, not as part of a team. But since you are the leader, you can have them count it. I applied for points under this section as well and submitted copies of 5 research publications, my caseworker then asked for a letter from an independent source detailing what my individual contribution was to each paper (because I had coauthors). Then she approved it. Maybe a similar letter is all that is required by your caseworker.

[fulcrum05]

Would really appreciate any feedback from the Moderators on the above case....

Thanks in advance.

[Joseph]

It is hard to demonstrate that your work experience was graduate level when your salary was not high enough to earn points. I'm not sure if an appeal will help, as it appears that you already provided extensive documentation.

Significant achievement is a tough call, but they generally want a little more than what you provided. In any case, if you don't have the work experience points, the significant achievement doesn't help you.

I tend to think that although the categories appear to be independent of each other, they are not really. HSMP caseworkers seem to expect to see claims in one area (achievement and work experience) reinforced by evidence (salary, company formation or bank balances) in other areas. When all of the elements click, their decision can be extremely fast. When they don't they may tend to discount the more subjective areas like achievement and work experience.

Sorry I can't be more encouraging in your case. With a little more experience and earnings history, this will not be a problem...

Joseph

[highranger]

Dear Friends,

After much agony and mental pressure - I am quiet relieved today after I got to know about the approval from the Home Office.

I sent a request letter for free review on the 8th of February and had attached 2 new documents. Luckily, it seems like they have considered those documents and approved my case on the 16th of March.

Cheers!!!

[mbg]

Hi highranger,
Congratulations abt your approlval.
Did you send only the new (additional) documents with your review letter or you resent all the original documents also?
And did you sent the review to Sheffield or Doncaster?
I will be grateful if you let me know.

[highranger]

Hi mbg,

I sent a request letter for review to the Sheffield address.

Along with 2 new documents (original) - I sent in photocopies of only few documents highlighting the points which proved that - I worked at Graduate level.

Regards