queries about applying from India...

[wanna_bee]

Hi All ,

I'm planning to apply for HSMP from Bangalore , India. I'm hoping people who have applied recently from India answer a few questions:-

1) Past earnings:
you know , most Indian IT employers donot give out monthly pay slips, its online or emailed.So, can we submit a "salary certificate" or one document listing all salary paid for last 12 months ,obtained from the employer ?

Will HO accept bank statements ?
Do we need to submit Form-16 or Saral ?
What if the numbers on Saral/Form-16 NOT match with my last 12 months pay total ?
Does HO consider EPF , Gratuity and super annualation pay outs ?

How have Indians handled this ? What documents to give ?

2) Accredited institution education/ NARIC: How to prove education was from a "Accredited institution" ? Do we need to do NARIC verification ?

3) English speaking: How to prove "do you speak English ?"

4) Other documents : Besides the points-claim documents , what other documents to give ?
for eg:
"continue career in UK"
"arrangement have you made to seek work in UK"
"expected salary"
others ....etc


Please help. Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Wanna Bee.

[MWazir]

you know , most Indian IT employers donot give out monthly pay slips, its online or emailed.So, can we submit a "salary certificate" or one document listing all salary paid for last 12 months ,obtained from the employer ?

Can you print them out and ask your HR to attest them?

Will HO accept bank statements ?

Yes, and you should send them. The strongest evidence for salary are tax documents, pay slips and bank statements. Make sure all of them are included. It gives you the best possible chance to get those points.

Do we need to submit Form-16 or Saral ?
What if the numbers on Saral/Form-16 NOT match with my last 12 months pay total ?

Why wouldnt they match? Normally they should match. Unless you had a pay hike after the financial year ending.

Does HO consider EPF , Gratuity and super annualation pay outs ?

Basic rule of the thumb - Is it a part of your gross salary or taxable income? I wouldnt include an employer's contribution to PF, it comes out side of your salary

2) Accredited institution education/ NARIC: How to prove education was from a "Accredited institution" ? Do we need to do NARIC verification ?

No you dont. The case worker will cross reference the NARIC database. Some applicants do get NARIC assessment done, but its not mandatory. In general degree holders from India for example have not had any problems.

3) English speaking: How to prove "do you speak English ?"

Have you written any english certification exams? You could mention in your covering letter that the meduim of instruction at your university is english and the same at your office.

4) Other documents : Besides the points-claim documents , what other documents to give ?
for eg:
"continue career in UK"
"arrangement have you made to seek work in UK"
"expected salary"
others ....etc

Search for some job adverts in UK job sites, print them out and attach them in your application, stating the kind of jobs that are available in the UK that match your skill set

[wanna_bee]

Thanks for your reply, Wazir ! I still have a few doubts :-

Can you print them out and ask your HR to attest them?

NO , my HR will not work with 12 payslips , but they can give me ONE document mentioning all payments made in 12 months. ("Salary Certificate") . Is this good enough for HO ?

Why wouldnt they match? Normally they should match. Unless you had a pay hike after the financial year ending.

Right ! I had a pay hike earlier this year . Now, the amount on my tax return is less than the amount required to get points for "Past Earnings"!However , my past 12 months earnings are above the HO limit.

Will this cause any problems ?


Also , Housing , employer's contribution to PF , Gratuity and super annualation amounts are mentioned clearly on my CTC or "package". Only they are not taxed and they DONOT appear on any Tax forms (Form-16 or Saral). But they are my earnings , right ? I should be able to add these too my gross ? How does HO look at it ? will they consider those ?

Have you written any english certification exams? You could mention in your covering letter that the meduim of instruction at your university is english and the same at your office.

Yes , my entire education was in English , but what documentary evidence can I give for it ? I havenot written any English certification exams like IELTS.

[MWazir]

NO , my HR will not work with 12 payslips , but they can give me ONE document mentioning all payments made in 12 months. ("Salary Certificate") . Is this good enough for HO ?

If you have no other choice in the matter, then thats what you will have to do and hope for the best. Its not ideal but in your circumstances the only option. Make sure you submit the bank statements and the tax documents along with it.

Right ! I had a pay hike earlier this year . Now, the amount on my tax return is less than the amount required to get points for "Past Earnings"!However , my past 12 months earnings are above the HO limit.

Will this cause any problems ?

It should not. I have a similiar difference when I had applied. I also included my salary increment letters etc just in case.

Also , Housing , employer's contribution to PF , Gratuity and super annualation amounts are mentioned clearly on my CTC or "package". Only they are not taxed and they DONOT appear on any Tax forms (Form-16 or Saral). But they are my earnings , right ? I should be able to add these too my gross ? How does HO look at it ? will they consider those ?

Cost to company is a grossly misused term. CTC's are not supposed to reflect an employee's package. Rather a CTC is a company's investment without return and is a much broader term. EPF for example is a contribution that the company has to make weather or not it likes to. By including it as part of your package, the HR is showing you an inflated amount just to make your package look more attractive. If it is not taxed, then you will find it difficult to claim points for them.

[rkc]

The caseworker guidelines for Past Earnings says the following:

The caseworker should either, add up the gross earnings from each payslip to
establish the total income, or use the ‘Gross earnings to date’ figure.

Basically, they are really interested in what you "earned" in the last 12 months. The CTC has other figures which you may or may earn directly. For e.g. medical insurance is part of my CTC, but obviously, I do not earn that in hard cash and it is never reflected in my pay-slip. So, I would suggest that, as stated above, you just add up the gross earning figure for each of your 12 months pay-slip and the total amount should be claimed as your earnings for past 12 months. Obviously that may differ from what is present on the SARAL/Form16 because of tax rebates etc, but that is the reason why HSMP demands more than one piece of evidence for Past earnings.

regards