I have contacted a Consultant

Hi Forum,

I contacted a consultant today and he said that after u get the hsmp done, and once u land in uk & get the job..the clients want to know which umbrella company I work for so that once they decide on the perday charges..the consulting company needs to provide some docs from their side like VAT etc., So after that X% is deducted(as consultant share) and i would be payed per month. Is this a good idea to go for?

or else if i go on my own how can i approach the companies?

this is for a contract assignment(IT job)

the only things that he provides me is the initial accomodation.

thanks
vikt

could anyone pls reply,
I am new to this UK process. and how things work back there.
So it would be gr8 if someone with such exp. share their views.

thanks
vikt

Hey Vikt:

We have a couple of guys in our office that do contracting. You do need to set up an umbrella company. Usually you do this with a service or some such thing. They will bill the company you're contracting for, and they'll tack on their charge and VAT, etc.

I don't this process is very expensive. It's good because they also handle a lot of the tax issues for you, etc.

Most people in the UK are paid monthly. This is true of consulting as well, so that's fairly normal.

So basically, I guess I'm confirming what you already knew.

Yes, I think they take care of the Incometax.

As per the discussion we had, they give part of the amount as salary and the remaining as expeneses so that we can reduce the burden on giving more taxes.

one more thing,
1. Should I apply now for HSMP or wait for April 1st and apply for PBS?(which is another month to go)
2. I am not sure if they have enough staff to handle it in BHC here in India. So there is a big Qn on timelines too.
3. IS IELTS MANDATORY IN PBS? till now the literatue I have read doesnt say so..anyone beg to differ?

Hey Vikt:

I can't really answer your first question. I think it just depends on whether you have the info to meet the PBS. It might be better since it's a one-step process, as opposed to the 2 step process it is today. I'd probably wait just for that reason alone.

In terms of your question about English.. The guidance for Tier 1 indicates this -

There are three ways in which an applicant can meet and
evidence the English Language requirement, they can:
• be a national of a majority English speaking country;
• pass an English language test detailed in this guidance; or,
• hold a degree that was taught in English and is equivalent
to a UK Bachelors degree or above.

This is pretty much the same criteria in place as before, with the exception of the English speaking country rule. The countries that fall under this are -
Antigua and Barbuda; Australia; The Bahamas; Barbados;
Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Ireland; Jamaica;
New Zealand; St Kitts and Nevis; St Lucia; St Vincent
and the Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago; the United
Kingdom; the United States of America.

So you see that India's not on it. That means you need to meet one of the other 2 requirements.. If it's IELTS it has to be 6.5.. In the Tier 1 guidance for in-country, though.. There are many examples of ways to meet the English requirements that are not only IELTS. This is a change, there are now guidelines for TOEFL and TOEIC as well as other options. You can check it out here -
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... inguidance

Refer to appenix A on or around page 24.


I have to assume that these will be the same regardless of in or out of country under Tier 1.

Hope it helps.

Yes UKBound,
thank you for the info. You seem to be everywhere on the forum

I have calculated in the new calculator and I meet all three
sections (75points, 10 points, 10 Points)

I have just decided to go for the process, so by the time I get all the docs ready it would take as much as a month. And in that case i rather go through PBS.

keep scrapping

I see that the new fee structure is 750GBP

Its going to be more cash flow to HO

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/workin ... stem/cost/

Yes.. It's 750.. Which means more money from failed apps and renewals.. It's all about the revenue. They've said in their documentation that they know that immigrants contribute more to the economy than they take, but they still can charge more from them.

For people applying for the first time, though, it's really the same. Under the old plan it was 400 for HSMP and 350 for EC.. Now it's a one-step process and it costs 750. So if you succeed in your app, it's the same price as before.

You're right Vikt, I do seem to be all over the board today.. as do you.. Hmm.. I need to get some activities.