Selling stuff on ebay

Hi,

I have a quick question. Is there any restrictions for a person on immigration control Tier 2 visa (employed sponsored visa) to sell "used" stuff on ebay ?

Probably only if they are stolen.

As I understand it the work has to be in accordance with the type of work the visa was issued for.

Plus if u do it, tell the taxman and pay the tax, or he will have your balls.

Wanderer wrote:As I understand it the work has to be in accordance with the type of work the visa was issued for.

Plus if u do it, tell the taxman and pay the tax, or he will have your balls.

Thanks for your reply.

I only sold two used items (VAT is already paid on it). Both items are less than £200. Do you think I breached my work permit terms and conditions ? I am worried then.

noor1034 wrote:

Wanderer wrote:As I understand it the work has to be in accordance with the type of work the visa was issued for.

Plus if u do it, tell the taxman and pay the tax, or he will have your balls.

Thanks for your reply.

I only sold two used items (VAT is already paid on it). Both items are less than £200. Do you think I breached my work permit terms and conditions ? I am worried then.

Nah, u'll be fine!

Oh thanks...

I also discussed with a solicitor and she said for a work permit holder work has to be in accordance with the type of work the visa was issued.

However, as you sold out personal used stuff where VAT is already paid (and you are not making any profit), this should be fine and it can not be regarded as "INCOME".

However, she cleared you should NOT do this as a regular routine.

My God, there are so many restrictions with work permit / tier 2. I hope I will get ILR (if rules are not changes) next year.

noor1034 wrote:

Wanderer wrote:As I understand it the work has to be in accordance with the type of work the visa was issued for.

Plus if u do it, tell the taxman and pay the tax, or he will have your balls.

Thanks for your reply.

I only sold two used items (VAT is already paid on it). Both items are less than £200. Do you think I breached my work permit terms and conditions ? I am worried then.

I dont understand why are you people scared of such petty things. How the hell is incompetent Home Office going to trace this at first place!

I dont understand why are you people scared of such petty things. How the hell is incompetent Home Office going to trace this at first place!

The question here is not whether they will get caught, but whether it is permitted. And I am not sure whether selling things on the internet, as a business, is permitted.

That is, the person on a Tier 2 visa is not permitted to be self-employed, so if they are self-employed then clearly that is a problem, whatever the nature of the business.

But are they conducting a business? Merely selling things on eBay, or similar, does not amount to conducting a business. That is, if someone has a possession and find that they no longer want that possession, selling it does not amount to conducting a business. However if they are deliberately buying in items, and then selling them hopefully at a profit, well that would amount to the conduct of a business.

John wrote:

I dont understand why are you people scared of such petty things. How the hell is incompetent Home Office going to trace this at first place!

The question here is not whether they will get caught, but whether it is permitted. And I am not sure whether selling things on the internet, as a business, is permitted.

That is, the person on a Tier 2 visa is not permitted to be self-employed, so if they are self-employed then clearly that is a problem, whatever the nature of the business.

But are they conducting a business? Merely selling things on eBay, or similar, does not amount to conducting a business. That is, if someone has a possession and find that they no longer want that possession, selling it does not amount to conducting a business. However if they are deliberately buying in items, and then selling them hopefully at a profit, well that would amount to the conduct of a business.

John I appreciate you giving it a very technical dimension to it. But if if someone does that intentionally he/she will never admit that and also no way to prove it to be honest.

I found the OP's question very theoretical

gainvidya wrote: I dont understand why are you people scared of such petty things. How the hell is incompetent Home Office going to trace this at first place!

@ gainvidya: in case you haven't noticed all visa application forms have a question that asks what your NI number is....this is so that if the home office wants to they can check your record on HMRC to see if you've been evading taxes or collecting benefits etc.

It was a very valid question and rude responses like yours are uncalled for.


@noor1034: selling just 2 items like you said is okay if they are like second hand, as someone said earlier as long as it's a one off then its fine. but if done frequently then that would require registering as self employed but that is not in your case.

some hmrc examples to further explain this: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/guidance/selling/examples.htm

When I got a new job and moved to another place, my wife sold of off a few child's toys, some stuff like star wars figures, some pens/pencils, simpsons stuff and some electronic stuff I was using on ebay. This was done to reduce packing and transportation cost. Its all our possesion and used. Would have sold something like 30 odd items like these.
My wife sold all these about an year and quarter back (march-april 2009). And did not sell anything since then.
We did not make a profit or anything and made a loss on a lot of items.

I am on Tier 2 work permit and my wife is a dependent.

We are planning to go for ILR soon and are we in trouble?

My god....I am getting so much stressed and worried. Any inputs will be thankfully received. Sometimes I feel sick of this whole work permit thing and feel like packing and leaving.

I think you like many others who visit this site feel stressed out at the thought of doing something that will impede your process to remain here permanently.
However I think you are overreacting in this situation, you selling personal items will have NO effect on your claim for ILR

mochyn wrote:I think you like many others who visit this site feel stressed out at the thought of doing something that will impede your process to remain here permanently.
However I think you are overreacting in this situation, you selling personal items will have NO effect on your claim for ILR

Dear Mochyn,
Thanks for your advice and kind words.

As someone dependent on a work permit, I am extra careful not to anything wrong even indvarently.

Infact I joke to my colleagues that I went to the rest room one additional time and that shouldnt be against the rules.
The jokes also include my wife cutting the hair of our wee boy as he refuses to go to the saloon and touched by anybody else.

On a serious note, since I am on work permit and not sure of the restrictions, I have deferred taking some part time courses ( like scottish archeology), as I was not sure if I can study or not, and dont want to break any rules, if the course is subsidised by the government etc.

Thanks.

king_kong wrote:We are planning to go for ILR soon and are we in trouble?

Not at all, you are very clearly not conducting a business on eBay.

If you were deliberately buying in items and hoping to sell them at a profit, well that would be a different matter, but of course you are doing nothing like that at all.

So stop worrying!

king_kong wrote: On a serious note, since I am on work permit and not sure of the restrictions, I have deferred taking some part time courses ( like scottish archeology), as I was not sure if I can study or not, and dont want to break any rules, if the course is subsidised by the government etc.
Thanks.

Really ?? Then we should not sit in London bus as bus fare is subsidised by Government.

manenoor wrote:

king_kong wrote: On a serious note, since I am on work permit and not sure of the restrictions, I have deferred taking some part time courses ( like scottish archeology), as I was not sure if I can study or not, and dont want to break any rules, if the course is subsidised by the government etc.
Thanks.

Really ?? Then we should not sit in London bus as bus fare is subsidised by Government.

I cycle to work, or if the cycle is broken, I walk to work.

I tried for some NDT courses to improve my competence and since some sponsorhip/subsidies were involved,was clearly told I cant take the courses which have fuding as they are open only for British and EU nationals.
Did not bother trying for anything after that.