ILR after HSMP

Here are some questions for the experts.

I am planning to apply for ILR soon since I am slowly becoming “economically active” after a very long dry spell. I have been in the UK for over 4.5 years on a combination of work permits and most recently, HSMP. My HSMP visa was renewed last November for 3 years in spite of being unemployed. I would have gotten ILR then, if it weren’t for the fact that I was not working at the time. Since mid-April of this year, I have started to get paid consulting work from a small UK registered company, but I don’t think I’m quite yet at the point where I can get one-day approval. Since my visa is valid through November 2006, there’s really no need to hurry, except for the fact that I want to apply for British Citizenship sooner rather than later. So basically, I want to make sure that when I apply (without a lawyer) I have a reasonably good chance of getting it approved on the same day.

I have not set up a company and I don’t plan to, because I am still considering full time employment instead of consulting. I’m basically a “sole trader” and I have already registered with Inland Revenue for Class 2 NICs, as required by law. I expect to get a statement from The Revenue showing that I am paying NI in the next few weeks. I would expect that this Inland Revenue documentation, plus my fee payments over the last 2 months and copies of my engagement contracts should be enough to satisfy the economic activity requirement. I can also get letters from the client confirming my engagement and the fees. If I started working on April 15, and can provide the documents (the NIC statement, proof of fees, my engagement contracts and a letter from the client confirming my engagement), do you think that I will qualify for same-day (walk in) ILR if I apply late in July? Or, should I wait longer before applying?

Note that, in my case, I started working after April 6, so I will not have to pay Income Tax or Class 4 National Insurance until the end of January 2006, which the return due date for this current tax year. It will also be a number of months before I may be required to register for VAT (which only would happen once I reach a certain level of income). Naturally, being self employed is harder to show economic activity because monthly PAYE deposits don’t exist, for example. Will these factors have any impact, making it more difficult to satisfy the ILR requirement?

Finally, does anybody know if the ILR processing fees are going up soon, like August 1st?

Thanks for your help

Joseph