Actually I paid a deposit to the umbrella company of almost GBP 1000 when I initially got sponsored. They said it was to cover the work permit fees & then I got it back after I had contracted for 6 months. Just my experience mind you!

When I was sponsored by an umbrella company it was never more than 18.5% - and for most of the time I was paying 15%. The charges look pretty high to me!

I have had a few employment agents tell me about companies who will not even look at you if you have ANY contracting work on your CV. They actually have screening questions where they ask "have you ever worked in a contracting role?". They will not even consider you. I'm amazed by this. In my exper...

I'm curious how this worked - the new rule says for Tier 1 you need to pass the points test to get ILR. Can you post about your experiences?

I've been contracting on a Tier 2 for a few years and my number 1 priority is to get settlement. So I'm always looking at the next contract and talking to recruiters just in case something happens with this current project. Luckily my sponsor company is very understanding that I want ILR. We manage ...