Employer refuses to stamp and sign payslips or issue letter

I am an IT professional working for a major Indian IT services firm. I plan to apply for PBS Tier 1 as soon as possible. I have well over the minimum points required in principle but there is a major hitch proving it.

In the past 12 months I was in the US for 9 months and in India for 3 months. My employer has signed the stamped my payslips for the time I was in India but for policy reasons and legal reasons refuses to sign and stamp my US payslips. My employer also refuses to give me a letter for the period I was in the US.

Thus while my application is complete and satisfactory in other respects the 9 months of US income are very dicey.

To all the folks who are reading this - what in your opinion is the best course of action?

Is a CA's (Chartered Accountant) earning statement letter enough as the 2nd source of income? Or is it meaningless to apply right now since it is sure to be rejected?

Requesting your help and feedback. Thanks.

akshay.kumar1729 wrote:I am an IT professional working for a major Indian IT services firm. I plan to apply for PBS Tier 1 as soon as possible. I have well over the minimum points required in principle but there is a major hitch proving it.

In the past 12 months I was in the US for 9 months and in India for 3 months. My employer has signed the stamped my payslips for the time I was in India but for policy reasons and legal reasons refuses to sign and stamp my US payslips. My employer also refuses to give me a letter for the period I was in the US.

Thus while my application is complete and satisfactory in other respects the 9 months of US income are very dicey.

To all the folks who are reading this - what in your opinion is the best course of action?

Is a CA's (Chartered Accountant) earning statement letter enough as the 2nd source of income? Or is it meaningless to apply right now since it is sure to be rejected?

Requesting your help and feedback. Thanks.

Consult with experienced immigration consultant.

Are the pay slips original? In which case you don't need any stamp or signatures. There are other combinations of evidences which can be used to Prove your earnings e.g. Tax documents - look up the guidance notes.

I get my payslips online so unfortunately they are not original.

Tax documents will not work because they do not cover the claimed period and they do not show the monthly break up (W-2 for US and Form 16 for India).

Actually I am very familiar with the guidance the UK BA has online. I have scoured through every paragraph etc. and also looked through the various posts on this forum.

I am most curious about whether I can use a CA's letter and ask them to prepare a formal earnings statement.

What do you think? Is it something worth a try for a salaried professional? Has it worked for anyone you know?

I think if you try to use the CA's letter stating earnings, your chances of approval will depend on the caseworker's point of view and discretion.

Certainly you will win in appeal as this is a cut and dried case, only being held up by a logistical reason of stamp and signature.

The fact that your employer refuses to sign stamp payslips from the US, even though you worked for them there, is worrying. Is it possible to get the US office to issue you the payslips etc instead?

Thanks dahokolomoki...

However I am based out of India and will be applying from here. Do you think the chances of getting a positive result in an administrative review are high?

akshay.kumar1729 wrote:Thanks dahokolomoki...

However I am based out of India and will be applying from here. Do you think the chances of getting a positive result in an administrative review are high?

Its hard to say.

There must be lawyers or advisers in India that deal with visa applications, and it might be worth while getting in touch with them to help prepare your application, given this complexity.

akshay.kumar1729 wrote:I get my payslips online so unfortunately they are not original.

Tax documents will not work because they do not cover the claimed period and they do not show the monthly break up (W-2 for US and Form 16 for India).

Actually I am very familiar with the guidance the UK BA has online. I have scoured through every paragraph etc. and also looked through the various posts on this forum.

I am most curious about whether I can use a CA's letter and ask them to prepare a formal earnings statement.

What do you think? Is it something worth a try for a salaried professional? Has it worked for anyone you know?

I wouldn't count much on CA's letter as he is not your employer appointed CA. How can you get letter from a person who is not related to your employment directly. How can you get thing verified by a third party? Logically Does make much sense to me.

Other member can add some valuable inputs.

I agree with you, it is not a clear case. But as you can imagine since my employer refuses to attest my payslips I am looking for any and all alternatives.

The CA whom I approach for my earnings statements will carry out a basic background check (audit?) and see whether what I claim is true. Of course this will not be an in-depth assessment but in reality it will be more meticulous than the case worker's examination of my earnings. Thus when a CA issues me an earnings statement it is an assurance of the fact that I have demonstrated to him in a reasonably reliable manner that what I claim is indeed true.

But I agree with you... for a case worker a CA's letter is probably weaker than employer-attested payslips, but I am exploring for possible alternatives.

Thanks.

You would need either of following:

1. Salary Slips Signed & Stamped
2. Salary Slips printed on company letterhead
3. Employer Letter stating monthly gross and after tax income

If you don't have either, there is no alternative. Since, it involves a good amount of money while applying, you would not want to take chance.

akshay.kumar1729 wrote:I agree with you, it is not a clear case. But as you can imagine since my employer refuses to attest my payslips I am looking for any and all alternatives.

The CA whom I approach for my earnings statements will carry out a basic background check (audit?) and see whether what I claim is true. Of course this will not be an in-depth assessment but in reality it will be more meticulous than the case worker's examination of my earnings. Thus when a CA issues me an earnings statement it is an assurance of the fact that I have demonstrated to him in a reasonably reliable manner that what I claim is indeed true.

But I agree with you... for a case worker a CA's letter is probably weaker than employer-attested payslips, but I am exploring for possible alternatives.

Thanks.

Ask your employer to give the details of your salary month wise so that you can apply for home loan. Old excuse but you never know it may work.

Already tried that For some reason they are very wary about attesting US payslips. They are ready to give me a general compensation letter stating my basic salary, components etc. but not ready to give me authenticated proof of earnings in the past.

Thanks for your advice though... every bit helps. I have been racking my brains on this for quite some time now. Thought of reaching out to the community for help since I could not get anywhere.

akshay.kumar1729 wrote:Already tried that For some reason they are very wary about attesting US payslips. They are ready to give me a general compensation letter stating my basic salary, components etc. but not ready to give me authenticated proof of earnings in the past.

Thanks for your advice though... every bit helps. I have been racking my brains on this for quite some time now. Thought of reaching out to the community for help since I could not get anywhere.

Are they not legally obliged to provide you the same? I think they are just blocking you for getting Tier 1. Lot of companies do to either retain employees or to set a precedence for others.

Well,Either
a)your employer doesnt weant you to apply for Tier 1
b)Or he has done some doggy tax evasion in US..Thats why he doesnt want to sign pay slips...

ashishashah wrote:Well,Either
a)your employer doesnt weant you to apply for Tier 1
b)Or he has done some doggy tax evasion in US..Thats why he doesnt want to sign pay slips...

Later is the most likely case as it is normal with many companies.

on tier 1 guidence, Number 140: ----
i) payslips or on company headed paper. Where formal payslips are produced on plain paper they must be stamped and signed by the employer. Payslips which are not on headed paper or the applicant receives all pay slips online, he/she must authenticate the evidence by asking the employer to sign and stamp a printout. If the applicant provides payslips, they must cover the whole period claimed (for example, if payslips are produced monthly, the applicant must provide the payslip for each month of the period claimed).

i think if you can ask your emloyer to print you payslip on company headed paper.

rockwei wrote:on tier 1 guidence, Number 140: ----
i) payslips or on company headed paper. Where formal payslips are produced on plain paper they must be stamped and signed by the employer. Payslips which are not on headed paper or the applicant receives all pay slips online, he/she must authenticate the evidence by asking the employer to sign and stamp a printout. If the applicant provides payslips, they must cover the whole period claimed (for example, if payslips are produced monthly, the applicant must provide the payslip for each month of the period claimed).

i think if you can ask your emloyer to print you payslip on company headed paper.

If they are ready to print it on letter headed paper, i don't think they will have any problem to sign-stamp it as well. The problem is employer is not coperating at all.

Thanks for the replies guys. I have quite a few comments on the posts made till now.

I do not want to go down the legal route yet. It is something I am not familiar with, it is something that will involve lot of time and money with the inevitable straining of relationships and of course even then the outcome is not clear.

My employer is ready to give me a forward-looking compensation letter which states my overall package with breakup but not ready to authenticate my previous US earnings.

Chetan is right, they are being completely uncooperative so I will not get anything even on company headed paper.

I guess I have no other option but to wait for another 6-7 months and then apply.