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Hi everyone, i used this forum to learn a lot of information therefore I want to share my experiences with you:

my case:

hsmp+tier1=5 years.

I don't want to repeat the same information on this forum but especially those were the things that I had questions in my mind:

1) My visa stamped on my passport on may 2007 and i entered uk on july 2007.Since the gap between my visa stamp entrance date was less then 3 months this period counted towards my 5 year period.

2) My absences were more then 180 days:

Total Business Travels ~50
Total Compelling Circumstances ~29
Total Days Outside UK - Total ~260

Compelling Circumstances were and documents:

funerals of grandmothers , I had to bring birth certificate + death certificates
national service , i had to bring translation of the discharge certificate showing the dates of the service held.

for business travels:

invoices + statements showing money paid in.

note that I didn't have invoices for all the travels since some of these travels were informal and for business opportunities.

she said i need to get approval from a senior but i don't know if this was because of a limited company or absences or both.

if you are employed also she asked for employer's letter showing the dates abroad and confirming that while i was abroad i was working for them.

3) you can apply 28 days before the stamp date of your visa if this is your case as well.i suggest you to apply exactly on this date because problems happens and if you need to re-apply you will have time.

in my case because of IT problems last week ,even though I was inside and paid the fee, they had to cancel my appointment and they didn't offer another appointment and refund the money back.I had to find and re-book an another appointment which was very difficult.

I suggest you to book 2 appointments for different dates just in case..

Update: 11-may I received the biometric card.So it arrived in 3 days after PEO.

Hi,
Thanks for sharing the info.

Quick Questions
1. Regarding the Gap between May2007 - July 2007, did you submit any documents/evidence explaining the reasons?

2. You suggested to apply on exactly 28th day before the stamp date. Did you apply on exactly the 28th day before your visa expires. So I assume it is "on or after 28 days"?
Regds

Hi dehjet,

Lots of congratulations on your ILR.

As I am in a very similar situation to you - hsmp + tier 1 , ltd company director , absences more than 180 for business reasons - can you please help me with the information ?

- did you provide business bank statements ? did they ask for it ?
- did you provide letter from accountant regarding your absences ? if yes, can you share the text please ?
- did you provide any other document from your company ? did they ask for any ?
- can you book extra appointments online when you already have one in a category ?

Regards,

Devb just asked the question I wanted to ask, so will wait for a reply.

@devb

1) no I didn't submit anything or explained
2) I applied exactly on 28 days before , however because of the IT issues I couldn't seen even though I went through all the checks (including the payment etc.) It is on or after 28 days. ex

example if your visa expires on 31st of june , you can apply on 3rd of june or afterwards.

@sapeyuk , thanks

1) they asked for business bank statemens but I didn't have them.it didn't cause a problem but I would suggest you to bring them (because they specially asked for them , I don't know what they would like to check about it)

2) I didn't provide absense letter from accountant since accountant can't know about your absenses.however I had the typical accountant letter which shows payments/dividends etc.

3) They asked for the company registration certificate (which I didn't have it as well) they said it is ok.however I found the digital version of the registration and showed them behind the till , they noted the number.I suggest you to bring it with you as well just in case.

4) You can't book extra appointments online with one account but you can create another account. (I don't know if this is against their T&C's )

Hi,

Thank you so much for your reply. Appreciate it.

Hyz mate

Can you please tell did you provide your all 5 years tax returns?

no I didn't provide any tax returns, it was a limited company and I provided only dividends+payslips

Dear Dehjet,

Many congratulations on your success.

Please could you help me with the following queries?

1- I know they asked for a company registration certificate. I am self employed and I dont own any ltd company. Do I still need to provide the letter?

2- Can you please share the format of your accountant letter?

3- did you get a copy of the certificate of your Accountants membership with ICAEW or any certified body as mentioned on the Home office guidelines. Do they ask for it during the appointment ?

4- Business Travel - Although I work as an Independent contractor for a company based in USA, I'm not a direct employee of that company. The company for whom I provide my consultancy services are also not registered in UK. I travel extensively for them outside UK. so please let me know with whom do I need to get a letter to prove my absence was for business reasons?

I can get a letter from the US company but wondering if the caseworker may refuse it as I am not their direct employee.

Many Thanks for your time in advance.

@ITGraduate

thanks.

1-When you register a ltd company you get a registration certificate.If you register as self employmenet and if you don't get a registration certificate for that then I don't think it should be necessary.

2-I think it's somewhere sticky on this forum

3-They especially asked for that, make sure that your accountant is a registered to these organisations.(I had to change my accountant because former one was not registered)

4-I don't think it should matter (personally) I think you need to provide your invoices to them and the payment goes into your UK bank account.(Which what I did) Also when you create invoices you can write the period for the work held for them.

[quote="dehjet"]@ITGraduate

thanks.

1-When you register a ltd company you get a registration certificate.If you register as self employmenet and if you don't get a registration certificate for that then I don't think it should be necessary.

2-I think it's somewhere sticky on this forum

3-They especially asked for that, make sure that your accountant is a registered to these organisations.(I had to change my accountant because former one was not registered)

4-I don't think it should matter (personally) I think you need to provide your invoices to them and the payment goes into your UK bank account.(Which what I did) Also when you create invoices you can write the period for the work held for them.[/quote]



Many Thanks for your quick response.

just couple of queries on your comments:

1- How did you prove that your accountant was from a registered body? My accountant says he cannot give the copy of his certificate,He says HO should be able to check it online. Did you take a copy of your accountant certificate?

2 - I have been checking for accountant letter's format with no joy. I'm not being lazy to search but would appreciate if you can share your letter after removing any personal data

Thanks again

Regards

ITGraduate wrote:

Many Thanks for your quick response.

just couple of queries on your comments:

1- How did you prove that your accountant was from a registered body? My accountant says he cannot give the copy of his certificate,He says HO should be able to check it online. Did you take a copy of your accountant certificate?

2 - I have been checking for accountant letter's format with no joy. I'm not being lazy to search but would appreciate if you can share your letter after removing any personal data

Thanks again

Regards

1- it was on my accountant's letter's template, I think they have a number or something.No i didn't bring their certificate.you have to prove it somehow, they asked it and I answered "yes they are because the logo is on their template." that didn't cause problem

2-I am sure it's somewhere on the forum but just in case I have uploaded template for you: http://www.sendspace.com/file/yyepl5

Hi,

Please can you give me your contact in a PM as I would like to discuss my case which is almost identical to yours?

Regards,
Rashid

Many Thanks dehjet for the uploaded letter format

Regards

Hi...

Many congrats on your ILR. My case is similar. Just wanted to confirm one thing here. I got my HSMP visa on 15th June 2007 and my first entry into UK was on 30th Aug 2007. It was 76 days after i got my visa. Do i have to mention this on the cover letter?

haider2026 wrote:Hi...

Many congrats on your ILR. My case is similar. Just wanted to confirm one thing here. I got my HSMP visa on 15th June 2007 and my first entry into UK was on 30th Aug 2007. It was 76 days after i got my visa. Do i have to mention this on the cover letter?

I didn't mention it , since it's less then 3 months (76 days<90) you can apply.

Hi... Thanks for your previous reply. One more thing please. Did you claim points as per your age when you applied for HSMP OR when you applied for your extension under Tier 1 general?

HI dehjet,
Did they exclude the absence on compelling or compassionate grounds?
even if the absence exceeds 180 days

thanks
mozhi