Post
by dnf » Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:58 pm
Dear All,
I have received my approval letter from the Home Office today. This was my second extension. Initial in Mar 2013 - first renewal Mar 2016 - Second renewal April 2018
I will try and cover every point that I have seen raised by the fellow members. Please dont hesitate to raise any queries but my apologies in advance if I dont respond as quick as other fellow members do..
Applied on 21/02/18 (received by UKVI on 23/03/18 - Fees deducted on 26/02/18)
Bio metric letter 05/03/18 (gave it on 09/03/18)
IHS partial refund on 12/04/18
Decision letter received 14/04/18 (dated 12/04/18)
Spoke to DX who has been notified by the Home Office and will deliver the BRP on Tuesday
Therefore, in total 51 days or 7.2 weeks - no complex letter or interview
Documents Provided
1. Application
2. Current appointment report
3. Confirmation statement (not required)
4. 23 months payslips for all 5 employees i had (used 3 on the application but was easier to print all the payslips together)
5. 23 months FPS reports for all 5 employees
6. Some of the employees have been with me for over 2 years so FPS showing the start date of their employment. Employees, start dates who started with me during the renewal period was shown on the 23 FPS reports
7. P11's to show start dates of each employees (probably not needed)
8. Employees passport copies
9. HMRC CT600 letter
10. Last year filed CT600
11. Payment confirmation that tax was paid
12. One month business bank statement (latest) plus the letter from the bank
13. 3 months personal statement for maintenance plus the letter from the bank
Documents provided under separate cover of Genuine Entrepreneur
1. Last 4 quarters VAT returns and the payment confirmation
2. As a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant, I am required by ACCA by laws to renew my practicing certificate every year- provided last 3 years PC issued by ACCA confirming that i have fulfilled the requirements of a practicing ACCA
3. Professional indemnity and employers liability insurance
4. Our firm became the finalist of British Accountancy awards, which is considered as industry accolade - invitation by BAA
5. Invitation to speak in one of the seminar from great business show
6. We had a business stall for 2 days - invoices and pictures with 2 of my employees.
8. 4 letters of engagements with the clients
From the above, you can see that i have provided an extensive list of documents, many of which were not needed. I have seen a number of people who have had to go through for interviews to prove genuineness. However, I am required to constantly travel and it would have been quite hard for me to wait for 8-14 months which is why I provided extra documents to prove the genuineness. I am in no way suggesting that my visa was approved relatively quickly because of this as there could be a number of reasons we may never be aware of..
Added Advantages that i had
1. I believe it is easier for a qualified accountant to prove the genuineness through Practicing certs
2. Awards and invitation to speak can make it a no brainer for the caseworker to decide genuineness
3. I have been in UK for 15 years and can apply for ILR on the basis of 10 years and 5 years. I have always maintained my business in UK, since it became a requirement for me but been absent from UK for a number of reasons. I am sure that the case worker can see that I am not renewing my visa for the purpose of maintaining my period for ILR
Other info
1. Business has always been in profit.
2. I have always maintained 3 employees at every time, 2 full time and one part time - they have been paid slightly over NLW