T1 entrepreneur visa

[Vijay]

Hi All

I am just curious if agencies are ready to sign contracts with people who have T1 entrepreneur visa .

Is anybody working with this visa in this forum ?

Any information would be helpful

Thanks
Vj

[northernladuk]

You want to be asking the immigration boards not us. A quick scan of them doesn't look good for you though. A summary of what I have read is ..

UKBA do not see you setting up a LTD for personal services as a company
You will not meet the criteria for investing in a company, running a business and employing 2 staff
Legal teams at the agency and quite possibly the client will be unwilling to take this risk on even if you are
Frankly it isn't complying with the rules or the spirit of a Tier 1 Entrereneur Visa. It is you using that as a cover to get a job. The LTD route is just a tax loophole for a vast majority of us, not a real business. This is demonstrated by HMRC constantly trying to reclassify us as employees. They aren't far off for a lot of contractors but can't implement it properly. UKBA will take a much more simplistic view.

Contracting your services out through a LTD is not investing and running a business...

Some links for you to read...

http://www.justanswer.com/uk-immigra...-visa-the.html

Immigrationboards.com :: View topic - Work as a IT contractor with Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa ??

Immigrationboards.com :: View topic - Work under tier 1 entrepreneur visa - urgent !!

[fullyautomatix]

Its mindboggling the extent to which bobs go to just enter the country and work here. Close the stupid highly skilled route and they are jumping on the entrepreneur visa.

Its a visa given out to businessmen who will come in and invest in the country, not for a cut price contractor to provide IT services as a one man band.

[rurffy]

Its mindboggling the extent to which bobs go to just enter the country and work here. Close the stupid highly skilled route and they are jumping on the entrepreneur visa.

Its a visa given out to businessmen who will come in and invest in the country, not for a cut price contractor to provide IT services as a one man band.

hmmm...

[northernladuk]

Its mindboggling the extent to which bobs go to just enter the country and work here. Close the stupid highly skilled route and they are jumping on the entrepreneur visa.

Its a visa given out to businessmen who will come in and invest in the country, not for a cut price contractor to provide IT services as a one man band.

Indeed. You want to have a scan of the immigration forums. It makes my blood boil. Pages and pages of how to get around the visa rules, how to pull the wool over UKBA's eyes etc etc... Blatant disregard of the whole system. I just hope to god UKBA are reading them and acting accordingly... but knowing the state UKBA are in I very much doubt it.

[Mich the Tester]

Indeed. You want to have a scan of the immigration forums. It makes my blood boil. Pages and pages of how to get around the visa rules, how to pull the wool over UKBA's eyes etc etc... Blatant disregard of the whole system. I just hope to god UKBA are reading them and acting accordingly... but knowing the state UKBA are in I very much doubt it.

Trouble is, how can we ask HMRC to treat contractors as business owners instead of 'disguised employees' while asking the UKBA to stop Vijay and other Indians using the T1 scheme? (excuse my assumption that Vijay is Indian)

We don't want civil servants deciding for us whether we're business owners, so should we want civil servants deciding for Indians whether they're entrepreneurs?

[northernladuk]

Trouble is, how can we ask HMRC to treat contractors as business owners instead of 'disguised employees' while asking the UKBA to stop Vijay and other Indians using the T1 scheme?

We don't want civil servants deciding for us whether we're business owners, so should we want civil servants deciding for Indians whether they're entrepreneurs?

A bloody good question but the easy way to avoid this is to point out there are strict, clearly defined rules about what qualifies as an entrepreneur including min £50k investment and employment of 2 staff. The EV scheme is to promote people coming here and starting profitable expanding businesses that help our economy. Creating a shell LTD to contract through does not achieve that so you question is kind of comparing apples and pears. You could come here and open a LTD to be a plumber or whatever, that is different to an entrepreneur.

[stek]

From people ITK I hear the Entrepreneur visa is very hard to get, only a few have been granted.

Another one is the Elderly Dependent Relative Visa, much abused by Boblanders, 'I want to call my mother who is 58 and has a bad heart to live with me in UK.....' type stuff.

Hats off to the UKBA who have slightly cunningly slammed that door, it now costs £1600 to apply for, only one has been granted since last year, and a rejection means no visit visas, the assumption made that the perp will attempt to remain...

[Mich the Tester]

A bloody good question but the easy way to avoid this is to point out there are strict, clearly defined rules about what qualifies as an entrepreneur including min £50k investment and employment of 2 staff. The EV scheme is to promote people coming here and starting profitable expanding businesses that help our economy. Creating a shell LTD to contract through does not achieve that so you question is kind of comparing apples and pears. You could come here and open a LTD to be a plumber or whatever, that is different to an entrepreneur.

Yep, a capital requirement is one way, but lots of tech (and trading) companies get started with minimal capital; just a clever bloke with an idea. I see your point, but I fear that in trying to regulate immigration we'll end up shooting ourselves in the foot with regulations that have knock on effects on our own businesses. It's not so simple.

Also, I don't have such a problem with Indians coming to Europe if they're here on the same terms like some of the mechanical engineers at clientco. This company would probably have moved overseas if not for being able to bring those guys over here because the education budget's been wasted on training people to be 'International Marketing Strategists' or 'Communications Consultants' and we have a shortage of skilled people.

[northernladuk]

Yep, a capital requirement is one way, but lots of tech (and trading) companies get started with minimal capital; just a clever bloke with an idea. I see your point, but I fear that in trying to regulate immigration we'll end up shooting ourselves in the foot with regulations that have knock on effects on our own businesses. It's not so simple.

Also, I don't have such a problem with Indians coming to Europe if they're here on the same terms like some of the mechanical engineers at clientco. This company would probably have moved overseas if not for being able to bring those guys over here because the education budget's been wasted on training people to be 'International Marketing Strategists' or 'Communications Consultants' and we have a shortage of skilled people.

Yes but there is a skilled workers visa system which is different to Entrepreneurs visa. I don't have that much a problem with it either unless it is being openly abused. It makes the whole EV scheme a farce if you can just open a LTD and start contracting so have to be rules. If you don't comply you don't come and look at a Skilled Worker option, which in turn has it's own rules.

I do have a problem with this thought that we are short of skilled workers though. We are short of skilled workers that will do it super cheap yes but I can't help feeling we have plenty of skilled workers if you want to pay market rates.