Reply to: Visa/PR Expenses

[theroyale]

I wonder how much the goverment lose by immigrants trying not to pay tax they owe through dubious expenses claims and how much it costs to manage all the expired visas and so on. I would think that would make £190m look like peanuts but guess that is another debate.

And how much the government lose by natives trying not to pay tax they owe through dubious expenses claims



Or do you consider immigrants particularly better-skilled at tax evasion, for some reason?

[malvolio]

IMHO this would not be claimable as an expense - there is an issue of duality of purpose; the visa and associated costs are not wholly and exclusively for business purposes.

Yep, totally agree. This is a personal expense, not a business-related one.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

IMHO this would not be claimable as an expense - there is an issue of duality of purpose; the visa and associated costs are not wholly and exclusively for business purposes.

[TykeMerc]

It's one of those get professional advice questions from an immigration lawyer and an accountant that understands immigration matters. It might be a question for HMRC, but they're not that hot on oddball questions.

My gut instinct is that the costs aren't tax deductible but without professional opinion and maybe even an HMRC ruling it's not possible to know.

[NRI]

The answer is simple NO. Your company can pay for your work permit/relocation and you can claim them as expenses. But other expenses like visa is your expense and not company expense. If you pay the cost through the ltd account, you might be looking at BIK expenses.
But again, this is my suggestion, and you should consult a professional accountant for accurate advise.

[Fred Bloggs]

I am not at all in favour of the mass immigration we have seen the last few years, far from it. But at least these guys are paying their taxes and are legitimate. I'm grateful for that.

I believe the answer to the original question is a definate "NO". How can this be a "wholly and exclusively for the purpose of business" expense for the Ltd company? That is the only relevant test of a business expense.

[northernladuk]

If my current visa expires, I am not supposed to be in this country and hence will not be able to run my business. Would this reason be sufficient for me to claim this expense as a company expense.

By the same argument without food you would die so can't run your business, without a house you would freeze so can't run your business.Use a bit of common sense and try playing devils advocate. It will help if you look at it from both sides. While being in this country you do more than just run a business so at the very worst it fails the wholly and exclusively for business purposes.

Turion: Try to understand the fact that since we are efficient, we are here in this country today. Not sure if you know, but if every immigrant stops coming to UK to save Visa costs, then the govt would be approx £190 million out of pocket. Data from the UKBA website.

I wonder how much the goverment lose by immigrants trying not to pay tax they owe through dubious expenses claims and how much it costs to manage all the expired visas and so on. I would think that would make £190m look like peanuts but guess that is another debate.

[chiraju]

Fantastic !! ASB.

I am already in touch with my immigration lawyer to check about this, but I am waiting to hear from him.

Your prompt input is very much appreciated.

Thanks

Hi

I am sort of in the same situation and would like to know if you claimed the PR expenses from your limited company and how things went?

Thanks in advance

Thanks
Raj

[itcontractor07]

Fantastic !! ASB.

I am already in touch with my immigration lawyer to check about this, but I am waiting to hear from him.

Your prompt input is very much appreciated.

Thanks

[ASB]

Thanks very much NotAllThere & UKContractor83.

NotAllThere: The reason you have given to substantiate the fact that it is a company expense sounds perfect for me, incase they come to investigate.

Thanks again

Another avenue might be to ascertain if your company (in its capacity as your employer) can sponsor the application. I have no idea whether this would be appropriate to your status and your visa type but it might be worth exploring. I would have thought that this is the sort of question you should perhaps be exploring with the immmigration lawyer you are using - they ought to know the ins and outs and the best way of forming and funding the application.

[itcontractor07]

Thanks very much NotAllThere & UKContractor83.

NotAllThere: The reason you have given to substantiate the fact that it is a company expense sounds perfect for me, incase they come to investigate.

Thanks again

[UKContractor83]

Thanks a lot for all your advice.

Turion: Try to understand the fact that since we are efficient, we are here in this country today. Not sure if you know, but if every immigrant stops coming to UK to save Visa costs, then the govt would be approx £190 million out of pocket. Data from the UKBA website.

Cheers

190 million ?, is that all. Considering how many nationals cant get jobs and are on job seekers. Think 190m would be a fraction. Nothing wrong with hard working immigrants coming over. But you should seek professional advice in regards to claiming immigration costs etc etc. Think it would be classed as personal gain, as your company has been running with you not being a national for how many ever years. Change will have little or no effect on your company.

[NotAllThere]

... if every immigrant stops coming to UK to save Visa costs, then the govt would be approx £190 million out of pocket. ...

Well, you would say that, wouldn't you?

My approach to having my company pay for it is: unless I or someone else can show with some certainty, that it isn't legit, then if I consider it a legitimate business expense, and I think I can justify to HMRC as such, then I'll claim it.

You've got your argument wrong.

If my current visa expires, I am not supposed to be in this country and hence will not be able to run my business. Would this reason be sufficient for me to claim this expense as a company expense.

The correct argument is: if my current visa expires, I will not be able to work for my employer, therefore it is up to my employer to pay my visa costs (or for my permanent residency ).

[itcontractor07]

Thanks a lot for all your advice.

Turion: Try to understand the fact that since we are efficient, we are here in this country today. Not sure if you know, but if every immigrant stops coming to UK to save Visa costs, then the govt would be approx £190 million out of pocket. Data from the UKBA website.

Cheers

[Turion]

Best advice:: try to be more efficient. Go home and run your business from there. It must be cheaper, right. And you'll save a packet on visa costs.