About Tier1 General extension, PLZ reply soon.

[hsyasin]

Hi all,
I got my T1 in April2011 and i applied by working as selfemployed+full time. and also an accountant to submit my tax returns and all that. But now, I'm looking for new jobs that will pay me salary that is required to fulfill the criteria, and hopefully i'll get it soon.
Now considering worst case, if i dont get one by the time, so for now can i quit selfemployment and then when the time comes again start selfemployment again.
Reason m asking this is coz, someone told me that if u've got tier1 showing u were self employed then after 2yrs when visa runs out, u'll hav to show accounts and tax returns for the past 2yrs when going for extension. And that i cant leave selfemployment if m planing to apply for extension based on this.
Where as, i thought while going for an extension, i just need to show earnings over the past 12months.
Plz can someone guide me in the right direction, whether m right or wrong?

[canon123]

No at the time of next application you basically need to show:

If in perm emp (12 months pay slips and relevant bank statements)

If in self emp (relevant documents from HMRC, Accountant letter, Invoice, P&L, Business bank statements covering the period)

You dont need to show what you did for the 1st 2yrs

[hsyasin]

Thank u vry much for ur prompt reply.
So, for self-employment i'll only need to show earnings for the past 12months, right?

[thebionicredneck2003]

Yes.

For any type of employment, salaried or self employed, earnings for the past 12 months preceeding your application will suffice.

Kind Regards

[Lucapooka]

It's actually 12 continuous months of the previous 15 months at the time of applying. This is all in the guidance (and in much more defined prose than can be found here) so it would good if you read that first.