Hi

Thanks for your question

Your eligibility for a tax refund will be based on the fact that you are due to leave the UK, and has no bearing on the customs position whatsoever or the fact that you have been in the UK and wish to return to the UK on a student visa.

Refunds arise on the basis that not all personal allowances have been used for that one tax year, and if you are in employment you are awarded 1/12th of the personal allowances (or 1/52 if you are paid weekly) in April and again for each month/week you are paid. So, if you leave the UK part way through a tax year, this creates a refund on the unused allowances up to the following 5th April

So if you return to the UK to live before the following 5th April, then you MAY owe HMRC money if you take up employment before the end of that tax year (as the refund would have been made on the assumption that you will not work again before the year end)

But if you come back into the UK after the 5th April (2013) then you are then due a new set of personal allowances from the date you arrive back to resume living in the UK.

Your main concern should be what conditions are being imposed on your eligibility for this visa, which has NO bearing on the tax position at all.

And as this is the UK tax forum and not the legal forum, I can not offer advise on this, as I am sure you can appreciate, we are not legal experts.

But your student visa is NOT canceled due to tax refunds being claimed, which is what you wished to know.

Thanks

Sam

HI

Thanks for your response

Thats not a tax refund, that is VAT you refer to.

And yes this will have an effect as if you leave the UK and claim a VAT refund on the basis that you are just a visitor to the UK and must remain out of the UK for at least 12 months and will be noted on the customs system and you could be heavily fined and have the VAT clawed back and being treated as having committed fraud in some cases.

And this could lead to you being refused entry back into the UK

So do not claim the refund if you think there is ANY chance of you wishing to return to the UK within a 12 month period.

Thanks

Sam

HI

I cannot answer that completely, because its all depends on

1)The gravity of the claim

2) whether you knew you would in fact come back to the UK before the 12 months were up

3) How much is involved

4) Whether there is any other blemished against you that might lead customs to refuse you entry.

But if you remain being a student, and are still in the middle of your course then you could not state that you are a visitor as you clearly would be planning to return to the UK

Thanks

Sam