What counts as "registered" for self-employment

Hello, I am in the UK on a student visa, the terms of which state that I cannot engage in self-employment (defined in the Immigration Rules as " a person who is registered as self-employed with HM Revenue & Customs"). I was recently offered an occasional side job (as an independent contractor); the amount I would make this tax year would be less than the 1000 pound cutoff that triggers self assessment. I used the HMRC online tool to verify, and it confirmed that I would not need to register for self-assessment. Just to check — is filling out self-assessment the same as being "registered" as self-employed with HMRC? If I don't need to do so, it is it safe to say that HMRC does not consider me to be registered as self employed? Thanks!

Hi cc101,
You would need to register for self employment, even if your profit was below £1000.00.
This threshold is only considered when a tax return is required.
Thank you. 
 

Hello, Thanks for the reply. I was confused by how to interpret this line: "You do not need to be registered as self-employed if you earn £1,000 or less in a tax year as a sole trader."  So to make sure I understand your helpful answer: that line is inaccurate? Or does it refer to something else entirely? Thanks for the clarification, and for the help wading through everything. And one more q: if visa circumstances change, how does one register for self-employment without registering for self-assessment? I saw this website, wherein it looks like one registers as self employed by registering for self-assessment: https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader. But what if one doesn't need to register for self-assessment?

Hi cc101,
If you have a total turnover from self employment of less than £1000.00 in a tax year, then you do not need to declare it in a tax return, even if you have to complete a return for other criteria.
When you regiser for self employment, you are registering for Self Assessment at the same time.
This allows National Insurance to be included in the tax calculations, where the profit exceeds the NI thresholds.
Thank you.