Working on a project that could become a business

[youngturk2k]

I'm a software engineer and recently, a friend and I have had an idea to create some software that could potentially become a business; however, I am not sure if I'm allowed to participate in such activities since I'm on a Tier 2 visa. I have had a quick google and saw people with similar questions on here but none that quite fit my situation, and I don't know if working on this is classified as a second job since I'm not getting paid by anyone and this will only be lucrative much later down the line.

My questions now being:
1. Am I allowed to work on this product provided my employer is fine with me doing so and it doesn't interfere with my day job?
2. If we finish building it, would I be breaking any terms of my visa if we registered as a business and I am listed as a shareholder of that business?

My friend is a British citizen, if that's relevant.

I've tried requesting guidance through the FOI form on the government website but they said they couldn't offer immigration advice so they sent me to the UKVI form which seems to only deal with pending applications or visa documents, I even tried to call and didn't get very far because they narrow down their options and none of the categories presented are what I want or geared toward general enquiry.

[cyclina1]

I'm a software engineer and recently, a friend and I have had an idea to create some software that could potentially become a business; however, I am not sure if I'm allowed to participate in such activities since I'm on a Tier 2 visa. I have had a quick google and saw people with similar questions on here but none that quite fit my situation, and I don't know if working on this is classified as a second job since I'm not getting paid by anyone and this will only be lucrative much later down the line.

My questions now being:
1. Am I allowed to work on this product provided my employer is fine with me doing so and it doesn't interfere with my day job?

This should be OK if you are not getting paid and less than 20 hours per week, this is voluntary work not second job.

2. If we finish building it, would I be breaking any terms of my visa if we registered as a business and I am listed as a shareholder of that business?

You can be a shareholder (so just pure investment) but you may not allow to be a director of the company as it may be treated as self-employed, which is not allowed if you are in Tier 2.


My friend is a British citizen, if that's relevant.

I've tried requesting guidance through the FOI form on the government website but they said they couldn't offer immigration advice so they sent me to the UKVI form which seems to only deal with pending applications or visa documents, I even tried to call and didn't get very far because they narrow down their options and none of the categories presented are what I want or geared toward general enquiry.

[youngturk2k]

I'm a software engineer and recently, a friend and I have had an idea to create some software that could potentially become a business; however, I am not sure if I'm allowed to participate in such activities since I'm on a Tier 2 visa. I have had a quick google and saw people with similar questions on here but none that quite fit my situation, and I don't know if working on this is classified as a second job since I'm not getting paid by anyone and this will only be lucrative much later down the line.

My questions now being:
1. Am I allowed to work on this product provided my employer is fine with me doing so and it doesn't interfere with my day job?

This should be OK if you are not getting paid and less than 20 hours per week, this is voluntary work not second job.

2. If we finish building it, would I be breaking any terms of my visa if we registered as a business and I am listed as a shareholder of that business?

You can be a shareholder (so just pure investment) but you may not allow to be a director of the company as it may be treated as self-employed, which is not allowed if you are in Tier 2.


My friend is a British citizen, if that's relevant.

I've tried requesting guidance through the FOI form on the government website but they said they couldn't offer immigration advice so they sent me to the UKVI form which seems to only deal with pending applications or visa documents, I even tried to call and didn't get very far because they narrow down their options and none of the categories presented are what I want or geared toward general enquiry.

Thank you for your advice on this matter