Naturalisation application success likelihood?

[Duke78]

Hello dear friends
I am a doctor came to UK on a tier 2 visa in 2011. Whilst on tier 2 as I was allowed supplementary employment I started doing it but though a limited company. Got ILR in 2016 and now due for naturalisation now. My questions are,
1. Do I need to mention supplementary employment in the 10 year employment history? What if I dont because as I was not paid paye so there was no NI contributions through this source of income. I only paid income tax on dividends and company corporation tax. The company was then dissolved.
2. I am not sure if a limited company is okay with a tier 2 but could not find anything against it in the tier 2 policy guidance. Suppose if a limited company is not allowed, whats the worst that can happen to me?
Otherwise my taxes are all update. I have paid company taxes on time and I have nothing to pay to the hmrc and that company whilst on tier 2 was dissolved.
3. In my case if naturalisation is refused would that affect my ILR? My two daughters who were born here have UK passports. My wife, myself and one of my daughters is on ILR status.

[plabo]

I don't exactly know the answer how it will affect your ILR but setting up a company whilst being on a Tier 2 sponsorship visa is NOT allowed. Apart from your main sponsor, you are only allowed 20 extra hours more per week at the same level (F2/SHO/SpR) with a different sponsor/Trust who SHOULD have paid to your locum agency and NOT to your company. It is a big mistake by your 'supplemental work' place department which didn't look into your visa status.

You will have to mention supplementary appointment as the HMRC record is checked and you will be flagged up as a 'Director' somewhere on their system. That is why one should either stick to his Primary sponsor mainly and if any locum work has to be done, do it through an agency who will designate you the same tax code as your primary sponsor and deduct NI/Tax appropriately and in the end you still remain within that 'under Sponsorship' category.

[Duke78]

Thanks for the prompt reply my friend but do you know where exactly I can find this guidance which says I cannot setup up a limited company for my supplementary employment?

[Duke78]

Just to add here, I did contact the home office when I was openimg up the ltd company, told me I could open a limited company as far as i stick to the tier 2 supplementary employment criteria and pay my taxes.
Secondly as far I as I have understood from research may be I am wrong is that a tier 2 migrant can be an office holder of the company i.e. director and can hold even 100 percent shares of the company. The only thing not to do is to become an employee and draw a salary because then you
would need to match your company job to your job with your main employer i.e. same profession and at the same level as per Cos

[Duke78]

Would anyone else like to add something please?

[mulderpf]

Your conditions of leave for Tier 2 were that outside of your sponsored work, only supplementary work is allowed and voluntary work is allowed. It is therefore implied no other types of work is allowed. You keep calling your limited company your supplementary work - if you didn't do work in a shortage occupation (which director is not!!) and it was not what you were sponsored for (unlikely to have been sponsored to be director) and it wasn't limited to 20 hours a week, it was NOT supplementary work in the HO definition of it.

It is not the act of setting up the company which is not allowed, it is that only very specific types of other work is allowed and generating an income for a limited company generally would not fall into the two specified categories of other work you are allowed to do.

So by what you asked the Home Office, of course you can open a limited company, but if you start generating an income by doing something for the company, you are working (whether you are drawing the income via dividends or salary doesn't change the actions you were undertaking).

I cannot comment whether you should add this to your naturalisation application - did you ever declare it in previous applications? For me it would depend on how incidental it was. All of this information is available on HMRC's systems of course.

[Duke78]

Thanks mulderpf for your reply. I have been doing research about this. First of all I have not called the limited company supplementary employment. A company is an entity that is entirely different to its officers or employees and even its acvounts are separate. So as you said setting a limited company itself is not a problem.
Lets come to the employment issue. A company director is not an employee of the company unless the director enters into a contract with the company that defines its responsibilities as an employee and pays him salary. Only in that condition the director becomes an employee and would then not fit the criteria of tier 2 supplementary employment. A director is an office holder and can be a share holder.
Another thing people often say is that a limited company is self employment and that also would not fit the criteria of supplementary employment. I search the govt website which defines self employment and then also tell us how to become self employed. At the end mentions " there are other ways to become self employed and they are
1. Enter into a partnership
2. Set up a limited company
This doesnt say a limited company is self employment but says it can be used for self employment.
In the previous applications I was not asked about past employments bc all tier 2 visas come from one sole sponsor which they know about already.

[Duke78]

Thanks mulderpf for your reply. I have been doing research about this. First of all I have not called the limited company supplementary employment. A company is an entity that is entirely different to its officers or employees and even its acvounts are separate. So as you said setting a limited company itself is not a problem.
Lets come to the employment issue. A company director is not an employee of the company unless the director enters into a contract with the company that defines its responsibilities as an employee and pays him salary. Only in that condition the director becomes an employee and would then not fit the criteria of tier 2 supplementary employment. A director is an office holder and can be a share holder.
Another thing people often say is that a limited company is self employment and that also would not fit the criteria of supplementary employment. I search the govt website which defines self employment and then also tell us how to become self employed. At the end mentions " there are other ways to become self employed and they are
1. Enter into a partnership
2. Set up a limited company
This doesnt say a limited company is self employment but says it can be used for self employment.
In the previous applications I was not asked about past employments bc all tier 2 visas come from one sole sponsor which they know about already.