Tier 2 - shareholders of new company

[TaherLy]

Hello

I have been reading in different forums and cannot find a definite answer to whether or not T2 visa holders can set up their own limited companies and claim dividends or not ?

A friend of mine had a consultation with an immigration advisor who was confident that it’s possible provided the company is in same field as sponsored role but I can’t find anything from home office that supports that . Any ideas please friends?

[srsw]

I don't think that's allowed. Tier 2 is employer sponsored route and self employment comes under T1 route (now Innovator or Start-up route).

Let's see what others say here.

[TaherLy]

More responses would be appreciated!

[Frontier Mole]

This is a contentious subject with polar opposite views. There is nothing to stop you setting up a Ltd company the issue is trading the company and your relationship with the company.

The biggest concern if you are a director/ employee of your own company is the restrictive amount of hours you are allowed to work outside of your sponsored role. The role would have to also match or very closely match the role you were sponsored to perform on your COS.

The sticky point is the credibility of the whole position, how do you prove in anyone week you did not exceed 20 hours working for the business when the only monitor is yourself? Working includes not just billed hours but the administrative functions, book keeping, contract negotiations etc etc. So is you billed 20 hours in one week you are in effect saying you worked in breach because there was other activity you would be required to undertake for the administrative functions of your business.

It is entirely possible to operate a company, stay within your visa conditions but it will cause increased scrutiny of you and further applications. Please also consider that all your information will be freely shared by HMRC and that any tax issues could be a problem for further immigration applications.

[TaherLy]

Thank you for your reply

Well you don’t have to be the only employee in the company and all administrative work can be done by another colleague and the accountant you have emplyed.plus, some administrative work is shared between all roles regardless of your sector. I cannot think of any role where your everyday duties only include the role under COS.

Also , why does one have to prove you have worked under 20 hours if you know you have done . The home office cannot simply assume you have worked for longer than 20 hours a week when they have no proofs .

[TaherLy]

Hello friends

I know there’s inclarity regarding wether or not tier 2 holders can setup business and become a director. How about a tier 2 holder becoming shareholder of a company ( not his sponsor) while someone else is the director ?

[Frontier Mole]

Not an issue

[TaherLy]

Thank you
Do you anything from manuals that supports that ?

[Frontier Mole]

Cant verify the negative