Can I register a company while on a Tier 2 visa?

[MrBrilliant]

Correct me if I'm wrong on this, as I understand, I am not allowed to work in a self-employed manner while on a Tier 2.

However, can I register a limited company, if the company will not have profits?

(I want to get a loan on my registered company, and purchase some assets that will be profitable later, when I get my ILR in 6 months. In the meantime, there will be a small amount of revenue, but that would go toward repaying the loan -- so no profits.)

[Qwerty-UK]

Wow..we're on the same boat. I opened a limited company few months ago but then reading on the forums got me a little worried (I have 7 months to go for ILR). So I wrote a postal letter to UKBA so that they would reply in writing. They went on about the obvious rules regarding supplementary employment (even though I emphasised that I would not be an employee and I would not receive dividends). They finished their reply with:

Tier 2 (General) visa holders cannot work as self employed.

In short, it seems like a big no from them. UKBA doesn't seem to care about HMRC's definition of self employed. They would probably consider directorship as self employed. I might have to close my company now.

[MrBrilliant]

Ha, great minds think alike!

Yeah that's the problem, what exactly is the definition of "self-employed"? Usually when I ask, I get the same lecture about "no self employment, you can only work up to 20 extra hours a week in the same area as you main occupation, etc."

In my opinion, registering a company is like registering a domain name: you just fill out a form and occupy the name. But I guess the UKBA may see it differently.

I had a lawyer tell me a horror story about a woman who applied for ILR after 10 years and was rejected because her bank statements showed that she once took a £100 cheque for some work she'd done.. so I'm very cautious of money entering my account.

That being said, would they know about your business accounts and registered companies?

[Gagan1986]

Ha, great minds think alike!

Yeah that's the problem, what exactly is the definition of "self-employed"? Usually when I ask, I get the same lecture about "no self employment, you can only work up to 20 extra hours a week in the same area as you main occupation, etc."

In my opinion, registering a company is like registering a domain name: you just fill out a form and occupy the name. But I guess the UKBA may see it differently.

I had a lawyer tell me a horror story about a woman who applied for ILR after 10 years and was rejected because her bank statements showed that she once took a £100 cheque for some work she'd done.. so I'm very cautious of money entering my account.

That being said, would they know about your business accounts and registered companies?

Opening a company will be classified as self employment. UKBA will find out and it's not worth risking your ILR just for few hundred quid.