unpaid holiday on T2 visa

[princesh]

Hi there,

I am on a tier 2 general visa on a PERMANENT job started in Jan 2016 with a salary slightly above £40K. My visa is valid for 5 years ( minus 20 days).

I would like to work part-time in my job to take care of my own business. (1) Can I do that while continuing to count towards ILR? If yes, (2) is there a minimum number of hours I shouldn't go below?

I am also thinking - as another option - to take an unpaid holiday for about 6 months. (3) Does this contradict with the 'continuous period' concept to get ILR? If no, (4) is there any conditions I should be aware of?


If unpaid holiday is not possible, (5) can I take a parental leave (for 5 weeks)?

I read that the home office looks at the last 6 months when applying to ILR. If I worked currently part-time/unpaid holiday and went back to full time on the last six month. (6) Is that still valid for ILR?


The other part of my question is that my visa is 5 years minus 20 days. (7) Do I need another certificate of sponsorship for the 20 days and another visa application?
(8) Do my dependents also need another visa application or I can apply as a premium service and once I get my new visa they apply for ILR only?

Thanks so much for your answers.

[princesh]

I would like to add that during my part-time or unpaid holiday, I will remain in the UK most of the time.

[CR001]

I would like to work part-time in my job to take care of my own business.

You shouldn't be 'working for your own business' on a Tier 2 General visa.

You also cannot work 'part time'. You must work a minimum of 30 hours.

Any supplementary employment must be in the same SOC through PAYE and you must still continue to work for your main Tier 2 sponsor.

[Djsuccess]

Hi there,

I am on a tier 2 general visa on a PERMANENT job started in Jan 2016 with a salary slightly above £40K. My visa is valid for 5 years ( minus 20 days).

I would like to work part-time in my job to take care of my own business. (1) Can I do that while continuing to count towards ILR? If yes, (2) is there a minimum number of hours I shouldn't go below?

I am also thinking - as another option - to take an unpaid holiday for about 6 months. (3) Does this contradict with the 'continuous period' concept to get ILR? If no, (4) is there any conditions I should be aware of?


If unpaid holiday is not possible, (5) can I take a parental leave (for 5 weeks)?

I read that the home office looks at the last 6 months when applying to ILR. If I worked currently part-time/unpaid holiday and went back to full time on the last six month. (6) Is that still valid for ILR?


The other part of my question is that my visa is 5 years minus 20 days. (7) Do I need another certificate of sponsorship for the 20 days and another visa application?
(8) Do my dependents also need another visa application or I can apply as a premium service and once I get my new visa they apply for ILR only?

Thanks so much for your answers.

Simply put, you shouldn't do any of the things you have mentioned. you are not allowed under Tier 2. if you want to start your own business, you will probably need to switch to another category of visa. as for the 5 years minus 20 days, you will not need another CoS as you can apply for ILR 28 days before you clock 5 years.

[CR001]

Simply put, you shouldn't do any of the things you have mentioned. you are not allowed under Tier 2. if you want to start your own business, you will probably need to switch to another category of visa. as for the 5 years minus 20 days, you will not need another CoS as you can apply for ILR 28 days before you clock 5 years.

Unfortunately for the OP, he has been doing this since 2015 when he started his business.

indefinite-leave-to-remain/t1-ge-t2-g-t ... l#p1599503

I came to the UK in Sep 2013 on a T4 student visa.
I then had a T1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa on Jan 2015.
I created a company on March 2015 me being the director.
On April 2015 I worked on a full time job with a salary +£38K.
On Jan 2016 my employer registered themselves as a sponsor for me and issued me a CoS. I changed my visa to T2 on Jan 2016 continuing to work for the same employer and doing some side business in my company.

[princesh]

Hi CR001,

Thanks for your reply. Is there anything wrong with starting my business. May I clarify that I am not an employee in my company nor take any salary. However, I am the director. I have some employees including my wife. (1) Is there anything illegal in this? If so, I can make my wife the director. (2) Does this solves the issue?

Thanks

[Djsuccess]

Hi CR001,

Thanks for your reply. Is there anything wrong with starting my business. May I clarify that I am not an employee in my company nor take any salary. However, I am the director. I have some employees including my wife. (1) Is there anything illegal in this? If so, I can make my wife the director. (2) Does this solves the issue?

Thanks

You risk forfeiting your Tier 2 visa or getting your next application refused because you have not followed the rules of Tier 2 visa. Doing a supplementary job is not the issue, the issue is you owning and running a registered business while on tier 2. You should have handed over the company to your wife immediately you switched to tier 2. Being a director means your own all of some of the shares in the company and therefore make money from the profit generated by the company. have you declared your income from the company to HMRC, is the company paying their corporate tax? how many employees do you have? Are they on PAYEE?
You need to resign from being the director of the company and then make your wife the director. This will not make the error of the last 3 years go away but atleast it will put you on the right path to regularisation
Wait.
From the sound of your initial question, it appears your business is taking more of your time than your current sponsored job, that's why you want to take 6 months unpaid leave to face your business. You have to choose one. I guess your starting point now will be to resign from being the director of your business or switch your visa and then face your business.

[princesh]

Hi CR001,

"You risk forfeiting your Tier 2 visa or getting your next application refused because you have not followed the rules of Tier 2 visa. Doing a supplementary job is not the issue, the issue is you owning and running a registered business while on tier 2. You should have handed over the company to your wife immediately you switched to tier 2. Being a director means your own all of some of the shares in the company and therefore make money from the profit generated by the company."
Could you please point me to where it says a T2 holder is not allowed to create a business? I checked What you can and can’t do in this page
this https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general

May I also clarify that I am not a registered employee in my company, I own the company but others do the work. Does this make any difference?

"have you declared your income from the company to HMRC,"
I don't take any income from the company (don't take salary and don't take dividends). All profit stays/invested in the company again (other projects)

"is the company paying their corporate tax?"
Yes, I have an accountant and we pay tax every year.

"how many employees do you have? Are they on PAYEE? "
I have one employee in the UK (my wife) and yes she is on PAYEE. Other employees outside the UK

You need to resign from being the director of the company and then make your wife the director. This will not make the error of the last 3 years go away but at least it will put you on the right path to regularisation
Wait.
"From the sound of your initial question, it appears your business is taking more of your time than your current sponsored job, that's why you want to take 6 months unpaid leave to face your business. You have to choose one. I guess your starting point now will be to resign from being the director of your business or switch your visa and then face your business."
I only take days off my job to manage the company. I want to spend more time in my company because it makes more money than my job. What would be the best way to do that? I am keen not to restart the clock for ILR (if at all possible).

Thanks so much for your clear answers and quick response!

[Djsuccess]

Hi CR001,

""
Could you please point me to where it says a T2 holder is not allowed to create a business? I checked What you can and can’t do in this page
this https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general
check here for the conditions for doing a second job. https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/second-job
holding a Tier 2 visa means you are mainly in the UK because of the of the work you do for your sponsor. if working for your sponsor is no longer the main reason you are here, then you need another type of visa that suits the reason you are here or what you are doing here. You can take a second job on this visa if you’re working up to 20 hours a week in either:

the same profession as your main job and at the same level
a profession on the shortage occupation list
You can also do unpaid voluntary work.

Otherwise, you’ll need to apply for a new visa. You’ll need to be sponsored by your second employer and get a new certificate of sponsorship.

Are you a director with your sponsor? If not, the business is not on the same level as your sponsored job.
Is your business in the same profession as your sponsored job? If not, then you cannot do it? if yes, then you are competing with your sponsor in what is known as conflict of interest which no employer will tolerate.

May I also clarify that I am not a registered employee in my company, I own the company but others do the work. Does this make any difference?
NOt being a registered employee doesn't mean that you are not making money from the business, you are not just taking cash. you pump the profit back into the business thereby increasing your asset. Being a director of the company and owning the comany makes it a source of income for you whether you take salary from it or not.

"have you declared your income from the company to HMRC,"
I don't take any income from the company (don't take salary and don't take dividends). All profit stays/invested in the company again (other projects)
# The profit is your income, you are not taking it as cash but putting it back as an investment. It is still an income.

"is the company paying their corporate tax?"
Yes, I have an accountant and we pay tax every year.

"how many employees do you have? Are they on PAYEE? "
I have one employee in the UK (my wife) and yes she is on PAYEE. Other employees outside the UK

You need to resign from being the director of the company and then make your wife the director. This will not make the error of the last 3 years go away but at least it will put you on the right path to regularisation
Wait.
"From the sound of your initial question, it appears your business is taking more of your time than your current sponsored job, that's why you want to take 6 months unpaid leave to face your business. You have to choose one. I guess your starting point now will be to resign from being the director of your business or switch your visa and then face your business."
I only take days off my job to manage the company. I want to spend more time in my company because it makes more money than my job. What would be the best way to do that? I am keen not to restart the clock for ILR (if at all possible).

I figured out that might be the reason. But unfortunately, tier 2 doesn't give such freedom. You can only do that on Entrepreneurial visas, exceptional Talent/ Promise visas or once you are on ILR.

Thanks so much for your clear answers and quick response!

Those are my thoughts, perhaps others in the forum might have more to add.

[princesh]

Hi Djsuccess and CR001,

Thanks for your clarification. I resigned as a director and assigned my wife as the director. So now, I am not related to the company on paper. However, I still would like to take the maximum time out of my job. What are my options? Can I take an unpaid holiday for a certain time? can I take a parental leave? can I work 30hrs/wk only? what else?

Thanks

[princesh]

Dear CR001 and Djsuccess,

I found this online which clearly mentions that a tier-2 holder is allowed to have their own business and work up to 20 hours a week (in the same filed).

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... any_on_a_t

Could you please explain why you advised me to resign?

Looking forward to having your reply.

Thanks

[Djsuccess]

Dear CR001 and Djsuccess,

I found this online which clearly mentions that a tier-2 holder is allowed to have their own business and work up to 20 hours a week (in the same filed).

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... any_on_a_t

Could you please explain why you advised me to resign?

Looking forward to having your reply.

Thanks

I must admit that it is the first time I am seeing the link. But it is not unusual to get different answers when you contact HO customer service. However, I must say that your case is different in that your business is not a supplementary job for you but more or less another full-time job.

Please read the conditions for a supplementary job again and judge if your business meets the requirement.

You can take a second job on this visa if you’re working up to 20 hours a week in either:

the same profession as your main job and at the same level
a profession on the shortage occupation list
You can also do unpaid voluntary work.

Otherwise, you’ll need to apply for a new visa. You’ll need to be sponsored by your second employer and get a new certificate of sponsorship.


When issues are not clear it is better to take the safer route. As always, we advise people here based on experience and what other members have experienced. It is entirely up to you to accept the advice or not.
Your business has not been serving as your supplementary job because you have not been earning salaries from it (even though it is still a source of income or investment for you). Don't forget that the business and the owner are different entities. So the fact that you have been paying corporation tax on the company doesn't excuse you from paying tax on your income from the company.
if you want to claim it as a supplementary job, then you should earn from it and it must not be more than 20 hr/ week.

you need to look at the bigger picture. you can only work 20 hours/week on a second job provided the job meets the requirements above, That means you cannot even use your annual leave to work elsewhere. Any unpaid leave will be reported to the UKVI via the SMS. taking unpaid holiday means that your income will reduce and therefore it will be reported as a change in circumstances. If your sponsor fails to report it, they might have issues with UKVI.
You cannot take 6 months unpaid leave to work in a company where you claim you are not collecting salary from and you are not officially an employee. Hope you can how easy it is to get things complicated.

if your business is booming and you are thinking of giving it more attention, what you can do is move to entrepreneur visa so you can work full-time for yourself and then part-time for your current employer. (not sure how easy that will be).

Since you don't want to lose you continuity for ILR. My advice again is that you allow your wife to continue to run the company while you support in any way you can. But you have to remain in full-time employment with your current sponsor.

These are my opinions and interpretation of the Tier 2 guide. Again, the choice is yours

[Djsuccess]

Hi Djsuccess and CR001,

Thanks for your clarification. I resigned as a director and assigned my wife as the director. So now, I am not related to the company on paper. However, I still would like to take the maximum time out of my job. What are my options? Can I take an unpaid holiday for a certain time? can I take a parental leave? can I work 30hrs/wk only? what else?

Thanks

Tier 2 visa is not as flexible as you think it is. Please read the conditions for supplementary jobs.

Is your business in the same profession as your job?
Is the job on the same level as what you do in your business?

[princesh]

Is your business in the same profession as your job? Yes, I work as an IT developer for a non-IT company and my business is in IT as well. So yes in the same profession and there's no conflict of interest.
Is the job on the same level as what you do in your business? yes same level but I am my own director in my company (no my wife is the director at home and at work - thanks for your advice )

[princesh]

Hi,

I am on a tier 2 visa and would like to take an unpaid holiday for a month. During this month, I will not leave the UK. So it is not about staying in/leaving the UK. After the month, I will go back to my permanent job with 40K salary as usual. Is the unpaid holiday something that I can do? can you please refer me to any article that approves or denies the right of having an unpaid holiday for a long period (about a month)?

I posted this question more than once and couldn't have a definite answer so I hope this time I gave all the clarification.

Looking forward to having your reply.