John I might have jumped the gun on this one.
This is coming as a revelation to me being a foreign student here with a dependant. I had always thought that a dependant could not take up self employment because they have a section on the VAF-1 form where they ask if you intend to set up a business while in the UK. I believe your visa would be refused outrightly if you (as a student dependant) indicate yes to this question.
Your post made me do some emergency research now and I found from the link below:
http://www.ukcosa.org.uk/student/info_s ... family.php
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Work
If you, the student, have been granted leave to be in the UK for 12 months or more, your family members should automatically be given permission to work. It is, therefore, important that any family member who is making an immigration application separately from you has evidence of how long you are allowed to be in the UK as a student, usually in the form of the relevant pages of your passport.
Before starting work in the UK, your family member should check what conditions are attached to the immigration permission on his or her entry clearance or residence permit. If s/he is allowed to work, the only condition will be No recourse to public funds.
This means that your family member can take up full-time or part-time employment, be self-employed or set up a business. If the words 'No work' or 'Work prohibited' appear on the entry clearance or residence permit, your family member is not allowed to undertake any work, paid or unpaid.
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I couldn't believe my eyes that I've been in the UK for close to 10 months now with my family thinking that my wife is not allowed to set up a business or be self-employed. I'm hitting myself again now as there are so many things she could have done by way of business during this time period.
My apologies for any confusion out of ignorance. However I'll still want to be double sure that this is actually allowed by the home office rather than just a loophole that could be exploited.
Thanks John
We burn the midnight oil seeking for PEO appointments and up again early to resume our all-important jobs to keep us in the country. We are Highly Skilled Immigrants - in every sense of the word!