Starting a Business as a Visa Holder in the UK

Which Visas Allow Self-Employment

Your visa conditions determine whether you can be self-employed. The main categories are:

Self-Employment Permitted Without a Sponsor

• Spouse/partner visa
• Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
• Global Talent visa
• Graduate route
• Ancestry visa
• British citizenship
• EU Settlement Scheme settled status

Self-Employment Tied to an Endorsed Business

• Innovator Founder visa — GOV.UK says you can "set up a business or several businesses" and work for your business, as a director or as a member of a partnership. Work outside the business is allowed only in a job needing at least a level 3 qualification. The Start-up route that preceded it closed to new applicants in April 2023

Limited Self-Employment

• Skilled Worker visa — work is permitted only in the sponsored job, plus supplementary employment and voluntary work. GOV.UK puts the business version of that allowance at "up to 20 hours a week in another job or for your own business as long as you're still doing the job you're being sponsored for". Any business administration, such as preparing invoices, counts inside those 20 hours

No Self-Employment

• Student visa — GOV.UK lists "be self-employed" among the things a Student cannot do. Paragraph ST 26.8 of Appendix Student sets out the single exception: a Student may be self-employed while an Innovator Founder application, supported by an endorsement and made while they held Student permission, is still undecided, or while an administrative review of its refusal is undetermined
• Visitor visa — no work of any kind, and no business activity

This page describes published conditions. Your own grant of permission, and the route guidance for it on GOV.UK, are what govern. Read the conditions on your eVisa before you trade.

The Skilled Worker 20-Hour Allowance in Detail

This is the rule most often described loosely, so here it is in full. The additional work has to meet one of three tests:

• its occupation code is listed as "higher skilled", or
• it is on the Immigration Salary List, or
• it is in the same sector and at the same level as your sponsored job

There is a narrow exception for medium-skilled roles, open only to someone whose first certificate of sponsorship was issued before 22 July 2025 and who has held Skilled Worker permission continuously since. To work more than 20 hours a week in the additional job, the second employer has to sponsor you and the visa has to be updated.

Registering Your Business

The process is the same as for anyone in the UK. You have two main options:

Sole Trader

Register as self-employed with HMRC. This is the simplest option. You keep all profits after tax and are personally liable for business debts.

Limited Company

Register with Companies House. The company is a separate legal entity. You can be the sole director and shareholder. This structure offers limited liability but involves more administration, including filing annual accounts and confirmation statements.

You will need a National Insurance number and a UK bank account. See our bank account guide if you have not opened one yet.

Tax Obligations

Running a business in the UK means you must comply with UK tax rules:

• Income tax: Paid on your profits (sole trader) or salary and dividends (limited company)
• National Insurance: Class 2 is no longer compulsory. A sole trader with profits of £7,105 or more is treated as having paid it, which protects the National Insurance record; below that it can be paid voluntarily at £3.65 a week. Class 4 is charged on profits over £12,570, at 6% up to £50,270 and 2% above that. Class 1 applies instead if you pay yourself a salary through a company
• VAT: registration is required once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or you expect to pass it within the next 30 days
• Corporation tax: Applicable if you run a limited company

For a full overview, see our tax guide for visa holders.

Impact on Immigration Applications

Self-employment income can count toward financial requirements when extending your visa or applying for ILR. However, you need solid documentation:

• HMRC self-assessment tax returns (SA302)
• Tax year overviews
• Business bank statements
• Company accounts (if limited company)
• Invoices and contracts

The specified evidence for self-employed income is set out in Appendix FM-SE for family routes and in the relevant appendix for other routes. What those rules have in common is that the figures have to agree across the tax return, the accounts and the bank statements.

Practical Steps to Get Started

• Confirm your visa allows self-employment
• Get a National Insurance number
• Open a business bank account (keep business and personal finances separate)
• Register with HMRC (and Companies House if forming a company)
• An accountant familiar with your route can help with records
• Keep detailed records from day one
• Check whether you need any professional licences for your industry

Next Steps

Read the conditions attached to your permission first: they decide whether self-employment is open to you at all. Where it is, registration with HMRC and a business bank account come next, and records kept from day one are what later applications are evidenced with.

Related guides:

• Self-Employment and Spouse Visa
• UK Tax Guide for Visa Holders
• Employment Rights for Visa Holders
• National Insurance Number Guide

Questions and answers