British citizenship for entrepreneurs: founded a UK company while on a Work visa?

Started your company while in a sponsored role? Learn how running your business while on a Work or Global Talent visa affects your citizenship application.

The Skilled Worker visa and Global Talent visa are two routes that allow visa holders to work in the UK. Skilled Worker visa holders are permitted to take on up to 20 hours of additional work per week in addition to their sponsored role. This additional work can include employment with another organisation, voluntary work or running their own business.

Those who want to undertake supplementary work whilst on a Skilled Worker visa must ensure that the additional work meets one of the following conditions:

• It has an eligible occupation code listed as ‘higher skilled’;
• It is on the Immigration Salary List;
• It is in the same sector and at the same level as their main sponsored job.

For those who received their first Skilled Worker visa before 22 July 2025 and have continuously held a Skilled Worker visa since then, additional work may also include roles classified as a ‘medium skilled’ eligible occupation code.

Any supplementary work remains conditional on the applicant continuing to perform the work for which they are sponsored.

Anyone working more than 20 hours a week will need to apply to update their visa and obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship from their second employer.

The Global Talent visa is more flexible for those wishing to start their own business, as visa holders have no restrictions on working hours and are not tied to a specific job.

Effect on tax history, financial evidence and citizenship assessment

Business owners on both the Skilled Worker and Global Talent visas should keep records of their business income and expenses to ensure they can correctly file tax returns where required.

Maintaining accurate, up-to-date financial records is essential, as financial soundness forms part of the ‘good character’ requirement for those applying to naturalise as a British citizen.

Business owners should keep track of:

• All business expenses;
• VAT records, if they are registered for VAT;
• PAYE records, if they employ staff;
• Records of their personal income.

When applying for naturalisation, applicants give the Home Office consent to approach HM Revenue and Customs to verify that the applicant’s tax and national insurance affairs are in order.

Bankruptcies and liquidations may constitute potential grounds for refusal under the ‘good character’ requirement, particularly if they occurred within the previous ten years. Those applying for naturalisation must disclose any bankruptcies or liquidations they have been involved in, and providing false information can lead to refusal and may result in a ten-year period during which citizenship applications will normally be refused.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on all UK visa and British nationality matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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