I had a limited company under my Skilled Worker visa — will it affect my ILR?
Having had a now-dissolved limited company is not, by itself, a problem for your ILR (settlement) application — provided the work fell within the supplementary employment rules of your Skilled Worker / Tier 2 visa and your tax was handled correctly. The Home Office assesses your ILR mainly on your continuous residence, your salary, your absences, and whether you kept to your visa conditions. A company you wound up cleanly does not undo any of that. Where care is needed is making sure the side work was genuinely permitted, and that the company was closed properly with HMRC settled — because the same paper trail can resurface at the good character stage if you later apply for citizenship.
- Supplementary employment lets you work up to 20 hours a week in another job or your own business, alongside the role you are sponsored for.
- The additional work must sit in an eligible occupation code, and you must keep doing your sponsored job.
- ILR turns on continuous residence, salary, sponsored employment and absences — not on whether you once had a company.
- Closing a company means filing final accounts and a Company Tax Return with HMRC and paying any outstanding tax.
- Tax compliance is reviewed again under the good character test if you apply for citizenship later.
What supplementary work the visa actually allows
GOV.UK is explicit that, on a Skilled Worker visa, "you can work up to 20 hours a week in another job or for your own business" — as long as you are still doing the job you are sponsored for. So a small side venture is contemplated by the rules. The conditions are what matter: the additional work has to be in an eligible occupation code (listed as higher-skilled, or medium-skilled only if you held your first certificate of sponsorship before 22 July 2025 and have held Skilled Worker visas continuously since), and your sponsored role must continue throughout.
There is a nuance GOV.UK's public pages do not spell out cleanly: running a limited company as a director is treated differently from ordinary supplementary employment, and the supplementary-work concession is generally read as covering work for a business rather than open-ended self-employment. If your activity was modest, within 20 hours, in an eligible role, and your sponsored job was unaffected, you are very likely within bounds. If you are unsure how your director role was characterised, this is exactly the kind of point worth checking with an immigration adviser before you submit.
What the Home Office checks at ILR
The ILR assessment for Skilled Worker holders is built around a defined set of requirements, applied through form SET(O). In broad terms the caseworker looks at:
- A continuous 5-year qualifying period, with absences of no more than 180 days in any rolling 12 months.
- Being paid at least the required salary for your occupation code.
- Ongoing employment with your sponsor in an eligible role.
- The Life in the UK test and the English language requirement.
Notice what is not on that list: a standalone judgment about a side company. A dissolved company is not a tick-box on the ILR criteria. Its only relevance is indirect — if the side work had breached your conditions (for example, exceeding 20 hours or sitting in an ineligible occupation), that could be read as a conditions breach. If the work was permitted, the company existing and then closing is simply part of your history.
Do not assume "it is dissolved, so it is gone." Striking a company off does not erase your tax obligations. GOV.UK requires you to send final statutory accounts and a Company Tax Return to HMRC and to pay all outstanding Corporation Tax and other tax before or as part of closing. An unsettled tax bill on a closed company is far more likely to cause you problems than the company having existed at all.
Closing the company the right way
Voluntary strike-off is done on Companies House form DS01, signed by a majority of directors. Before that, the clean route is to file your final accounts and Company Tax Return marked as final, settle any Corporation Tax, deal with PAYE and VAT if registered, and notify creditors, shareholders and employees within seven days of applying. Any assets left in the company when it is struck off pass to the Crown, so distribute or deal with them first. If you have already dissolved without doing all of this, get advice promptly — HMRC can object to a strike-off and a company can be restored.
Why this matters again at citizenship
ILR is often a stepping stone to naturalisation, and the good character requirement looks closely at your financial affairs. Home Office guidance treats failing to pay taxes you were liable for as a factor that can count against you. A company that was run within the rules and closed with HMRC fully paid is the picture you want to be able to evidence. So keep your records: the company accounts, tax returns and confirmation of payment, evidence the work stayed within supplementary limits, and the dissolution confirmation. If the Home Office queries it at ILR or citizenship, you can answer in one tidy bundle.
For the wider settlement evidence picture, see our ILR document checklist for Skilled Worker and partner routes, and for how side income is evidenced specifically, our guide on what self-employment income documents count for Skilled Worker ILR.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. For anything involving how your director role was classified or unsettled company tax, speak to a qualified immigration adviser and an accountant.