Director of a Non-profit on a Skilled Worker Visa

Hello Everyone,

I am currently on a Skilled Worker dependent visa in the UK. I work full-time and I am also a volunteer non-executive director for a non-profit/community interest company (CIC). I'm listed on companies house as a director. I don't earn a penny out of it. Not even expenses. I do this purely for community interest. I spend about 10 hours a month on meetings and other eyes-on, hands-off activities.

Recently, I got an offer for a job with sponsorship for a skilled worker visa. I thought I'll give my wife a break and take up the sponsored job. I'm aware that any additional work is restricted to 20 hours under skilled worker visa and it should either be in the same employment code or in a shortage occupation.

My question is would my non-exec role in a non-profit violate this criteria? In other words, if I take up the sponsored job, will I have to resign from my directorship?

Thank you in advance.

While I can't answer your question on working as the director of a non-profit, I will touch upon a point you have mentioned in your original post.

m2i wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 9:42 pm

I am currently on a Skilled Worker dependent visa in the UK

m2i wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 23, 2021 9:42 pm

I thought I'll give my wife a break and take up the sponsored job.

Be aware that if you change from a Skilled Worker dependent to a Skilled Worker visa, your ILR clock will reset to zero and you will need to spend five years on a Skilled Worker visa before becoming eligible for ILR.

The same applies for your wife as well. If she switches from a Skilled Worker visa to a Skilled Worker Dependent visa, her ILR clock will reset to zero and she will need to complete five years on that visa to qualify for ILR.

You haven't mentioned if you have any children, but if you have any children born outside the UK, they will qualify for ILR with the second/less-privileged parent, whichever one of the two of you it may be.

You may want to reflect on that point and have a discussion with your wife before progressing this any further.

Thank you @secret.simon for your valuable thoughts.
I learned about the ILR clock reset, thanks to this forum. It's obviously a significant drawback of switching visas. However, due to family reasons, I am considering this option.
Of course, I do admit that this is a much bigger problem compared to maintaining a directorship.
Thanks again.

Would any other members have any thoughts about being a director of a CIC while on Skilled Worker visa?