First off I'm on a 3 year work permit (which will be extended by 2 years after those 3 if all goes well). I forget what it was specifically called but I was on the job rush list and have been living and working here for about 7 months.
Unless you transferred her with your US company, I imagine you're on a Tier 2 (General) visa.
Question 1:
What are my options in starting a business? Do I have any? I wouldn't stop working where I'm at and honestly have no plans. What rights do I have while on this Work Permit? I basically know I cannot vote and can't quit my job without risking being deported or something, but that's basically all I know (note: I like my job, so it's not like I"m going to quit. Just wondering about options).
It's a very good idea to take a bit of time to read up on your visa and find out exactly what it's called, what it entails and what you can and can't do... you don't want anything to come back and bite you later because you weren't aware of your own immigration rights.
See the Tier 2 General visa information here:
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/overviewand the policy guidance for Tier 2 visas (page 54 for what you are allowed to do while in the UK):
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/370522/Tier_2_Migrant_Policy_Guidance_v0_6.pdf- You can access the NHS, but you can't claim any public funds from the government, other than specific ones related to NI contributions
- You can't vote unless you are a UK citizen
- You can't become a UK citizen until you have ILR (permanent residence) and have held ILR for 12 months
- It takes 5 years to gain ILR and currently you can't qualify for it unless you are earning at least £35,000 per year
- If you leave your job, your work visa becomes invalid and you either have to leave the UK, or secure a new Tier 2 sponsorship with a new company within a certain number of days of leaving your current job
- You can work up to 20 hours in a second job without making a new Tier 2 visa application as long as it is in the same sector as your current job or is volunteer work.
- You can work up to 20 hours per week in a second job without making a new Tier 2 visa if it is on the skills shortage list.
- I don't believe you can set up a business while on your current visa.
Question 2:
I can be out of the country for a total of like 30 days a year max right? Is that from January to January or another yearly time-frame?
No, that's not correct - it's 180 days in any 12 month period during the 5 years... so you could be out of the UK for up to 6 months each year and still be okay.
However, the absences must be connected to your employment (i.e. they can be travel for work, weekend trips abroad or part of your annual leave, but you can't just up and leave your job and the UK for months at a time because you feel like it).
When calculating the days outside the UK, you don't include the days you left and returned to the UK - so if you leave the UK on Monday and return on Friday that only counts as 3 days outside the UK (Tue, Wed and Thu).
Each year will be calculated from the date your visa was issued... so if you've been here about 7 months, I'm assuming for you this will be May to May each year.
However, if you will wish to apply for UK citizenship 1 year after you have ILR (so after 6 years in the UK), you can't have been outside the UK for more than 450 days in total over the preceding 5 years, and no more than 90 of those days can have been in the final 12 months before applying.
