2

I work remotely as a software developer, and am going to visit the UK for 6 months (just by showing my US passport upon entry for a tourist visa since I have never been to the UK before). I have housing accommodations arranged and sufficient finances for my stay there.

I won’t work while I am there (tourist visa requires that I do not), however

  1. I have a few apps that provide me some income. Is it ok for me to receive that income as long as I don’t work on making any updates/bug fixes for these apps while in the UK?

  2. Similarly, if I finish some remote work shortly before I leave, sometimes I won’t get paid for a month or so afterwards. Is it okay for me to receive that pay for work I did outside the UK?

Improve this question
9
  • Related, see second answer: travel.stackexchange.com/questions/45092/…
    – SztupY ♦
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 17:28
  • Do you mean receive that income in the UK?
    – DJohnM
    Commented Sep 18, 2018 at 6:13
  • What is the purpose of your visit? The 6 months is the length of the visa, but it is not intended for the residing in the UK.
    – ouflak ♦
    Commented Sep 18, 2018 at 7:35
  • @ouflak I am living with my long term partner for those 6 months, he is a student in the UK. You can see the edit history of this post for more info, I edited it out because it didn’t seem relevant
    – Phylliida
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 12:33
  • Then it sounds like you are residing in the UK and not 'visiting'. This is not what this visa (either through a waiver or otherwise) is at all intended for. It may not be relevant to you, but this is VERY relevant to the government of the United Kingdom.
    – ouflak ♦
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 13:06

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

Being paid while you are visiting on a tourist visa is fine.

For a simpler example, consider a full-time US employee that visits the UK for a week. There is absolutely no problem about their employer depositing their salary in their bank account during the visit.

Improve this answer
8
  • "depositing their salary in their bank account during the visit" The employee's UK bank account?
    – DJohnM
    Commented Sep 18, 2018 at 6:11
  • 1
    @DJohnM I meant the employee's US bank account. The OP will find it quite hard to open a bank account in the UK for a six month visit, and is vanishingly unlikely to give a US client a UK bank account to pay their bills to.
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Commented Sep 18, 2018 at 6:52
  • Yes I meant my US bank account, I don’t have a UK one
    – Phylliida
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 12:35
  • @MartinBonner do you have a source for this? What you say seems plausible but it would be nice to see it written somewhere
    – Phylliida
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 12:36
  • 1
    @Phylliida - no I don't have a source for this. I'm not sure anyone would bother to document it - it is just so obvious that a tourist visa covers the case that you are visiting when you happen to be paid.
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Commented Sep 20, 2018 at 15:17

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.