Hi, I recently set up a new company, for which I am currently the director and the full shareholder. The company's business is IT consulting to financial institutions. Currently I am the only employee, but this may change in the near future, as I am planning to bring on more consultants.

I am from the U.S. and will need to get a new work permit in order to work for this company - I'm currently here in the U.K. under a permit for a previous job. I've received some legal advice, and apparently this is going to be difficult, because there is simply no way for me to apply for a work permit working for my own company. So now I am looking at various methods for resolving this issue.

First of all, I've been proposed various options such as switching from contracting to working directly as a perm employee for the bank I'm at - or working for an umbrella company. I'd like to scratch both of these options off immediately, as I am absolutely determined to find a way to own and work for my own company.

Given that premise, one possibility could be for me to transfer all ownership and directorship of the company to someone I trust - and I actually have just the right person in mind. I would immediately have that person sign a power of attorney as well as a blank transfer of shares, leaving the option open for me to transfer the company back to myself at any point. Once the work permit application is processed and the permit has been acquired, it seems like I should then be able to transfer the company back to myself right away. Thus, it seems like the company would be out of my hands for maybe around a month.

Another option could be to follow similar logic as above, but to use a nominee director/shareholder/secretary. This is more costly, but potentially done in a cleaner way, since presumably the formation company handling everything knows what they are doing better than I do.

I'm curious to see if anyone here has dealt with any similar issues, and if so, what advice you might have for me. Additionally, I'm looking for any advice anyone could give me regarding the options I've proposed - would a nominee registration be acceptable, or does it really need to be a real person, in order to have the best chances with the work permit application?

I'm a relative newbie at all of this, so I would also appreciate any advice anyone could give me about what forms will need to be submitted, and what process I'll need to go through to get everything transferred over properly. Am I best off paying a company to handle all of this for me, or is it easy enough that I could do it myself?

Do I need to transfer everything, i.e. notify Inland Revenue, VAT and excise, my bank, and all other agencies? Or does simply notifying company's house suffice? I'm curious about what the home office will actually be interested in looking at to verify the authenticity of the "director" of the company that is offering me work.

Thanks for all your help!