AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Yes, within limits. The UK Immigration Rules allow a visitor to "undertake activities relating to their employment overseas remotely from within the UK", provided this is not the primary purpose of the visit (Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities, PA 4(h), page updated 8 October 2026). You still cannot work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, and the trip itself must be a genuine visit.
Many Nigerians who work for a company in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt now do their jobs from a laptop. When a family event, a wedding or a long holiday takes them to the UK, the obvious question follows: can you open the laptop in a relative's flat in Peckham or Manchester and carry on working? The UK rules give a clearer answer than most people expect, but the limits matter, and they are easy to cross without noticing.
What the visitor rules actually say
The list of things a visitor may do sits in the Immigration Rules, in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities. Paragraph PA 4(h) allows a visitor to "undertake activities relating to their employment overseas remotely from within the UK", with one condition: "providing this is not the primary purpose of their visit". The page was last updated on 8 October 2026.
GOV.UK's Standard Visitor page (updated 13 October 2026) sets out the other side of the line. A visitor cannot do "paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person", apart from permitted paid engagements such as giving a lecture as an expert in your field. You can usually stay for up to six months, and you cannot "live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent or successive visits".
- Allowed
- Answering emails, attending video calls, writing code or reports for the Nigerian employer that already pays you, while you are in the UK mainly to visit.
- Not allowed
- Taking on UK clients, doing freelance gigs for UK firms, filling a role in a UK office, or making the trip mainly so that you can work from the UK.
- Grey area
- Long stays where you work full days for most of the visit. The rules do not define "primary purpose", so the overall pattern of your trip is what an officer looks at.
What "not the primary purpose" means in practice
The rules give no hours limit or percentage. The test is why you are coming. Two labelled examples show the difference.
- Example A. A product manager at a Lagos fintech flies to Birmingham for her sister's wedding and stays three weeks. She takes one week as annual leave and works her normal hours remotely for the other two, so she can stay longer with family. The purpose of the trip is the family visit; the remote work fits within PA 4(h).
- Example B. A developer books a five-month let in London, tells friends he is "relocating for a while", and works full days throughout. Family visits are occasional. The work looks like the main reason for being in the UK, which is the situation the condition is designed to catch.
Officers can also look at your travel history. If you have spent much of the past year in the UK on back-to-back visits while working remotely, the "frequent or successive visits" rule comes into play even if each trip is short.
Visa, entry and what to carry
Whether you need a visa or an electronic travel authorisation depends on your nationality; GOV.UK's Standard Visitor page tells readers to check at gov.uk/check-uk-visa. If you need a Standard Visitor visa, the Home Office fee table in force from 8 April 2026 lists it at £135 for up to six months. You must show that you will leave at the end of the visit and can support yourself (or that someone else is funding the trip).
For a trip where you will keep working, it helps to carry:
- A letter from your Nigerian employer confirming your role, that you are employed and paid in Nigeria, and the dates you will be away.
- Recent payslips or bank statements showing salary paid by that employer.
- Your return ticket or a clear plan for leaving.
- Details of where you will stay and who you are visiting.
Answer questions at the border plainly. "I am visiting my family and I will be keeping up with my job in Lagos remotely during part of the stay" describes a permitted activity. Saying you are "coming to work in London" describes something else.
Tax and pay while you are in the UK
Immigration permission and tax are separate questions. GOV.UK explains that non-residents pay UK tax only on UK income, while UK residents normally pay tax on all their income, including foreign income. Whether you become UK resident depends on the UK's residence rules and how long you spend in the UK; a short family visit is a different case from months in the country. If your stays are long or frequent, take advice before assuming nothing is due. Your salary normally continues through your Nigerian employer's payroll as before.
Where Pryme fits
If your salary arrives in naira, a Pryme multicurrency account can hold it in NGN and in GBP side by side, with Swap converting only when you choose; the app shows the rate and the fee before you approve. Sign-in uses an authenticator app rather than SMS codes, which matters when you are on a UK SIM (security). If you are thinking of moving to the UK to work for the same company, read remote work for a Nigerian company on a UK visa and when a digital nomad becomes UK tax resident.
Questions people ask
Can I work remotely for my Nigerian company while on a UK visitor visa?
Yes, if it is not the main reason for your trip. Appendix Visitor PA 4(h) permits remote work for an overseas employer, provided it is not the primary purpose of the visit.
Can I take UK freelance clients while visiting?
No. GOV.UK says visitors cannot do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, except permitted paid engagements.
How long can I stay in the UK as a visitor?
Usually up to six months per visit, and you cannot live in the UK through frequent or successive visits.
Do I pay UK tax on my Nigerian salary during a visit?
Non-residents pay UK tax only on UK income. Long or frequent stays can change your residence position, so check the residence rules or take advice.
Sources
- GOV.UK Immigration Rules: Appendix Visitor, Permitted Activities (updated 8 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor (updated 13 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 April 2026 (updated 10 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Tax on foreign income, residence (updated 1 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.