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Spouse visa with self-employed income: how the financial requirement is calculated and evidenced

Self-employed income is measured over the last full financial year, or the average of the last two, using tax returns and accounts, not recent bank balances. A self-employed person cannot top up a shortfall with savings, and company directors who own most of a small company follow a separate set of tests. Evidence rules are in Appendix FM-SE paragraphs 7, 9, 13 and 19.

Salaried workers can prove income with six months of payslips. Self-employed people cannot, and this is the main reason their partner applications are the most document-heavy and the most likely to run into trouble. The Rules measure income differently, they ask for tax and accounting documents, and they restrict how savings can be used.

This page explains how the UK partner route treats self-employment and company director income. It uses Appendix FM-SE (the specified evidence appendix, paragraphs 7 to 9, 13 and 17 to 19), Appendix FM and GOV.UK's family visa pages, all read on 9 October 2026. It describes the rules in general and does not say whether any particular business income will meet them.

The minimum income is the same as for anyone else: specified gross annual income of at least £29,000 for a first partner application, or £18,600 plus child uplifts for someone with a transitional case. The article on the financial requirement covers the figures. This one covers how the number is produced when the source is self-employment.

How self-employed income is measured

Under FM-SE paragraph 13(e), where the person is self-employed their gross annual income is the total of:

  • their gross income from self-employment (and that of their partner if that partner is in the UK with permission to work)
  • any salaried or non-salaried employment they have had
  • specified non-employment income they or their partner have received
  • pension income

all measured in the last full financial year or as an average of the last two full financial years. The evidence rules apply as if references to the date of application were references to the end of the relevant financial year.

Paragraph 19(d) says the financial year is the period of the last full financial year to which the required Statement of Account (SA300 or SA302) relates. For a sole trader or partner, paragraph 19(b) says the income is the gross taxable profits from their share of the business in the relevant year, not including any deductible allowances, expenses or liabilities which may be applied to the gross taxable profits to establish the final tax liability.

GOV.UK's information page gives a shorter summary: "If you or your family member are self-employed, you need to base your income on how much you earned in the last 6 months or more, counting back from the day you apply." That differs from the Rules, which use financial years, and GOV.UK adds that extra guidance applies if your income comes from running a limited company. When the two read differently, the Rules are the legal test. The online application tells you what to upload.

Two features follow. First, the income is historic. A big recent contract or a strong current quarter does not enter the calculation, because FM-SE 1(c) says prospective employment income is not taken into account, except for a partner returning to work in the UK and the exceptional-circumstances route. Second, a business that has no full financial year behind it has no figure to use.

A simple illustration of the two-year option: if the last two years' gross taxable profit were £26,000 and £34,000, the average is £30,000. Paragraph 7(b) allows a person to rely on the last two years where the documents show the necessary level of gross profit as an average of the two, which means producing the documents for both years.

The documents for a sole trader, partner or franchise

FM-SE paragraph 7 lists everything required for self-employment in the UK as a partner, sole trader or in a franchise. All of the following must be provided:

  • evidence of the amount of tax payable, paid and unpaid for the last full financial year
  • for the last full financial year, or for the last two years where the documents show the necessary level of profit as an average: the annual Self Assessment tax return to HMRC (a copy or print-out) and the Statement of Account (SA300 or SA302)
  • proof of registration with HMRC as self-employed, if available
  • each partner's Unique Tax Reference number (UTR), and/or the UTR of the partnership or business
  • bank statements for any separate business account, covering the same 12 months as the tax return
  • personal bank statements for the same 12 months showing that the income from self-employment was paid into an account in the name of the person, or of the person and their partner jointly
  • evidence of ongoing self-employment: at least one of a bank statement dated no more than three months before the application showing transactions relating to ongoing trading, or evidence dated within three months of renewal of a licence to trade, or ongoing payment of business rates, business insurance premiums, employer National Insurance contributions or franchise payments

And one of the following:

  • audited annual accounts for the last full financial year if the business is required to produce them; otherwise unaudited accounts for that year together with a certificate of confirmation from an accountant who is a member of one of the bodies listed in the paragraph (a UK Recognised Supervisory Body under the Companies Act 2006, the Institute of Financial Accountants, the Association of Authorised Public Accountants, CIPFA, CIMA, the Association of International Accountants or the Association of Accounting Technicians)
  • a VAT registration certificate and the VAT return for the last full financial year, if turnover exceeded £79,000 (or the threshold that applied in that year)
  • evidence of appropriate planning permission or local planning authority consent, where that is a local authority requirement for the business address
  • a franchise agreement signed by both parties, which must be provided if the organisation is a franchise

The bank statement rules in FM-SE 1(a) apply. Statements must be official or accompanied by the bank's confirmation letter.

Company directors and shareholders

Paragraph 9 of FM-SE has separate rules for income from employment and/or shares in a UK limited company of a "specified type". A company is of that type if:

  • the person is a director or employee of the company (or of another company in the same group), and
  • shares are held directly or indirectly by the person, their partner, or listed family members (parent, grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin), and
  • any remaining shares are held by fewer than five other persons

In short: a closely held family company. If the company is not of that type, for example a larger company where the person is a director and is paid like any employee, paragraph 2 on salaried employment applies instead, with extra evidence that the company is not of the specified type, such as the latest annual return at Companies House (FM-SE 2(d)).

For a closely held company the documents are:

  • the Company Tax Return CT600 for the last full financial year, and evidence it was filed with HMRC
  • evidence of registration at Companies House
  • audited accounts if required; otherwise unaudited accounts with an accountant's certificate from one of the listed bodies
  • corporate or business bank statements for the same 12 months as the CT600
  • one of: a VAT certificate and return (if turnover is above £79,000), proof of ownership or lease of the business premises, or proof of HMRC employer registration for PAYE and National Insurance with the PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference
  • where the person receives a salary from the company: payslips (and P60 if issued) for the CT600 period and personal bank statements showing the salary paid into an account in the person's name or jointly
  • where the person receives dividends: dividend vouchers for dividends declared in the CT600 period and personal bank statements showing payment into the person's account or a joint account
  • evidence of ongoing employment as director or employee, or ongoing receipt of dividends, in the period since the 12 months covered by the CT600 (FM-SE 9(e)), which can include payslips, dividend vouchers, statements, or evidence of ongoing business rates, insurance or employer National Insurance

FM-SE 13(j) applies the same calculation rules as self-employment to this kind of income. The financial years used cannot be mixed: the Rules say the relevant financial years for a paragraph 9 company cannot be combined with those under paragraph 7, and vice versa (FM-SE 13(e)).

The rule that stops savings being added

FM-SE 13(f) says: where the person is self-employed, they cannot combine their gross annual income at paragraph 13(e) with specified savings in order to meet the level of income required under Appendix FM. Paragraph 13(j) extends this to the director-shareholder category.

The savings route for salaried employees works by adding £16,000 and 2.5 times the shortfall (see the article on using savings). For self-employed people, that top-up is not available to supplement the self-employment income. The text concerns the self-employed person's own income. How it interacts with a partner's separate salary or pension in a couple where one has self-employment and the other does not is a technical point that people usually put to a regulated adviser.

Where the person is not relying on salaried or self-employment income at all, paragraph 13(g) counts only specified non-employment income and pensions, and the savings route is available in the normal way.

Two other points affect self-employed households.

  • Equity partners, for example in a law firm, are treated as salaried: income drawn from the partnership, including a profit share, is treated as salaried employment (FM-SE 17).
  • A subcontractor under HMRC's Construction Industry Scheme who does not rely on paragraph 13(e) may treat CIS income as salaried employment, with the paragraph 2 evidence adapted to their status (FM-SE 17A).

Self-employment outside the UK and a returning partner

A sponsor who is British or settled and working abroad may be self-employed overseas. For a partner returning to the UK with the applicant, the entry clearance financial sources include the partner's specified employment or self-employment, which "can include specified employment or self-employment overseas and in the UK" (E-ECP.3.2(a)).

The evidence for self-employment outside the UK is "a reasonable equivalent" to the paragraph 7 list (FM-SE 8). For prospective self-employment in the UK for a partner who is returning to continue it, paragraph 8A requires one of the following, with a starting date within three months of the return:

  • an application to the appropriate authority for a licence to trade
  • details of the purchase or rental of business premises
  • a signed employment contract or a signed contract for the provision of services
  • a partnership or franchise agreement signed by the parties

Paragraph 13(h) deals with a partner who is self-employed abroad and returning to take up salaried work in the UK, and calculates income on two bases.

These rules are narrow. They apply to a partner returning to the UK. They do not give a general route for foreign income when the sponsor stays abroad.

If the household only meets the requirement through the exceptional-circumstances provisions, FM-SE 21A governs what wider sources can be considered, including credible prospective earnings from sustainable self-employment, with requirements such as a signed or draft contract, evidence of qualifications and a record of similar work.

Common problems with self-employed applications

The rules above produce a short list of recurring problems.

  • No full financial year. Where the business is newer than the last full financial year, there is no Self Assessment figure to use. Prospective income only counts in the narrow cases above.
  • Profit, not turnover. The measure is gross taxable profit from the person's share of the business, not what came into the account.
  • Mismatched years. Tax return, SA300 or SA302, accounts and bank statements must cover the same period. The Rules refer to the same 12 months in several places.
  • Missing accountant certificate. Unaudited accounts need a certificate from an accountant who is a member of one of the listed bodies.
  • Business or personal statements missing. Both are asked for when a business account exists.
  • Ongoing trade not evidenced. The ongoing-self-employment document must be within three months of the application.
  • Wrong category. A closely held company is under paragraph 9, not paragraph 7. The financial years used under the two paragraphs cannot be combined.
  • Savings used for a shortfall. Not permitted for self-employment income under 13(f).

Appendix FM-SE paragraph D lets a decision-maker ask for a missing document in some cases but does not oblige them to. If you are refused, the article on spouse visa refusals sets out the remedies the Rules provide. Self-employed couples often ask a regulated adviser to review the calculation and documents, because the Rules fix which figure is used and which documents prove it.

Finding a regulated adviser

The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number so you can check them on the official register. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work in general; it does not tell you what to do in your own case.

Questions people ask

Can I use self-employed income for a UK spouse visa?

Yes. The Rules calculate it from the last full financial year, or the average of the last two, using Self Assessment returns, SA300 or SA302, accounts and bank statements (FM-SE 7, 13(e) and 19). The same £29,000 minimum applies.

Can I use savings to top up self-employed income for a spouse visa?

No. FM-SE 13(f) says a self-employed person cannot combine their self-employment income with specified savings to meet the income level required. Paragraph 13(j) applies the same rule to directors of closely held companies.

What documents do self-employed applicants need for a spouse visa?

Tax return, SA300 or SA302, tax paid and unpaid, UTR, business and personal bank statements for the same 12 months, evidence of ongoing trading dated within three months, and accounts with an accountant's certificate (or VAT, planning or franchise documents).

Does a limited company director follow the same rules as a sole trader?

Not if the company is closely held. Where the person is a director or employee, shares are held by them or listed relatives, and fewer than five others hold the rest, paragraph 9 applies, asking for the CT600, company accounts, corporate statements, payslips or dividend vouchers.

Does GOV.UK or the Immigration Rules govern how self-employed income is counted?

The Rules are the legal test. GOV.UK's summary refers to the last 6 months or more, while Appendix FM-SE 13(e) refers to the last full financial year or an average of two. Check the Rules text and the online form for your own case.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • Spouse visa financial requirement: how the £29,000 minimum income works — For a first partner application, the Immigration Rules require specified gross income of at least £29,000 a year, or cash savings of £16,000 plus 2.5 times any shortfall. A lower £18,600 figure applies only to people who first applied before 11 April 2024 and are extending with the same partner. Loans, benefits such as Universal Credit and property equity do not count.
  • Using savings for a spouse visa: the £16,000 rule — Under Appendix FM, cash savings can replace some or all of the £29,000 income requirement, but not pound for pound. The Rules ask for £16,000 plus 2.5 times the gap between your income and £29,000, held in cash for the 6 months before you apply.
  • Spouse visa documents: what UKVI asks for, and the rules on how to present them — A UK partner application needs your identity documents, your partner's details, proof of relationship, specified financial evidence (for example 6 months of payslips with bank statements and an employer letter), English evidence, a TB certificate if you are from a listed country, and certified translations. Missing or out-of-date documents are the commonest reason for avoidable refusals.
  • Spouse visa refused: options and deadlines — A refused UK partner (spouse) application is not on the administrative review list. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal only if the decision refused a human rights claim, which your decision letter should say; the deadline is 14 days in the UK or 28 days outside it and the fee is £82 or £144. Otherwise the usual step is a new application at £2,064 (outside the UK) or £1,407 (inside), plus the healthcare surcharge.
  • Spouse visa extension after 2.5 years: how the FLR(M) application works — The partner visa is granted in two blocks of about 2.5 years. The extension (GOV.UK's FLR(M) online application) costs £1,407 plus £2,587.50 health surcharge per adult, and you can apply any time before your permission expires. Most people must meet the financial requirement again, show you still live together, and prove English at A2 if A1 was used last time.