Appendix FM-SE Self-Employment Evidence for Partner Visas: Tax Returns, SA302s, Accounts and Timing Rules

In Brief

For Category F or Category G, the Home Office does not normally assess freelance or sole-trader income by looking only at the six months immediately before the application. Category F uses the most recently ended full financial year. Category G uses the mean average of the last two full financial years. The application must include the prescribed tax, accounting and banking evidence for the relevant period, as well as recent evidence that the self-employment remains ongoing. An SA302 alone is not a complete Appendix FM-SE evidence package. Our UK Family and Spouse Visa Solicitors can advise on the correct financial category and evidence for your circumstances.

For most people who first applied on the partner route on or after 11 April 2024, the standard minimum income requirement is £29,000. Transitional rules may apply where the route began with an application made before that date. If the sponsor receives a specified disability or carer’s benefit, adequate maintenance may apply instead.

Timing is especially important after the end of a tax year. The 2025/26 UK tax year ended on 5 April 2026 and will ordinarily be the most recently ended tax year for a sole trader applying after that date. If the immigration deadline arrives before the accountant’s usual timetable, the return and supporting evidence may need to be prepared and filed earlier than normal.

How self-employed income fits into the partner visa financial requirement

Why earning £29,000 does not automatically satisfy Appendix FM-SE

Earning enough is not the same as proving enough. Appendix FM-SE prescribes the permitted calculation periods and supporting documents. Recent invoices, management accounts or a substantial business-bank balance may show commercial activity, but they do not necessarily establish the income figure that UK Visas and Immigration is permitted to count.

The first step is to identify the applicable financial test, the legal structure of the business and the person whose income will be relied upon. Someone who describes themselves as a freelancer may legally be a sole trader, an employee, a business partner or an employee and shareholder of a limited company. Each classification can produce different evidence requirements.

When a different threshold or adequate-maintenance test may apply

The £29,000 figure should not be applied mechanically. Transitional requirements can apply to some people extending a partner route that began before 11 April 2024. Where the sponsor receives a specified benefit, there is no standard minimum income requirement; the applicant must instead meet the adequate-maintenance and accommodation test. The application history and benefit entitlement should be checked before any Category F or G calculation is prepared. Our guide to Appendix FM and UK Spouse Visa applications explains the wider framework.

Can an in-country applicant’s own income count?

An applicant’s employment or self-employment income can be considered where the applicant is in the UK, is aged 18 or over and is working legally. Applicant income should not be excluded simply because this is the person’s first application for permission as a partner. Their current immigration permission and any restriction on work must be checked first.

If the applicant’s income is combined with the sponsor’s Category F or G income, it must have been received during the relevant financial year or years and must remain an ongoing source at the application date. An overseas applicant’s prospective earnings after arrival are not normally treated in the same way as income already earned lawfully by an applicant in the UK.

Category F or Category G: which financial years are assessed?

The current Appendix FM-SE rules must be read with Appendix FM and the applicable financial requirement. For a UK sole trader, ordinary partner or franchisee, the relevant period follows the Self Assessment tax year, running from 6 April to 5 April. For a director or employee of a specified limited company, it follows the company’s CT600 accounting year.

Category F — the most recently ended full financial year

Category F uses income from the most recently ended full financial year. It can be suitable where that year alone produces enough qualifying income. The relevant date is the end of the applicable financial year, not the date of the latest invoice, the date money was most recently withdrawn from the business or the date on which the accountant would ordinarily prepare the return.

A sole trader applying after 5 April 2026 will therefore ordinarily need to rely on the tax year ending on that date. They cannot usually select 2024/25 merely because those documents are already available or because the earlier year was more profitable.

Category G — averaging the last two full financial years

Category G is an alternative calculation using the mean average of the income received in the last two full financial years. It may help where one year was weaker but the two-year average reaches the applicable requirement. The applicant cannot select any two convenient years: Category G requires the two most recently ended full financial years.

Filing the latest return before the normal tax deadline

The requirement to use the most recently ended year may mean filing a Self Assessment return or CT600 earlier than the ordinary tax timetable. A sole trader with a visa deadline in summer 2026, for example, may need the 2025/26 return and associated evidence well before the normal online Self Assessment deadline.

Early filing should be coordinated with the accountant. The figures must be accurate, supportable and consistent with the accounts and banking records. An immigration deadline should not lead to guessed figures or rushed tax information. Equally, an applicant should not wait for the accountant’s usual schedule without checking their visa-expiry date and the consequences of applying late.

What income figure does the Home Office use?

Sole traders — gross taxable profits, not turnover or drawings

For a sole trader, ordinary business partner or franchisee, the relevant figure is the person’s gross taxable profits from their share of the business in the applicable year or years. It is not turnover, the value of invoices issued, personal drawings, total business receipts or the amount remaining in a bank account.

A business may invoice more than £29,000 while the qualifying profit figure is below the applicable requirement. Conversely, a person may draw relatively little because profits are retained for working capital. The amount claimed in the application should be identifiable in the return, accounts and HMRC documents rather than inferred from business cash flow.

Partnerships, franchises and equity partners

An ordinary partner or franchisee may fall within Category F or G, with income based on their share of gross taxable profits. An equity partner, including some partners in professional firms, is treated as being in salaried employment for this purpose. The partnership agreement, tax treatment and ownership structure should therefore be reviewed before selecting the evidence category.

Freelancers who also receive PAYE income

Eligible PAYE income can potentially be combined with Category F or G income, but it must be evidenced for the same relevant financial year or years and must remain an ongoing source at the application date. Six recent payslips may help prove current employment, but they do not by themselves prove the amount earned during the historic financial year being relied upon.

Appendix FM-SE evidence for sole traders and freelancers

Paragraph 7 of Appendix FM-SE contains the specified evidence requirements for UK self-employment as a sole trader, partner or franchisee. The documents must demonstrate the income declared to HMRC, the tax position, the movement of money and the continuing operation of the business.

Self Assessment return, SA302 and Statement of Account evidence

The annual Self Assessment tax return must be supplied for the most recently ended full financial year, or for both relevant years where Category G is used. Appendix FM-SE also requires the document described in the Rules as the Statement of Account, identified there as SA300 or SA302. An applicant should not submit only an SA302 and assume that it replaces the return or the remaining prescribed documents.

HMRC describes an SA302 as a tax calculation and can also provide a tax year overview. Tax software may use different labels. The available documents should be checked against the current wording of Appendix FM-SE so that they collectively show the calculation, the account position and the amount of tax payable, paid or outstanding.

Tax, UTR, registration and supplementary business evidence

The bundle must include evidence of the amount of tax payable, paid and unpaid for the last full financial year. It must also include the relevant Unique Taxpayer Reference and proof of registration with HMRC as self-employed, if that registration evidence is available.

At least one specified supplementary business document is required. Depending on the business, this may be audited accounts; unaudited accounts with a certificate from an accountant belonging to a qualifying professional body; relevant VAT evidence; evidence of required planning consent; or a signed franchise agreement. The franchise agreement is mandatory where the business is a franchise. Any VAT analysis should use the threshold applicable during the relevant financial year rather than an unchecked current figure.

Business and personal bank statements

Where the person holds or held a separate business account, business bank statements must cover the same 12-month period as the tax return. Personal bank statements must cover the corresponding period and show the self-employed income being paid into an account held by the person, either alone or jointly with their partner.

The evidence should tell a consistent financial story. Transfers between accounts, delayed client payments, refunds and cash receipts may be legitimate, but significant differences should be explained. A caseworker should not be expected to reconstruct complex bookkeeping or assume that every credit is qualifying income.

Recent evidence that trading remains ongoing

A historic return proves income for the relevant financial year but does not establish that the business still operates. For a sole trader, one prescribed option is a bank statement dated no more than three months before the application showing ongoing trading transactions. Alternatives include recent evidence of a renewed trading licence or continuing payment of business rates, business insurance, employer National Insurance contributions or franchise fees.

Company directors and specified limited companies

When paragraph 9 of Appendix FM-SE applies

A person receiving salary or dividends from a closely held UK limited company may fall within paragraph 9 of Appendix FM-SE. Broadly, the person must be a director or employee of the company, or of another company in the same group; shares must be held directly or indirectly by that person, their partner or specified family members; and any remaining shares must be held by fewer than five other people.

The test concerns the actual direct and indirect ownership structure, not merely whether the company is informally described as a family business. A director of a company that does not meet the paragraph 9 definition may need to use the ordinary employment rules instead. The company records and shareholdings should be reviewed before the evidence bundle is prepared.

The CT600 period and company evidence

Where paragraph 9 applies, Category F uses the period covered by the company’s most recently ended CT600 accounting year. Category G uses the mean average of the last two such years. The required evidence will normally include:

• The CT600 for the relevant year or years and evidence that it was filed with HMRC.
• Evidence that the company is registered with the Registrar of Companies at Companies House.
• Audited accounts, or qualifying unaudited accounts with the required accountant’s confirmation.
• Corporate or business bank statements covering the same period as the CT600.
• One additional prescribed business document, such as applicable VAT evidence, premises evidence or HMRC employer-registration evidence.
• Payslips, any P60 that was issued and corresponding personal bank statements where salary is relied upon.
• Dividend vouchers and personal bank statements showing payment where dividends are relied upon.
• Evidence that the relevant employment, salary or receipt of dividend income remains ongoing.

Salary and dividend evidence must relate to the same CT600 period. Current evidence must also establish the continuing source relied upon at the application date. A director should not assume that ordinary employee evidence covering only the latest six months will satisfy paragraph 9.

Companies House evidence and the obsolete appointment-report requirement

A Companies House current appointment report is no longer prescribed. The Home Office removed that requirement on 26 September 2023. Evidence that the company is registered at Companies House remains mandatory, so applicants should distinguish the obsolete appointment report from the continuing company-registration requirement.

Combining self-employed income with other income

The same-financial-year and continuing-income rules

Category F or G income can potentially be combined with eligible employment, non-employment or pension income. However, the Home Office minimum income guidance requires the relied-upon income to fall within the same relevant financial year or years. Each source must also remain a source of income at the application date.

If sole-trader income is assessed for the tax year ending 5 April 2026 and PAYE earnings are also used, the relevant PAYE income must be evidenced for that same tax year, together with evidence that the employment continues. Income based on a Self Assessment year cannot be combined with income based on a different CT600 accounting year. The periods should be mapped before the application strategy is chosen.

Why cash savings cannot top up Category F or Category G

Current cash savings cannot be combined with Category F or Category G income to make up a minimum-income shortfall. If the qualifying income is below the applicable requirement, savings cannot simply be added to bridge the difference. Sufficient qualifying savings may instead be used as the sole means of satisfying the requirement, subject to the separate savings rules.

Application timing and common evidence failures

Applying shortly after 5 April

An application made soon after the end of a UK tax year can create tension between the immigration deadline and the accountant’s normal timetable. If the newly ended year is the relevant year, relying on the previous return merely because it is available may not comply with Category F. Category G similarly requires the two most recently ended years rather than a preferred pair of older years.

Before fixing the application date, confirm whether the return, HMRC records, accounts and supporting statements can be prepared accurately and filed in time. The applicant’s visa expiry, right to work and consequences of delay should be considered alongside the accounting timetable.

Tax, accounts and banking records that do not reconcile

A common weakness is that each document appears credible by itself but the bundle does not support one consistent figure. The amount claimed may differ from the return, accounts may not match identifiable payments, or funds may pass through several accounts without explanation.

There may be legitimate reasons for delayed payments, cash receipts, transfers, refunds or jointly paid expenses. Material differences should be identified before submission and explained with supporting records where necessary. Correct tax treatment does not remove the need to provide the prescribed banking trail, while bank credits alone do not establish gross taxable profits.

Why applicants should not rely on a UKVI evidence request

Appendix FM-SE gives decision-makers discretion to request an omitted or corrected document and, in limited circumstances, to accept alternative evidence. This is not a right to repair an incomplete application. A caseworker may decide not to request further documents, including where resolving the omission would not lead to a grant because another requirement is not met.

The safer approach is to provide the prescribed evidence in the required form at the outset. Statement coverage, account names, dates, translations, filing acknowledgements and evidence of continuing income should all be audited before submission.

Practical checklist before submitting a self-employed partner visa application

Before deciding the final application date or asking an accountant to prepare documents, complete the following checks:

1. Confirm whether the £29,000 requirement, a transitional threshold or adequate maintenance applies.
2. Check the applicant’s immigration permission and whether any applicant income is earned lawfully.
3. Classify each person correctly as an employee, sole trader, partner, franchisee or director or employee of a specified company.
4. Identify the most recently ended Self Assessment or CT600 year and assess Category F and Category G.
5. Map every income source to the same relevant year or years and confirm that each source continues.
6. Obtain the filed return, HMRC calculation or account documents, tax evidence, UTR and registration material.
7. Obtain the required accounts, accountant’s confirmation or other supplementary business document.
8. Collect complete business and personal bank statements for the prescribed period.
9. Gather the CT600, company, salary, dividend and Companies House evidence where paragraph 9 applies.
10. Obtain recent evidence of ongoing trading, employment, salary or dividend income.
11. Reconcile the application figure with the tax return, accounts and identifiable payments.
12. Provide compliant translations for documents that are not in English or Welsh and submit a complete bundle.

The applicant, solicitor and accountant may need to coordinate where an immigration deadline requires early preparation of a return or company accounts. The accountant prepares accurate financial material; the immigration adviser assesses whether the category, periods and evidence comply with Appendix FM-SE. Our guide to the evidence needed for the spouse visa financial requirement explains the wider evidence framework.

OTS Solicitors’ View

Self-employed partner visa applications are not inherently weaker than applications relying on ordinary employment income. The practical risk usually arises when the legal category and the financial records do not match: the wrong year is used, the business is misclassified, or the return, accounts and bank statements do not support the same qualifying figure.

The strongest preparation starts with the immigration deadline and works backwards. The relevant period should be identified before documents are ordered or a return is filed for the application. Early legal and accounting coordination is especially valuable for mixed PAYE and freelance income, specified companies, unusual accounting periods and applications made soon after a tax year ends.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do freelancers use the latest six months of income?

Usually not where the person is relying on Category F or Category G as a sole trader. Category F uses the most recently ended full Self Assessment financial year, while Category G uses the mean average of the last two full years. Recent documents are still needed, but their separate purpose is to prove that the freelance or self-employed activity continues at the application date.

Can the 2025/26 tax year be used in an application made after 5 April 2026?

Yes. For a UK sole trader applying after 5 April 2026, the 2025/26 tax year will ordinarily be the most recently ended full year for Category F. The required return and supporting tax, business and banking evidence must be available, so the applicant may need to file earlier than the normal Self Assessment deadline while ensuring that all figures remain accurate and consistent.

Can the applicant’s own freelance income count?

It can count where the applicant is in the UK, is aged 18 or over and is working legally. Their immigration conditions should be checked before relying on the income. If it is combined with the sponsor’s Category F or G income, it must fall within the same relevant financial year or years and must remain an ongoing source at the application date.

Is an SA302 enough for a partner visa application?

No. An SA302 can be an important part of the evidence, but Appendix FM-SE requires a wider package. Depending on the case, this includes the annual Self Assessment return, evidence of tax payable, paid and unpaid, business and personal bank statements, the relevant UTR, supplementary business evidence and a recent document showing that the self-employment remains ongoing.

Does turnover count as self-employed income?

No. For a sole trader, ordinary partner or franchisee, the relevant figure is the person’s gross taxable profits from their share of the business. Turnover, the amount invoiced, personal drawings and the balance in a business account are not interchangeable with that figure. The qualifying amount should be supported by the tax return, accounts, HMRC evidence and corresponding banking records.

Can cash savings make up a Category F or Category G shortfall?

No. Current cash savings cannot be combined with Category F or Category G income to top up a shortfall. Where the qualifying self-employed or specified-company income is insufficient, the couple may need to consider whether enough qualifying savings can meet the requirement as the sole financial route or whether another permitted income strategy is available.

Does a company director still need a Companies House current appointment report?

No. A current appointment report is no longer prescribed, following the Home Office’s removal of that requirement on 26 September 2023. Evidence that the company is registered with the Registrar of Companies remains required, together with the relevant CT600, accounts, corporate bank statements and any applicable salary, personal banking or dividend evidence.

Will UKVI request a document that was accidentally omitted?

A caseworker may request an omitted or corrected document under the evidential-flexibility provisions, but that power is discretionary. UKVI is not required to give every applicant an opportunity to repair an incomplete bundle. The application should therefore contain the prescribed evidence when submitted and should not depend on a later request for missing or replacement documents.

Contact OTS Solicitors

If you need advice on using freelance, sole-trader, partnership or specified-company income for a UK partner visa, call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact OTS Solicitors for advice on the correct financial category, calculation period and Appendix FM-SE evidence.