Self-employed Income and Meeting the UK Spouse Visa Financial Requirement

You can apply for a Spouse Visa if your sponsoring partner is self-employed and can meet the Family Visa financial requirements. Your self-employed income can be included when assessing if you meet the financial requirement when you are applying for an extension of your Spouse Visa or to settle in the UK.

Our UK Immigration Solicitors can advise you on the evidence you will need to produce to secure your Family Visa and meet the financial requirements.

Contact OTS Solicitors today.

Self-employment and Spouse Visa applications

The financial requirement for the Spouse Visa is the same whether your sponsoring partner is employed or self-employed: they need a gross income of at least £29,000 per year. The same cash saving rules apply whether your spouse is salaried or self-employed.

Although the same income and cash requirements apply to the employed and self-employed, Immigration Lawyers acknowledge that it is harder to apply for a Family Visa if your partner is self-employed because:

1. You need to provide more extensive paperwork, and
2. There is a greater risk that documents will be misunderstood or misinterpreted by Home Office officials.

What counts as self-employment for a Family Visa application?

Self-employment for a Family Visa application includes:

1. Sole traders.
2. Partners in traditional partnerships.
3. Partners in limited liability partnerships.
4. Freelance contractors.
5. Consultants.
6. Franchise owners.
7. Company directors or employees of a specified limited company.

A company is classed as a specified limited company if the sponsoring spouse or visa applicant owns shares in the UK-domiciled company and the remaining shares are owned by fewer than five people.

Some sponsoring partners will be both self-employed and employed—for example, a company director and shareholder who also has a contract of employment with their company.

The distinction between employment and self-employment may not be significant to your sponsoring partner if they are a consultant or work in a freelance capacity. However, the complexity and volume of paperwork required for your Spouse Visa or Indefinite Leave to Remain application will be significantly greater than for an application where the sponsoring spouse is a company employee.

Calculating self-employed income to meet the Spouse Visa financial requirement

The Spouse Visa income requirement is £29,000, and usually, on a first visa application, only your sponsor’s income is relevant, as you will not have the right to work in the UK. On an extension application or an Indefinite Leave to Remain application, your earned income or self-employed income can also be factored in.

There are two ways to calculate income from self-employment:

1. Self-employment income from the last full financial year. This is called category F.
2. Self-employment income averaged over the last two financial years. This is called category G.

When applying for a Spouse Visa, it's important to check which income calculation method is required.

Calculating Spouse Visa income where a sponsor is a sole trader, franchisee, or partner

If your sponsoring partner is a sole trader, franchisee, or partner in a business, the immigration rules require them to provide self-assessment tax returns to demonstrate they meet the income requirement.

Income should be calculated according to the HMRC tax year, not the business's accounting year, if they differ.

The income figure on the tax return should be referred to as income on the Spouse Visa application, not turnover or gross profit.

Required financial requirement paperwork where a sponsoring spouse is a sole trader, franchisee or partner

Where a sponsoring spouse is a sole trader, franchisee or partner, the documents needed to support a Spouse Visa application are:

1. Annual self-assessment tax return to HMRC.
2. Evidence of proof of HMRC registration as a self-employed person.
3. UTR – unique tax reference number.
4. 12 months of business bank statements that correspond with the tax return period.
5. 12 months of personal bank statements that correspond with the tax return period. The statements must show the income being paid into the account.

In addition to the above paperwork, you also need to provide one of these documents:

1. Signed franchise agreement.
2. Audited accounts for the business's last full financial year.
3. Annual unaudited accounts for the business's last full financial year and an accountant’s certificate of confirmation.
4. VAT return and certificate of VAT registration. The VAT return should be for the last full financial year if the business turnover exceeds the VAT threshold.
5. Documentation for any required council consent or planning permission if the business premises require this.

UK Immigration Solicitors are experienced in working with financial directors, company accountants, finance advisors, and accounts staff to identify the documents required to prove that a self-employed spouse meets the financial criteria.

Calculating income for the Spouse Visa financial requirement as a company director

If your sponsoring partner is a company director, you should not rely on their personal tax returns as the sole evidence of income. Instead, you need to produce the Company Tax Return for the relevant company accounting period.

Required paperwork where a sponsoring spouse is a director or employee of a specified limited company

Where a sponsoring spouse is a director or employee of a specified limited company, the required documents in support of a Spouse Visa application are:

1. Annual audited accounts for the last full financial year, or if HMRC does not require these, unaudited accounts for the last full financial year together with an approved accountant’s certificate.
2. Company Tax Return (CT600) for the last full financial year.
3. The acknowledgement of receipt of the CT600 from HMRC.
4. Company bank statements covering the same period as the CT600.
5. Evidence that the business is registered at Companies House.
6. A current appointment report from Companies House.

In addition to the above paperwork, you also need to provide one of these documents:

1. VAT registration certificate and VAT return for the last full financial year if the company is liable for VAT.
2. Proof of ownership or lease of the company's business premises.
3. Proof of PAYE registration with HMRC.

Many company directors are also employees of the company. If your sponsoring spouse is a company employee, they will also need to produce:

1. P60s.
2. Wage slips.
3. Personal bank statements covering the period for the CT600.
4. Divided vouchers.
5. Any additional bank statements showing receipt of the dividend payments.

Allowable additional sources of income if self-employed income is less than £29,000

If your sponsoring spouse’s self-employed income is less than £29,000, they may be able to combine other sources of income so you can meet the Spouse Visa financial requirement. Self-employed income can be combined with:

1. Employed income.
2. Buy-to-let property portfolio income.
3. Pension income.

The income sources must be ongoing. Therefore, if a sponsoring spouse has ended their employed status or sold their property portfolio by the date of the Spouse Visa application, they cannot use this historical income in addition to the self-employed income.

Spouse Visa Solicitors in London

Our Spouse Visa Solicitors in London are experts in Family Visa applications. Our work in immigration is recognised by our inclusion in the 2026 editions of the Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession.

At OTS Solicitors, we understand the importance of getting your Spouse Visa application right. We will help you navigate the complexity of the Family Visa immigration rules and how best to meet and prove the financial requirements when your sponsoring spouse is self-employed.

Contact OTS Solicitors Today for Specialist Family Visa and Settlement Immigration Advice.

Appointments are available at our London office and via phone or online consultation. 

Our Immigration Lawyers in London speak Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Gujarati, Hindi, Spanish, Tamil, Tagalog/Ilonggo, and Urdu/Punjabi. 

 

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