Meeting financial requirement of spouse visa through self-employment
If you are applying for entry clearance or leave to remain in the UK as a spouse or partner under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules the applicant is required to meet income threshold. Appendix FM provides very strict requirements as to how the financial requirement may be satisfied. The financial requirement may be met in a number of ways, including by relying upon income from self-employment.
Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules imposes a financial requirement which states that the self-employed sponsor must show a net annual income of at least £18,600. However, where the applicant and their partner have children (who are not British or a citizen of an EEA country), the income threshold is increased by £3,800 for the first child and an additional £2,400 for each additional child. By way of example, an applicant who has two children must demonstrate that they have a gross annual income of at least £24,800.
The Immigration Rules further state that unless the applicant is in the UK and is lawfully working as a self-employed person, only the income of the partner from their self-employment may be taken into account when determining whether the threshold is met. There are two ways in which the financial requirement can be satisfied by relying on income received through self-employment. These are known as ‘Category F’ and ‘Category G’ applications.
Category F Self Employment
For a Category F application, the self-employed person can rely upon the income from the last full financial year to meet the financial requirement.
Category G Self Employment
For a Category G application, the self-employed person can rely upon the average income received in the last two full financial years to meet the requirement. Using the example above, an applicant must demonstrate a gross annual income of £24,800. If the self-employed partner received an income of £20,000 in the last full financial year, but in the previous financial year they received an income of £30,000, the mean average income from the last two financial years is £25,000.
A full financial year is directly related to the national tax year of the country in question. So, for the UK, the relevant year will be from 6 April to 5 April the following year.
Combining self-employment income
Self-employed income can be combined with other specified income such as salaried and non-salaried employment, non-employment income and pension income. However, current cash savings cannot be combined with self-employment income.
Appendix FM-SE sets out specified evidence requirements of documents which must be provided with an application in order to rely upon income generated through self-employment.
About the Author
