Meeting the financial requirement is one of the most important parts of any UK partner visa application. Under changes to the Immigration Rules in 2024, applicants making an initial partner application must now show that the couple has sufficient income to support themselves in the UK, with the minimum income level for most such applications increased to £29,000 per year. This can be demonstrated in a number of different ways, but where you intend to rely on self‑employment income, it is especially important to understand the nature of that income, the relevant financial years, how it interacts with other income, and the broad categories of documents that need to be provided.

How should self‑employment income be understood?

For Immigration Rules purposes, self‑employment is a wider concept than simply “working freelance”. It will usually include a sole trader running a business in their own name, two or more people operating together in a partnership, and those running a business under a franchise arrangement, using a particular brand under licence. In addition, where the applicant or their partner (or close family members) holds shares in a limited company, is genuinely involved in the management of the company and receives income by way of salary, dividends or a combination of both, that income will often be treated as business‑type or self‑employment‑type income rather than straightforward third‑party employment.

In practice, rather than asking only “am I an employee or self‑employed?”, the starting point is to consider whether the income is coming from the profits of a business, from a standard employment contract with an independent employer, or from a mixture of the two.

Can I rely on just one year of self‑employment income?

In many cases, it is possible to rely on a single, most recent, full financial year of self‑employment income. For those trading as a sole trader or in a partnership in the UK, this will usually be the self‑assessment tax year running from 6 April to 5 April. The figure that matters is not the gross turnover but the gross taxable profit for that tax year – the profit figure used as the basis for the income tax calculation.

If your profits for that single completed financial year meet or exceed £29,000, you can, in principle, meet the partner visa financial requirement on the strength of that year alone. For example, if your self‑employment profits for the period 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025 are at or above the required level, and you apply for a partner visa in February 2026, that period would normally be treated as the “last full financial year”, and you could seek to rely solely on the profits from that year.

Can I use the average of my last two financial years instead?

If your income in the most recent financial year on its own does not reach the required level, the Rules also allow, in certain self‑employment scenarios, for you to rely on the average of your two most recent full financial years. Again, if you are a UK sole trader or partner, you would take the gross taxable profits for each of the last two completed self‑assessment tax years, add them together and divide by two.

This is often useful where one year was strong, but another was temporarily reduced – for example, due to illness, parental leave, reinvestment or other one‑off factors. If, for example, you recorded profits of £35,000 in one year and £23,000 in the next, the average would be £29,000, which would be sufficient to meet the current minimum income requirement. In practice, it is common to compare the “single last year” and “two‑year average” approaches side by side and then choose whichever provides the more comfortable margin above £29,000.

How should I decide what counts as the financial year?

The correct financial year depends both on how the business is structured and where the income arises. If you are trading in the UK as a sole trader or in a partnership, the relevant period will usually be the self‑assessment tax year from 6 April to 5 April.

If your self‑employment income arises overseas, you must use the official tax or financial year used by the tax authority in that country; you cannot simply cut out any convenient 12‑month period and treat that as a “financial year” for UK immigration purposes. Where income is received through a UK limited company in which you or your family hold shares, the relevant period will usually be the company’s own accounting year as shown on its company tax return (CT600) and accounts, typically a 12‑month accounting period.

A key point is that it is not permissible to “build” a financial year by stitching together parts of different tax or accounting years, or to combine fragments from the financial years of multiple businesses into a single constructed 12‑month period. The periods relied upon must correspond to genuine, complete financial or tax years recognised in the relevant tax system.

How can self‑employment income be combined with other income?

Self‑employment income can, subject to the Rules, be combined with other forms of income such as salaried or non‑salaried employment income, rental income, investment income and pension income. However, the central principle is that only income arising in the same period can be combined.

If you are relying on your self‑employment income from the 2024/25 financial year, you can only combine it with other qualifying income – such as salary, rental or investment income – that was also received within that same 2024/25 period. Income earned before the start of that financial year or after its end cannot be pulled in to “top up” that year for immigration purposes.

Similarly, if the applicant and their partner each have self‑employment with different accounting years, those differing periods cannot simply be joined together and treated as if they were one aligned financial year. In practice, you should first fix which financial year (or which two consecutive financial years) you intend to rely on and then construct a “same‑period income bundle” by including only those other income sources that fall wholly within that defined period.

Can overseas self‑employment income be used to meet the requirement?

Overseas self‑employment income can also be used to satisfy the partner visa financial requirement, provided the figures are based on the appropriate overseas tax or financial years and supported by acceptable evidence. If you are relying directly on overseas self‑employment income, you will normally need to show your business income for the most recent one or two full official financial years in the country where your business operates.

This will usually require the tax returns submitted to the overseas tax authority, evidence of the tax assessed and paid, and bank statements demonstrating that the business income was actually received into your accounts. If you are currently self‑employed overseas but intend to move to the UK and continue in the same or a very similar line of work, you may also be asked to provide evidence that realistic preparations are in place for the business to continue in the UK – for example, steps towards UK business registration, draft or signed contracts, premises arrangements or a credible business plan. In all cases, though, the underlying rule remains that the income from the last full financial year, or the average of the last two financial years, must reach at least £29,000 to meet the partner visa financial requirement.

What kinds of documents should I prepare to prove my self‑employment income?

When preparing evidence of self‑employment income, it is often more effective to think in terms of types of information rather than precise document labels. First, you will need tax evidence for each relevant financial year. That includes the tax returns for the year in question and official summaries or confirmations from the tax authority showing the income declared and the tax assessed and paid.

Secondly, you will need bank evidence covering the same financial year or years. Typically, this will be full‑period statements from any business account you use and from your personal account, clearly showing how business income has been received and paid in over time. Thirdly, you should include documents showing your registration and business structure, such as proof of registration as self‑employed, basic business or trading registration details, and any documentation confirming partnership or company ownership and control.

Finally, you must demonstrate that the business is genuinely active at the time of application. Recent bank statements, renewed licences or permissions to trade, invoices and bills linked to business premises, insurance documents and evidence of National Insurance contributions can all help to show that the business is still trading. Where income comes through a company, or from overseas self‑employment, company accounts, company tax returns, accountant’s letters and income or tax certificates issued by foreign tax authorities may also be required, depending on the structure and country involved.

In what order should I organise my planning and documents?

From a practical point of view, the first step is to identify, by reference to your intended application date, which last full financial year (and, if you intend to use an average, which two full financial years) you can rely on. Once those periods are identified, you can calculate the gross taxable profit figures and decide whether using the single last year or the two‑year average gives you the more secure position.

If you have other income, such as employment, rental or investment income, you should then map each source to the exact dates on which it arose and exclude any income falling outside the chosen financial year or years. You can then organise your evidence into clear sections: tax documents, bank statements, business registration and structure, and evidence of ongoing trading, all matched to the same periods. Creating a simple checklist and working through it methodically is a very effective way to minimise the risk of missing a key piece of evidence or overlooking a gap in your financial picture.

Self‑employment and the partner visa financial requirement are more technical than they may first appear, and small errors in the choice of period or in document presentation can have a significant impact on the outcome. If you would like tailored guidance on which financial years to rely on, how best to structure your evidence, or whether your figures are likely to satisfy the £29,000 requirement, you are welcome to get in touch. If you need help, please call 020 3865 6219 or leave us a message, and we will be happy to review your situation in detail and advise you on the best way forward.