UK Spouse Visa Self-Employed: SA302, Accounts, Dividends

If the income for a spouse visa comes from self-employment or from your own limited company, you need a different set of documents from someone on a salary. Payslips alone are not enough. Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules lists the evidence. These are the main documents:

Sole trader, partner or franchise (paragraph 7):

• Self Assessment tax return, plus the HMRC Statement of Account (SA300 or SA302)
• Evidence of the tax payable, paid and unpaid
• Your Unique Tax Reference Number (UTR)
• Personal bank statements, and business bank statements if you have a business account
• Annual accounts, or another document from the list in paragraph 7(h) (unaudited accounts also need an accountant's certificate)
• Evidence that you are still trading

Director of your own limited company (paragraph 9):

• Company Tax Return CT600, plus evidence that it was filed with HMRC
• Companies House registration
• Company accounts, and business bank statements
• Payslips, and the P60 if issued, for the director's salary
• Dividend vouchers for the dividends
• Personal bank statements showing the salary and dividends paid in

This post covers what each document is and which period each one covers. It does not cover whether the income is enough. The published threshold for a first partner application is £29,000 a year; our spouse visa financial requirement calculator explains how that figure works.

All figures and rules were checked on GOV.UK on 16 October 2026. Rules can change, so confirm on GOV.UK before you apply.

Category F and Category G: which years the documents cover

Home Office caseworker guidance gives this income two names:

• Category F uses income from the last full financial year.
• Category G uses the average of the last 2 full financial years.

The category decides how many years of documents you collect. For Category G, you need the tax return, SA302 and matching bank statements for both years.

The "financial year" is not the same for everyone:

• Sole traders, partners and franchises: the year covered by the Self Assessment tax return. In the UK this runs from 6 April to 5 April.
• Directors of a specified limited company: the year covered by the company's CT600. This is the company's own 12-month accounting year.

The guidance also says that the documents must cover the financial year or years that ended most recently. For a sole trader, this can mean filing the tax return earlier than the normal HMRC deadline. The guidance also says that, under Category F or G, current cash savings cannot be added to this income.

Sole trader, partner or franchise: the full list

Paragraph 7 of Appendix FM-SE asks for all of these:

1. Evidence of the tax payable, paid and unpaid for the last full financial year.
2. Your Self Assessment tax return (a copy or print-out) and the Statement of Account (SA300 or SA302) for the last full financial year, or for the last 2 years if you use an average.
3. Proof of registration with HMRC as self-employed, if you have it.
4. The UTR of each partner, and/or the UTR of the partnership or business.
5. Business bank statements for the same 12 months as the tax return, if you have or had a separate business account.
6. Personal bank statements for the same 12 months as the tax return, showing the self-employment income paid into an account in your name, or in your name and your partner's name jointly.
7. Evidence that you are still trading. At least one of these, dated no more than 3 months before you apply: a bank statement showing trading transactions, or evidence of a renewed trade licence, or ongoing payment of business rates, business insurance, employer National Insurance or franchise payments.
8. One more document from this list:
   • audited accounts for the last full financial year, if the business must produce them, or
   • unaudited accounts for the last full financial year, plus an accountant's certificate of confirmation (the accountant must belong to one of the bodies named in the rules)
   • a VAT registration certificate and the VAT return for the last full financial year, if turnover was over the VAT threshold set out in the rules
   • evidence of planning permission for the business at its trading address, where the local authority requires it
   • a franchise agreement signed by both parties (this one is required for a franchise)

If the self-employment is outside the UK, paragraph 8 asks for evidence that is "a reasonable equivalent" to this list.

The guidance notes that a tax return can include provisional figures if the return explains why. In that case, it says a covering letter explaining how those figures fit with the accounts may help.

Company director: what a "specified limited company" is

Paragraph 9 applies to a UK limited company where:

• the person is a director or employee of the company (or both), and
• the shares are held by the person, their partner, or close family of either of them (parent, grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin), and
• any other shares are held by fewer than 5 other people.

This is the typical "one-person" or family company. The guidance explains that, for this kind of company, the evidence in paragraph 9 is used instead of the normal payslip evidence for employees.

Company director: the full list

Paragraph 9(b) asks for all of these:

1. Company Tax Return CT600 (a copy or print-out) for the last full financial year, with evidence it was filed with HMRC, for example an electronic or written acknowledgement.
2. Evidence of registration at Companies House.
3. Accounts for the last full financial year: audited accounts if the company must produce them, or unaudited accounts with an accountant's certificate of confirmation.
4. Business bank statements covering the same 12 months as the CT600.
5. One more document from this list:
   • a VAT registration certificate and the VAT return, if turnover was over the VAT threshold set out in the rules
   • proof that the company owns or leases its business premises
   • proof of registration with HMRC as an employer for PAYE and National Insurance, with the PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference

If the director takes a salary, paragraph 9(c) adds:

• payslips, and the P60 if issued, for the same period as the CT600
• personal bank statements for the same 12 months, showing the salary paid in

If the director takes dividends, paragraph 9(d) adds:

• dividend vouchers for all dividends declared to the person for the CT600 period, showing the company's details, the person's details and the net dividend amount
• personal bank statements showing those dividends paid in

Paragraph 9(e) also asks for evidence that the job or the dividends continue after the CT600 year. Its examples are more recent payslips or dividend vouchers with matching bank statements, or evidence of ongoing business rates, business insurance or employer National Insurance payments.

How the documents line up

This table shows the period each document covers:

The guidance says that income from different financial years cannot be combined. For example, if a person is both a sole trader and a company director, the Self Assessment year and the CT600 year cannot be added together. The same applies when a couple's two incomes are based on different financial years.

Format rules that apply to every financial document

• Bank statements: paragraph 1(a)(v) says they must be on official bank stationery, or electronic statements with the bank's stamp on every page or a letter from the bank confirming they are genuine. Our post on spouse visa bank statements and payslips covers this in detail.
• Account names: the rules describe personal accounts in the name of the person, or the person and their partner jointly.
• Translations: paragraph 1(j) asks for the original and a full, dated translation of any financial document not in English or Welsh. It must confirm accuracy. It must give the full name and signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company, and the translator or translation company's contact details. For an application for leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain, it must also be certified by a qualified translator and give details of the translator or translation company's credentials.

Frequently asked questions

What is an SA302 for a spouse visa? It is the Statement of Account from HMRC that shows the tax calculated from your Self Assessment return. Appendix FM-SE lists it (SA300 or SA302) together with a copy of the tax return itself.

Do I need 1 or 2 years of tax returns? Category F uses the last full financial year, so one year of documents. Category G uses an average of the last 2 full financial years, so the documents for both years.

Can savings be added to self-employed income? The Home Office guidance says current cash savings cannot be combined with income under Category F or Category G.

What do dividend vouchers need to show? Paragraph 9(d) says they must show the company's details, the person's details and the net dividend amount, for all dividends in the CT600 period. Personal bank statements must show the dividends paid in.

Do I need an accountant's certificate? Paragraph 9 asks for one when the company accounts are unaudited. Under paragraph 7, accounts are one of the documents you can choose from the list in paragraph 7(h); if you give unaudited accounts, you need the certificate too. The accountant must be a member of one of the bodies named in the rules.

How Stratovisa helps

A self-employed or director set can have more than ten separate documents, each covering a specific period. Stratovisa gives this evidence its own slot on your checklist, where you upload each document: tax return and SA302, accounts and accountant's certificate, CT600, dividend vouchers, bank statements and the rest. You can see what is already in place and what is still missing. When everything is uploaded, you download one organised package for the online application. See how it works for the spouse and partner visa.