A UK Spouse Visa sponsor may draw a salary or dividends from a company they own alongside close family. This income faces a stricter evidence route than an ordinary employee’s, through what is known as a specified limited company. The evidential threshold sits higher than standard employment categories, and an application that assesses this income under the wrong category may be refused. This post provides an overview of how a specified limited company is defined and how its income is assessed for a UK spouse visa.
On This Page
- What is a specified limited company under Appendix FM-SE?
- Why is a specified limited company evidenced differently?
- How is income from a specified limited company assessed?
- What evidence is required for specified limited company income?
- What if payslips or dividend vouchers cannot show ongoing income?
- Can salary and dividends from the same company be combined?
- Can specified limited company income be combined with other income sources?
- Frequently asked questions
- How Whytecroft Ford can help
Key Overviews
- A specified limited company meets a three-part ownership test under paragraph 9(a) of Appendix FM-SE, based on the sponsor’s role, the family shareholding and the size of any remaining shareholding.
- Where the test is met, income is assessed under Category F, the last full financial year, or Category G, the average of the last two full financial years, never under the ordinary employment or dividend categories.
- Evidence runs to the Company Tax Return CT600, Companies House registration, company accounts, bank statements and, where relevant, payslips or dividend vouchers, all covering the same financial year.
- Cash savings cannot be combined with Category F or Category G income, and income from different financial years cannot be combined into a single calculation.
- A director or employee of a company registered outside the UK cannot rely on this route at all, whatever the ownership structure looks like.
What is a Specified Limited Company Under Appendix FM-SE?
A specified limited company is a UK-registered company where the sponsor or applicant holds a close ownership connection, either personally or through close family shareholding.
Paragraph 9(a) of Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules sets out a three-part test. A company meets all three before it is treated as specified. The specified type of limited company is one in which:
- the person is either a director or employee of the company, or both, or of another company within the same group;
- shares are held (directly or indirectly) by the person, their partner or the following family members of the person or their partner: parent, grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin; and
- any remaining shares are held (directly or indirectly) by fewer than five other persons.
This income route sits alongside the other routes assessed under the UK spouse visa financial requirement.
The Home Office caseworker guidance confirms that, where all three limbs apply, this income cannot be assessed under the ordinary employment categories. Category A, Category B and the ordinary dividend category, Category C, are all closed to it. Income from a specified limited company is assessed under Category F or Category G.
Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team can confirm whether a company meets the paragraph 9(a) test before an application is prepared. Call our friendly team on 0208 757 5751 or use our contact form to get in touch.
Why is a Specified Limited Company Evidenced Differently?
A specified limited company is treated separately because the sponsor, or their close family, controls it. Ordinary employment evidence assumes an arm’s-length employer. That assumption does not hold where the person deciding the salary or dividend is the applicant’s own family.
The Home Office caseworker guidance explains the concern directly. In a company under sole or family ownership, there is scope for doubt about who genuinely controls it. The person is a director, an employee, or both, and the other shareholders are close relatives. Category F and Category G exist to test the underlying company, beyond a simple payslip. The evidence set therefore runs to the Company Tax Return, the company accounts, bank statements and additional supporting evidence. This is in addition to the employment documents an ordinary employee would provide.
How is Income from a Specified Limited Company Assessed?
Income from a specified limited company is assessed on the company’s financial year. This differs from the sponsor’s personal tax year, which the ordinary employment categories use instead. The sponsor chooses between two routes. Category F uses the last full financial year alone, and Category G uses the average of the last two full financial years.
The relevant financial year is the 12-month accounting period covered by the company’s Company Tax Return, form CT600. This differs from the 6 April to 5 April period that applies to a self-assessment tax return.
Category G calculates a mean average of the two years. It is not a weighted figure, so a strong year and a weak year carry equal weight in the calculation.
A sponsor who is both self-employed and a director of a specified company in different financial years cannot combine that income into one calculation. Appendix FM-SE requires the eligible income to be drawn from the same financial year or years throughout.
What Evidence is Required for Specified Limited Company Income?
Specified limited company income is evidenced through a defined set of company and personal documents, a more prescriptive requirement than a general profit-and-loss statement.
Every application under Category F or Category G provides the Company Tax Return CT600 for the relevant financial year. It also provides evidence that the return was filed with HMRC, plus evidence of the company’s registration with the Registrar of Companies at Companies House.
The company provides audited accounts for that year where it is required to produce them. Where it is not, unaudited accounts are submitted with an accountant’s certificate of confirmation from a member of a recognised supervisory or accountancy body. Corporate or business bank statements covering the same 12-month period as the CT600 complete the core company evidence.
One further document is also required. This can be a VAT registration certificate and return where turnover exceeds the VAT threshold, or proof of ownership or lease of business premises. It can also be proof of PAYE and National Insurance registration as an employer.
Payslips and a P60, where issued, are required where the sponsor draws a salary. Personal bank statements covering the CT600 period then show the salary reaching a personal account.
Dividend vouchers for every dividend declared in that period are required where the sponsor receives dividends instead. Personal bank statements showing the dividend income was paid are required alongside them. Evidence of ongoing salary or dividend income at the date of application is required in addition to the historic year’s figures.
Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team advises on the exact evidence set a specified limited company application needs. Call our friendly team on 0208 757 5751 or use our contact form to get in touch.
What If Payslips or Dividend Vouchers Cannot Show Ongoing Income?
The ongoing-income requirement can still be met where a payslip, P60 or dividend voucher covering the current period is not yet available. The Home Office caseworker guidance accepts alternative evidence of ongoing operation of the company in that situation.
This alternative evidence includes proof of ongoing payment of business rates, business-related insurance premiums, or employer National Insurance contributions relating to the company. Each of these shows the company is still trading, which supports the ongoing-income requirement alongside the historic CT600 figures. A sponsor relying on this route still needs the personal bank statements from the historic financial year. Evidence that payments consistent with an active company continue up to the application date strengthens the case further.
Can Salary and Dividends from the Same Company Be Combined?
Yes. A sponsor is not limited to one income type from their specified company. A director may draw both a salary and dividends from the same company in the relevant financial year. Both count towards the Category F or Category G figure, provided both are properly evidenced.
The combination rule that applies to self-employment income under Appendix FM-SE also governs this route. Salary and dividend income from the same specified company are treated as parts of one combined figure. Both evidence sets are then required together. Payslips and a P60 cover the salary element, and dividend vouchers with matching personal bank statements cover the dividend element.
Ongoing evidence at the date of application is required for whichever income types are relied on. A director may have drawn both a salary and dividends in the qualifying year, then stopped taking a salary since. That director should confirm which figure the application relies on before submission.
Can Specified Limited Company Income Be Combined with Other Income Sources?
Category F and Category G income can be combined with salaried or non-salaried employment income, non-employment income, and pension income. Every source must fall within the same financial year or years relied on and remain ongoing at the date of application.
A sponsor with a second employer, rental income, or a pension alongside their director income can add these together, subject to that shared timing condition. Each source is still evidenced individually against the wider UK Partner Visa Requirements that apply to it.
Cash savings cannot be combined with Category F or Category G income. A sponsor who mixes that past income with present-day savings risks counting the same money twice, once as earnings and again as savings. Cash savings for a UK spouse visa are assessed on their own terms, as a standalone route in their own right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A director does not need to draw a salary to rely on Category F or Category G. Appendix FM-SE requires payslip and P60 evidence only where a salary is drawn. Dividend vouchers with matching bank statements are required instead where dividends are relied on.
Yes, where they hold no other qualifying role. Someone who is not a director, but holds another senior position, may be treated as a director for the purposes of paragraph 9. This is confirmed by the Home Office caseworker guidance, which gives company secretary as the example.
How Whytecroft Ford Can Help
Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team regularly advises company directors and shareholders on how their income is assessed for a spouse visa application. The team works from the sponsor’s actual company structure to identify the best way forward.
To discuss your situation with the team, call 0208 757 5751 or use the contact form.
The material in this article is provided for guidance and general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice upon which you should rely. In particular, the information should not be used as a substitute for a full and proper consultation with a suitably qualified professional. UK Immigration Rules are subject to change. Please do contact the Whytecroft Ford team if you require further advice.
