The employer letter is one of the specified documents a UK spouse visa application must include. It is a mandatory requirement wherever the financial requirement is met through employment income. An application that submits payslips and bank statements without a conforming employer letter is incomplete on its face, and may be refused. This post provides an overview of the employer letter requirement for a UK spouse or partner visa.
On this page
- What is an employer letter for a UK spouse visa?
- What must the employer letter confirm?
- What does the employer letter need to say under Category A?
- How does the employer letter differ under Category B?
- Is a separate letter needed to confirm the payslips are authentic?
- What letter does a sponsor returning to the UK with a job offer need?
- Which employer letter applies on maternity, paternity, adoption or sick pay?
- What employer letter is accepted for employment outside the UK?
- Does the employer letter apply to a director of a limited company?
- How does the 28-day rule apply to the employer letter?
- What happens if the employer letter is incomplete or in the wrong format?
- Frequently asked questions
Key overviews
- The employer letter is specified evidence as per Appendix FM-SE alongside the payslips and the personal bank statements wherever employment income is relied on.
- Which letter applies depends on the circumstances. Employment, a job offer on return to the UK, family leave, sick pay and a specified limited company are each governed by their own provisions.
- There is no Home Office form and no prescribed wording. The Rules specify the information that the letter requires.
What is an employer letter for a UK spouse visa?
An employer letter for a UK spouse visa is a letter from the employer confirming the employment relied on. It is one of three documents that must be provided together where employment income is used, in addition to payslips and the personal bank statements showing the salary paid. Paragraph 2(b) of Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules sets the requirement for the information required in a employer letter.
The employer must officially issue the letter on their letterhead. The rules require a letter from each employer that issued payslips in the relevant evidence period. A person holding two concurrent jobs therefore relies on two letters.
For entry clearance application from outside the UK, sponsor’s income is relied upon. Prospective employment income of an applicant outside the UK is not taken into account. For an application made inside the UK, the applicant’s own employment income can also count, where they are 18 or over and working legally. Which income can be counted is set out on the UK partner and family visa financial requirement guide.
What must the employer letter confirm for a UK Spouse Visa?
As per paragraph 2(b) of Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules, the letter from the employer or employers who issued the payslips must confirm:
- the person’s employment and gross annual salary;
- the length of their employment;
- the period over which they have been or were paid the level of salary relied upon in the application; and
- the type of employment, meaning permanent, fixed-term contract or agency.
The letter should specify the current salary and the start date of that current salary that is being relied upon in the application. Take a sponsor employed for four years who received a pay rise eight months ago. The length of employment is four years, and the period at the salary relied on is eight months.
What does the employer letter need to say under Category A?
Category A applies where the person has been with their current employer for at least six months. The employer letter covers the same six-month period as the payslips. It confirms that the salary relied on has been paid throughout that period. The payslips, the letter and the bank statements all correspond to the six months before the date of application.
Under Category A the salary assessed is the lowest level of gross annual salary paid across those six months. The letter should specify the period over which each salary level was paid. Where a pay rise took effect partway through, the earlier and lower figure is the one that is considered.
A P60 for a tax year within the period, or a signed contract of employment, may be submitted alongside the letter. Paragraph 2A of Appendix FM-SE treats both as optional additions to the specified evidence.
To discuss a Category A application, call the Whytecroft Ford immigration team on 0208 757 5751 our use our contact form to get in touch.
How does the employer letter differ under Category B?
Category B applies where the person has been with their employer for less than six months, or where income varies. The letter confirms the salary or rate of pay at the date of application. It accompanies the most recent payslip rather than a six-month set. A second limb then applies. Gross earnings from all employment in the previous 12 months must also meet the threshold.
Category B tests two elements, so the evidence must comprise of two periods. The current employer letter and the latest payslip evidence the salary at the date of application. Payslips across the previous 12 months evidence the second limb, including employment that has since ended. A former employer’s letter is also required where they issued payslips in that time period.
For non-salaried work, the letter confirms the rate of pay and the period at that rate, rather than an annual salary. Paragraph 18(d) of Appendix FM-SE provides that non-salaried income is calculated on the same basis as salaried income. The same paragraph applies the specified evidence rules as if references to salary were references to non-salaried income. How this income is assessed is set out on the guide to new-job and changed-job income for a UK spouse visa.
Is a separate letter needed to confirm the payslips are authentic?
A letter confirming that payslips are authentic may be required. Paragraph 1(bb) of Appendix FM-SE states that payslips must either be formal payslips issued by the employer and showing the employer’s name. Alternatively they must be accompanied by a letter from the employer, on headed paper and signed by a senior official, confirming they are authentic. The evidential format of payslips and bank statements is covered on the guide to spouse visa payslips and bank statements.
What letter does a sponsor returning to the UK with a job offer need?
Where the sponsor is returning to the UK to take up employment, the prospective employer must confirm this in writing. Paragraph 4 of Appendix FM-SE covers a job offer in the UK for a partner returning to salaried work.
Under paragraph 4, a letter from the employer must confirm the job offer, the gross annual salary and the starting date. That start date must fall within three months of the partner’s return to the UK. Paragraph 4 also permits an alternative: an employer may instead enclose a signed contract of employment with a start date inside the same window.
The three-month window is a mandatory condition relevant to the start date. Returning sponsors also evidence their overseas income separately, which is outlined with on the guide to the income requirement for returning sponsors. To discuss a returning-sponsor application, use the contact form.
Which employer letter applies on maternity, paternity, adoption or sick pay?
Family leave pay and sick pay each have their own employer letter provision. Where the income relied on is maternity, paternity, parental or adoption pay, paragraph 5 of Appendix FM-SE applies. Where it is statutory or contractual sick pay, paragraph 6 applies.
For family leave pay, the letter confirms the length of employment and the gross annual salary, plus the period over which it has been paid. It also confirms the entitlement to the relevant leave and its commencement and end dates. For sick pay, the letter confirms the same salary and length-of-employment detail, that the person is receiving sick pay, and when the sick leave began.
The payslip period runs either to the date of application or to the start of the leave. Which of the two applies depends on how long the person has been with the employer.
What employer letter is accepted for employment outside the UK?
Employment held outside the UK is evidenced to a reasonable equivalent standard, which paragraph 3 of Appendix FM-SE sets for salaried employment abroad. The evidence should be a reasonable equivalent to that listed at paragraph 2, and where relevant paragraph 2A.
Where a document is not in English or Welsh, an official translation is required. Translations must be dated, and must specify the translator’s name, signature and contact details, together with confirmation that the translation is accurate.
Does the employer letter apply to a director of a limited company?
An employer letter does not satisfy the financial requirement for a director of a specified limited company. Paragraph 9 of Appendix FM-SE displaces the paragraph 2 evidence entirely for these companies. It substitutes a company-based evidence set. That set includes the Company Tax Return CT600, evidence of registration at Companies House, the company accounts and corporate bank statements.
As per Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules, a company is a specified limited company where:
- 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 a parent, grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin of either; and
- any remaining shares are held, directly or indirectly, by fewer than five other persons.
A company letter confirming the director’s salary does not meet the requirement once all three limbs are satisfied. The Rules attach that additional requirement to a director. How director income is assessed is covered on the guide to director income for a UK spouse visa. Self-employed sponsors are dealt with on the guide to self-employment income for a UK spouse or partner visa.
How does the 28-day rule apply to the employer letter?
The employer letter must be dated no earlier than 28 days before the date of application. Paragraph 1(l) of Appendix FM-SE sets this rule. Where the Appendix requires evidence relating to a period ending with the date of application, that evidence must fall inside the window. Where the evidence is a set, the rule applies to its most recently dated part.
The date of application is the date the online form is submitted and the fee paid. It is not the date of the biometric appointment. Where an application is prepared over several weeks, the letter is the item to request last. To discuss the sequencing of financial evidence, call our team on 0208 757 5751.
What happens if the employer letter is incomplete or in the wrong format?
An incomplete employer letter does not automatically end the application. Paragraph D of Appendix FM-SE gives the decision-maker a power to request the correct version. It names a letter that is not on letterhead paper as its own example of a document in the wrong format.
The power covers three situations: a document in the wrong format, one missing specified information, or one not submitted at all. In any of them the decision-maker may contact the applicant or their representative and request the document or the correct version. The material must be received within the timescale specified.
That power is not exercised in every case. Paragraph D(c) provides that the decision-maker will not request documents where correcting the error will not lead to a grant. That is because the application will be refused for other reasons regardless.
Neither limb of paragraph D is a substitute for a conforming letter, and neither creates an entitlement. An application resting on a defective document may still be refused. A previous refusal on the financial evidence does not close off a fresh application. Putting each document in the required form places the new application on a stronger footing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a letter of employment for a spouse visa?
Yes, where the financial requirement is met through employment income. Where the requirement is met entirely through cash savings, pension income or non-employment income, no employer letter is needed.
Is there an official template for the employer letter?
No. The Home Office publishes no form and prescribes no wording. What the Rules specify is the information the letter must confirm. An employer can write it on their own headed paper in their own words, provided each required element appears.
What if my employer refuses to write the letter?
The specified evidence rules provide no alternative document that replaces the paragraph 2(b) letter for employed income.
Can one letter cover two jobs with the same employer?
Yes, where the same employer issued the payslips for both roles. That includes the separate salary or rate, and the period at that level. Where two different employers are involved, a letter from each is required.
How Whytecroft Ford can help
Whytecroft Ford’s immigration team prepares partner and spouse visa applications, whether applying outside or inside the UK, and reviews the financial evidence as a set before anything is submitted. That review includes telling a sponsor exactly what to ask their employer for. The full route is set out on the UK spouse visa guide.
To discuss your application with our 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.
