Spouse visa income for company directors: why 6 months of payslips may be the wrong evidence

Appendix FM-SE ordinarily allows salaried employment in the UK to be evidenced through payslips, corresponding personal bank statements and an employer’s letter. The familiar Category A analysis usually examines the 6 months before the application where the person has worked for the same employer for at least that period.

Paragraph 9 creates a specific exception. Where a person is a director or employee of a qualifying UK limited company and the ownership conditions are met, paragraphs 9(b) to (e) apply instead of the ordinary employment and dividend provisions.

A director’s low salary, dividend strategy or formal PAYE status does not determine the category. The analysis begins with the company, the person’s role and the direct and indirect ownership structure.

A company falls within paragraph 9(a) where the person is a director or employee, or both, of the company or another company in the same group; shares are held directly or indirectly by that person, their partner or specified family members; and any remaining shares are held directly or indirectly by fewer than 5 other persons.

The listed family members extend beyond a spouse or parent. They include a grandparent, child, stepchild, grandchild, sibling, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece and first cousin of the person or their partner. Indirect holdings also matter.

This is why an applicant should not classify the income from a Companies House snapshot alone. A group structure, family holding vehicle, minority interests and beneficial ownership can alter the answer.

1. 01
   Role

   Is the person a director or employee of the company, or of another company in the same group?

2. 02
   Family holding

   Are shares held directly or indirectly by the person, their partner or a listed family member?

3. 03
   Remaining shares

   Are any remaining shares held by fewer than 5 other persons?

4. 04
   Jurisdiction

   Paragraph 9 concerns a specified limited company registered in the UK.

Salary received as a director or employee can be counted where the paragraph 9 requirements are met. The prescribed evidence includes payslips and, if issued, the P60 covering the same period as the CT600, together with personal bank statements showing receipt of the salary.

Dividends can also be counted. The evidence must include vouchers for every dividend declared in favour of the person during or in respect of the relevant CT600 period and personal bank statements showing payment into the person’s or couple’s account.

A dividend declared on paper but not shown as received, a payment falling outside the relevant accounting period or a mismatch between the accounts, vouchers and bank record can prevent the figure from doing the work expected of it.

Paragraph 9 requires the CT600 for the last full financial year and evidence that it was filed with HMRC, Companies House registration evidence, the relevant accounts and 12 months of corporate bank statements corresponding to the CT600 period.

Where accounts are unaudited, an accountant’s certificate from a professional falling within the prescribed bodies is required. The application must also provide 1 of the specified supporting records concerning VAT, business premises or PAYE and National Insurance registration.

The evidence is cumulative rather than illustrative. A profitable set of accounts does not replace the filed CT600; the CT600 does not replace corporate bank statements; and salary documents do not replace the company-level evidence.

The Rules also require evidence of ongoing employment as a director or other employee, or ongoing receipt of dividend income. This addresses the gap between the end of the company’s accounting year and the date of application.

Recent payslips or dividend vouchers and corresponding personal bank statements may demonstrate continuity. Alternative evidence can include ongoing payment of business rates, business insurance premiums or employer National Insurance contributions.

The object is not to create a second income calculation for the months after year-end. It is to show that the economic activity relied upon has not ended while the application is being made on historic accounts.

Category F or G income can be combined with permitted salaried or non-salaried employment, non-employment income and pension income. The other income must, however, fall within the same relevant financial year or years and satisfy its own specified evidence requirements.

Income drawn from differently based financial years cannot simply be assembled into 1 annual figure. The Home Office guidance explains that combining periods which do not correspond would not produce a fair or accurate annual calculation.

Current cash savings cannot be combined with Category F or G income. A person with sufficient qualifying savings may rely on savings alone, but they should not use savings to fill a shortfall in specified-company income under these categories.

For many first partner applications made on or after 11 April 2024, Appendix FM requires gross annual income of at least £29,000. That is the figure against which qualifying Category F or G income is ordinarily tested.

A person who first applied on the partner route before 11 April 2024 and is extending with the same partner may remain within transitional financial requirements. The threshold can begin at £18,600 with additions for certain dependent children, subject to a £29,000 cap.

The application should therefore establish the relevant route history before selecting the threshold. The current public figure is not a substitute for checking the transitional provisions that apply to the individual.

A director approaching a partner application should coordinate the immigration analysis with the company’s accountant. The relevant year, intended salary and dividends, CT600, accounts, filing evidence and bank records should be capable of reconciliation before submission.

That does not mean accounts should be manipulated for an immigration application. It means the actual remuneration and company record should be understood early enough to identify whether Category F works, whether Category G is required or whether another permitted source must be relied upon independently.

Evidential flexibility exists in limited circumstances, but an applicant should not plan on the Home Office requesting a missing corporate record. A technically sufficient income case should be complete when filed.