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Hello I have applied for my partner ilr visa. As a self employed I send with application the tax return with the sa302. I have now been send an email by HO requesting:
a) If the business is required to produce annual audited accounts, such accounts for financial year April 2020 – 2021; OR
b) If the business is not required to produce annual audited accounts, unaudited accounts for financial year April 2020 – 2021 and an accountant’s certificate of confirmation,
I do not have an accountant I fill in the tax return myself. Neither do I have audited accounts. What do I do?

That is required for self-employed people who are sole traders or in partnership. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... .0-ext.pdf

As far as I see, you can't simply rely on your tax return. You may rely on credible sources of self-employment income in exceptional circumstances. What other evidence did you provide to show you are getting income?

DO NOT simply rely on your tax return you will be refused. Mine was as that is what I did. My taxes were very simple, so I sent the HO an account of where the money came from and went to, thinking that would be it, since the IR was happy with my tax returns, why wouldn't HO be?

Anyway, I then had to get unaudited accounts done super quick, and made a successful appeal. Cost me nearly £400 for a very simple set of accounts.

I was also confused with this one during application. I was a sole trader who didn't have an accountant. As a solution I paid an accountant to check my records and write a letter stating my income. I don't know if this is going to work or not because my application still isn't processed.

If you are self employed and a non ltd company, then you will also need unaudited accounts. Get them done now, and then when they write to you and give you 10 days to get them done, you'll be able to send them straight away, if I am wrong, and they don't ask, then sorry it will cost a bit.

But the delay and cost of an appeal is far worse than the risk of not needing the accounts because they accept the accountant's letter, IMHO.

checksout wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:12 am

I was also confused with this one during application. I was a sole trader who didn't have an accountant. As a solution I paid an accountant to check my records and write a letter stating my income. I don't know if this is going to work or not because my application still isn't processed.

That is a requirement under the rules. There is no confusion as it is very clear in the guide. The OP has not said whether he is sole trader or not

Zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:51 am

That is a requirement under the rules. There is no confusion as it is very clear in the guide. The OP has not said whether he is sole trader or not

The confusion comes from the HO's implicit assumption that all self employed people are required to have an accountant whereas there's no such requirement for self employed business. I was initially very worried that I should have had an accountant for the financial year for them to be able to give me a letter but then learned that you can just pay one to do the checks once and write a letter. It is confusing for someone who knows only the basics of running a business.

checksout wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:00 pm

Zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 11:51 am

That is a requirement under the rules. There is no confusion as it is very clear in the guide. The OP has not said whether he is sole trader or not

The confusion comes from the HO's implicit assumption that all self employed people are required to have an accountant whereas there's no such requirement for self employed business. I was initially very worried that I should have had an accountant for the financial year for them to be able to give me a letter but then learned that you can just pay one to do the checks once and write a letter. It is confusing for someone who knows only the basics of running a business.

The minimum requirements of getting a visa based on a business are not the same as the min requirement of running a business in general. HO will not accept self-declared income or tax returns as they cannot be credible or verifiable. Again the guide is clear on what the applicants need to provide

Zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:14 pm

Again the guide is clear on what the applicants need to provide

It's my first day as a member here so I'm not sure if disagreeing with a Mod is a good idea but I don't think the guidance was clear enough. It confused me, it confused my partner who was born here and has been self employed for many years, it confused the accountant and apparently it confused the OP so they had to ask for help. In any case, I hope my anecdote helps the OP.

checksout wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:19 pm

Zimba wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:14 pm

Again the guide is clear on what the applicants need to provide

It's my first day as a member here so I'm not sure if disagreeing with a Mod is a good idea but I don't think the guidance was clear enough. It confused me, it confused my partner who was born here and has been self employed for many years, it confused the accountant and apparently it confused the OP so they had to ask for help. In any case, I hope my anecdote helps the OP.

I always welcome disagreements. That is how we learn. I suggest looking up 'Sole trader, partner or franchise – specified evidence' in the guide. I repeat again that what immigration rules expect from you are beyond what you normally do in the business. The rules require very specific evidence and you must comply with them. Your partner, accountant, etc are not gonna be of any help when dealing with immigration rules as they may have no understanding of the rules at all. For example, you may choose to do your own accounting in the business but the immigration rules might require you to have an accountant if want to secure a visa. Because something is acceptable in the world of business does not mean that the immigration rules can also be satisfied. The evidentiary threshold of securing a visa can be much higher or quite specific.