Self Employment and Partner Visa

[TomTomTom]

Hi everyone,

Myself and my partner are planning to apply for an unmarried partner visa in September. We will have been living together for 2 years at that point We have rental agreements, police registration, letters to each of us at our house, letters to both of us at our house, plan to get letters from the estate agents, joint bank account etc. along with photo albums including stuff of each of us with each others family. So we hope we have the proof of the relationship side of the equation worked out.

When it come to income, my girlfriend is employed on a contractual basis, and will have been so for over 6 months thus contributing 8,500 to the total amount we need.

I am self-employed; i will have earned about 14,000.

In terms of all the accounts and evidence etc. I am employing a chartered accountant to draw up all the necessary forms and business accounts.

I have two questions:

a) Part of my employment has been cash in hand. I am declaring these earnings to HMRC, but did not pay them into my account. Without these, I still qualify as having earned enough with the money that entered the account. Is this likely to be a problem?

b) I paid half of my earnings into my personal account. I paid the other half into the joint account with my partner (I am the main name on the account, she is attached to it) in order to pay rent from it. Is this likely to be a problem?

Thanks,
Tom

[Casa]

Before your questions are answered can you confirm that £14,000 is the amount you will be taxed on? i.e after allowable expenses have been deducted?

[TomTomTom]

This is before expenses, but I am not claiming many expenses.

Total amount evidenced as going in to bank is about 12,000. Expenses total about 400

[Casa]

It won't matter which accounts you pay your income into as long as you submit statements for both accounts with your application.

Your accountant should advise you on how you're going to show evidence of cash payments...assuming you don't issue receipts or invoices for these. From what you've written, there doesn't appear to be a paper trail at present.

[TomTomTom]

I have spoken to my accountant today. We will have a lump sum declared on the income form; invoices and receipts are not issued (its for private tuition.) Only some of this is evidenced as going in to any account, but even without the cash in hand stuff I have still earned enough to push us over the threshold as a couple.

Will rental agreements for the two places we lived (for 2 years), a joint bank account for 1.5 years (from which rent will have come from for 1 year) and separate and joint post to both addresses suffice as evidence? We don't have bills in both our names (I paid all bills, she had low income.)

She has had friends and parents to visit, could there visa confirmations be used as evidence?

[TomTomTom]

Sorry, I forgot to say thankyou so much for your response. Immigrationboards is a real friend in time of need

[anniecc]

Will rental agreements for the two places we lived (for 2 years), a joint bank account for 1.5 years (from which rent will have come from for 1 year) and separate and joint post to both addresses suffice as evidence? We don't have bills in both our names (I paid all bills, she had low income.)

You should be ok, provided the post is from 'official' sources (not just letters from family and friends). UKBA asks for six items in total but if you're lacking in joint items the advice I had was to provide two separate items for each joint item. So for example if you only have two letters that are jointly addressed you should submit a further four items addressed to each of you individually, making a total of 10 items. You should also make sure the items are spread across the two year cohabitation period.