Financial requirement for visa: UKVI and HMRC don't agree.

Financial requirement for visa: UKVI and HMRC...

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Hi all,

I sincerely hope someone here can help me with this...it's an accounting issue that's impacting my immigration.

I'm preparing to renew my current visa (FLR(M) is the specific type), and my husband and I have run into a snag. He's a software developer who incorporated as a limited company last year, and as such, he has to provide a slew of documents to UKVI in order to prove that we meet the financial requirements for my visa. He has everything required, except for this one thing:

"(iv) If the company is not required to produce annual audited accounts, unaudited accounts for the last full financial year and an accountant's certificate of confirmation, from an accountant who is a member of a UK Recognized Supervisory Body (as defined in the Companies Act 2006)."

HMRC doesn't require a company like his to use an accountant to submit his CT600 or VAT returns, so he hasn't used one. He's already submitted both these forms to HMRC. So I'm at a bit of a loss...what options do we have? I've spoken to two law firms, one of which said the document was non-negotiable; the other said I could risk it for a biscuit, but of course that means we could be faced with refusal of the application, which means £1,049 down the drain. 

I'm wondering if it's at all possible to find an accountant who would be happy to just check over and sign off on the accounts he's already prepared, but I am spectacularly out of my depth here, and don't know if that's...a thing someone would do.

Any and all advice eagerly and gratefully received--thank you! 

Replies (4)

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By johngroganjga
08th May 2015 18:23

The simple answer to your question is yes. The important question you don't mention is how much work would the qualified accountant need to do in order to be able to say he or she had prepared the accounts, and what they would charge for doing that work. The only way to find out of course is to obtain quotations from three or four of them

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Replying to paul.benny:
By schauspielerin
08th May 2015 18:37

I'm not sure what work would be involved for the accountant to be able to say they prepared the accounts...I imagine that is something I will have to leave to my husband to sort out. I know he's meticulous in his record-keeping, but having not seen them (nor understanding them), I can't speak to that. But, thank you! I was just worrying that people might think I was crazy if I called up and asked about this.

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By Tim Vane
09th May 2015 17:36

Not crazy at all.

This does happen from time to time. If your husband has kept meticulous records this will help greatly. He must also be prepared to hand over all bank statements, receipts, invoices etc. He may well be asked for other things as well, and to answer questions that the accountant may have.

Don't get annoyed at the accountant if he starts prying into your husband's books. It is the accountants job to understand the records he is verifying, and he will want to satisfy himself that everything is in order and that the correct accounting treatment has been applied.

Be prepared that the accountant may not agree with some of the accounting or tax treatment that your husband has applied to his own accounts and tax returns. The accountant will be member of a professional body and will have to follow a strict set of accounting rules and standards.  You will just have to accept this: although it is highly unlikely it will have any impact on your overall finances the accountant may insist that corrections must be made to erroneous tax returns etc that may have already been filed.  The accountant is obliged to do this and is not doing it to be awkward - he has to sign off records that he knows to be a "true and fair view" and which has had the correct tax treatment. A good accountant will be pragmatic in this - sometimes he may just advise that a correction be made in the following year's accounts.

As John has already mentioned, get several quotes, and make sure you get them from accountants registered with one of the official accounting bodies. A large number of (usually budget) accountants are not qualified at all and they will not be able to provide the sign-off that you need.

Expect to pay several hundred pounds.  Good luck.

Thanks (1)
By schauspielerin
09th May 2015 19:54

Thank you, Tim!

Thank you so much, Tim, that's incredibly helpful information.

We are going to follow your and John's advice. I've pushed my appointment back 10 days to get a bit more time, and he's off work next week so we can focus on getting this sorted.

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to give such specific information--it makes me feel infinitely better!

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