Previous earnings

If you are claiming points for your previous earnings you will need to send us the appropriate evidence from the list below. The evidence you need to provide will depend on whether you have been in salaried or self employment during the qualifying period. If you have worked in both salaried and self employment during the qualifying period you should include a letter with your application to explain the period of time spent in each type of employment and the evidence you have provided for each.

If you have completed a course of full-time study within the previous 12 months, and are claiming points for previous earnings before you became a full-time student you will need to provide evidence of your student status, in addition to evidence of your previous earnings. You should provide a letter from the educational institution on official headed paper that shows:

• your name; and
• the dates you studied at the institution; and
• the number of hours you studied each week.

Salaried employment

You will need to provide two pieces of evidence to support the earnings for which you are claiming points. The two pieces of evidence must be consistent with, and corroborate each other for the full period claimed.  You must provide:

• your income tax return; and
• your wage slips covering the full period.

Self-assessment tax documents are not accepted as they are not independent.

The wage slips should either be formal pay slips or on company headed paper. If they are on plain paper they should be clearly stamped and signed by your employer.

If your income tax return does not cover the entire period claimed, then you should provide either or both of the following:

• your bank statements covering the period claimed for;
• a letter from your employer on company headed paper, stating your salary. 

The letter should confirm that you have received the salary stated for the earnings period claimed.

If you work in a country that does not have a tax system, you should provide two of the following:

• your wage slips to cover the period claimed; or
• your bank statements covering the period claimed; or
• a letter from your employer stating your income as claimed.

If you are unable to provide your original documents due to exceptional circumstances, you will need to apply for exceptional consideration of your case. You will need to explain the circumstances that have resulted in you being unable to provide the required documents. You will also need to provide:

• bank statements showing that you have received the salary described for the full period claimed; or
• a letter from your employer(s) during the period confirming you received the amount for which you are claiming.

If possible you should provide both of the above pieces of evidence.

Independent contractors

If you have been employed as an independent contractor during the 12 month period, you may consider yourself to be self-employed because you do not have continuity of employment with a single employer. You may only be able to provide some of the evidence from both the salaried and self-employed lists.  f you have been working as an independent contractor, you must provide the following items of supporting evidence:

• your income tax return. If you do not have a tax return which covers the full period, please provide the most recent tax return available.  Self-assessment tax documents are not acceptable, as they are not independent; and
• copies of contracts from your employer to cover the period claimed and to total the amount of earnings claimed. They should give details of the employment, period of contract and your salary; and
• invoices from the employers showing the actual amounts paid to you; and
• your bank statements showing the payments made by your employers to you.

If the required documents above do not provide two forms of corroborating evidence that clearly demonstrate your gross earnings for the period claimed, you should provide at least one of the documents listed below:

• an accountant?s letter on their letterhead confirming your gross and net salary for the period claimed; or
• invoice explanations/Payment advice for the full period claimed.

Self-employment

If you are not in salaried employment you must supply an appropriate combination of the following documents to demonstrate your earnings over the entire 12-month period.

You must provide:

• your most recent tax returns. If the tax year does not cover the full period claimed other evidence is required to cover the entire 12-month period. Self-assessment tax documents are not accepted; and
• your personal bank statements.

You must also provide one of the following combinations of documents:

• company audited accounts and company tax return. One of these documents should confirm the total salary that you are confirming; or
  • business bank statements and a business tax return; or
  • copies of contract totalling the full salary and corroborating invoices that show you have been paid the amount claimed.

If the documents provided from the above list do not clearly demonstrate your gross earnings you should provide:

• an accountant?s letter on their letterhead confirming your gross and net salary for the period claimed; or
• invoice explanations or payment advice for the full period. Where dividends have been paid as part of your earnings the payment summaries provided should show that the gross dividend has been paid to you; or
• company statements if they have not already been provided.

You do not need to provide all the documents in this list. You should make sure the documents you provide support your claimed earnings.

If you operate through a Limited Liability Company as one of a number of shareholders, you should provide a letter from your accountant confirming your proportionate shareholding within the company together with confirmation of your gross and net income and payment summaries.  This evidence will demonstrate your stake within the company.

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