ITR for a visa from India: years, acknowledgement, Form 16

What each checklist asks for

Checklists differ in two ways: how many years they want, and which document they accept. Some take Form 16 in place of a return; others insist on the acknowledgement, and a few mention a barcode. Read the exact words on your own checklist before you print anything.

Assessment year or financial year?

Indian returns are labelled by assessment year, which is the year after the income was earned. Income from April 2025 to March 2026 belongs to financial year 2025-26 and is assessed, and filed, in assessment year 2026-27. So “the last two assessment years” means your two most recently filed returns.

Early in the tax year, before your latest return falls due, your newest filed return can be a year older than you expect. That is normal. Submit the latest two (or three) you have filed, and if a checklist seems to expect a more recent year, explain the timing in one line of your cover letter rather than leaving a gap.

Acknowledgement, ITR-V and Form 16: which is which

Whatever its name, the document must belong to a return that has completed the process. A return that has been filed but not verified is not finished, so check its status on the e-filing portal before you print it, and follow the portal’s current instructions if verification is still pending.

Barcode wording matters for a few countries. Austria asks for returns “with barcode”, the Netherlands for a “verified income tax return”, and the EU list wants self-employed applicants’ returns “barcode verifiable”. Print the acknowledgement directly from the portal rather than scanning an old printout, so the barcode and acknowledgement number are sharp.

If you have no tax return

Students, homemakers, retired people on small pensions and people in their first job often have no return to show. The checklists handle this in different ways. None of them expects you to produce a return that does not reflect real income.

• Japan: the tourism checklist accepts a “bank statement of last 6 months” when the latest return is not available. Students and dependants add consent from a parent or spouse and that person’s return.
• South Korea: if your return is missing, the visa centre asks for “a letter of explanation”.
• Retired applicants for Schengen visas: the EU list asks for “pension statements for the last three months and/or proof of regular income generated by ownership of property or business.”
• Sponsored applicants: the person paying submits their own returns with a sponsor letter, and you prove the relationship.
• New employees: give the salary slips you have, your appointment letter and an employer letter, and say in your cover letter why there is no return yet.

Business owners and the self-employed

For the self-employed the return is the main proof of income, because there is no salary slip to fall back on. The EU list asks for the “certificate of registration of the company, including its goods and services tax (GST) registration number” and “proof of income tax return (barcode verifiable)”, with business bank statements.

Some countries want a longer record from businesses. South Korea asks business owners for three years of company returns with the PAN, or three years of personal returns for a proprietor. Italy asks the self-employed for a certificate of incorporation, three months of business statements and three years of returns. When an Indian company sponsors a trip to Germany, its checklist asks for the “company’s ITR Returns for the last three years”.

Check the numbers before you submit

Officers compare documents with each other. If the return shows far less income than the salary credits in your statement, or your employer letter gives a different salary, expect a question. Small gaps have ordinary causes, such as gross pay against take-home pay, or a raise part-way through the year. Large ones need a sentence of explanation in the cover letter.

• The salary income on Form 16 and the return is close to twelve months of gross pay on your slips.
• The net pay on your slips appears as credits in your bank statement for the same months.
• The income on the return makes the trip cost look affordable, which is the UK test of “reasonable expenditure in light of their financial situation”.
• Your name on the return matches your passport, or the difference is explained.
• Business income on the return is backed by business bank statements and registration documents.

Questions people ask