UK Student Visa Rules for Dependants

Which Students can bring new dependants?

The postgraduate course must be with a higher education provider that has a track record of compliance. The provider confirms on the CAS whether a course starting from 1 January 2024 is a doctorate or research-based higher degree.

Continuation provisions for existing families

Appendix Student contains limited continuation provisions for a Student moving to another qualifying full-time course of six months or longer when the partner or child already has, or recently had, dependant permission. It also covers certain children born since the last grant. These provisions are technical and do not reopen general eligibility for every taught master’s student.

Ask the university’s international adviser to assess the previous Student and dependant permissions, the three-month timing rule and the new application sequence before relying on a continuation provision.

Who counts as a dependant?

A dependant partner can be a husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner. Appendix Relationship with Partner requires a genuine and subsisting relationship, that the couple have met in person and, for an unmarried couple, a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years before application.

A dependant child is normally under 18 at the initial application and must meet relationship, care, age and independent-life requirements. A child born in the UK during the Student’s stay still needs immigration permission to travel and to remain beyond the relevant period.

A certificate alone may not answer credibility questions. Provide a consistent account of living arrangements, communication, finances and future plans where relevant. Never manufacture cohabitation evidence.

Maintenance funds for each dependant

For entry clearance, or an in-country applicant who has been in the UK with permission for less than 12 months, the published amount for each partner or child is:

This is additional to the main Student’s course fees and maintenance, and additional to the amount for every other dependant. Unless an exemption or qualifying government sponsorship applies, the required balance must be held for 28 consecutive days under Appendix Finance. The financial evidence must close within 31 days before the online application date.

Family example

A Student studying outside London with a spouse and one child would normally add £6,120 for the spouse and £6,120 for the child: £12,240 in dependant maintenance. That is separate from the Student’s own required funds and outstanding tuition.

If family members apply separately after the Student, each dependant proves only the relevant dependant funds, but the evidence and account-holder rules still apply. Never spend the balance during the holding period.

When maintenance evidence may not be required

A partner or child applying for permission to stay after living in the UK with valid permission for at least 12 months meets the route’s financial requirement without showing the specified balance. Differential-evidence arrangements may reduce what must be uploaded for listed nationalities, but UKVI can still request evidence. Nepali nationals should prepare the full evidence unless current rules clearly provide otherwise.

Fees and Immigration Health Surcharge

From 8 April 2026, the published Student route application fee is £558 for each main applicant and dependant. Each dependant also pays the Immigration Health Surcharge. The current student/dependant rate is £776 per year, calculated against the length of permission rather than only the teaching months.

Fees can change. Use the official calculator immediately before payment and budget separately for biometrics-centre optional services, translations, TB testing and travel.

Documents commonly required

• Valid passport or travel document.
• Main Student’s GWF or UAN application reference if applying together or separately.
• Proof of the Student’s current or pending Student permission and CAS/course details.
• Relationship evidence appropriate to partner or child.
• Financial evidence where required.
• Approved-clinic TB certificate where Appendix Tuberculosis applies.
• Certified translations for documents not in English or Welsh.
• Government sponsor consent where the dependant recently held a qualifying scholarship.
• Parental consent or care evidence for a child where required.

Applying from outside the UK

Each dependant submits the correct online partner or child application, pays the fee and IHS, provides biometrics and links the application to the Student using the reference number. A person seeking entry as a dependant must obtain entry clearance before travelling.

Family applications can be submitted together or separately. Together does not mean the evidence can be inconsistent: names, dates, addresses, relationship history, funds and the Student’s course must align.

Switching inside the UK

A partner or child applying for permission to stay must be in the UK and hold a category from which switching is permitted. Appendix Student prevents in-country switching where the person’s current or last permission was as a Visitor, Short-term Student, Parent of a Child Student, Seasonal Worker, Domestic Worker in a Private Household or outside the Immigration Rules.

Do not enter as a visitor expecting to switch to a Student dependant. The usual solution is to leave and apply for entry clearance, subject to individual advice.

How long dependant permission lasts

A dependent partner is normally granted permission ending on the same date as the Student’s permission. A dependent child’s permission normally ends on the earlier expiry date of the parents’ permissions. If the Student’s sponsorship or permission ends early, the family’s position can be affected.

Student dependant permission is temporary and does not itself create a direct settlement route. Families should plan what happens after study, including an eligible Graduate, Skilled Worker or other route, rather than assuming the dependant permission can be extended indefinitely.

Work and study conditions

Eligible Student dependants are generally permitted to work, including employment, self-employment and voluntary work. They cannot work as a professional sportsperson, including as a sports coach. Narrow restrictions can apply to dependants covered by continuation provisions where the Student’s course or permission is too short or below degree level.

Study is permitted, subject to ATAS where an adult dependant studies a covered subject. Dependants have no access to public funds.

Children and school

Schooling rules depend on the child’s age, location and immigration status. A dependant child can usually attend school, but the family must arrange admission through the relevant local system and budget for childcare, uniforms, meals, transport and housing. A Student dependant is different from a Parent of a Child Student visa.

Common refusal risks

• The Student’s course is taught rather than research-based.
• The course is shorter than the required duration.
• The unmarried-partner relationship has not reached two years.
• Relationship evidence is inconsistent or appears created for the application.
• Funds cover the Student but not every dependant.
• The balance drops during the 28-day period.
• The wrong London or outside-London amount is used.
• A dependant tries to switch from Visitor status inside the UK.
• TB or translation requirements are missed.
• A child’s care arrangements are not explained.

Family application checklist