Dependant Visa UK

Foreign nationals holding certain categories of visas in the UK may bring their spouses or civil/unmarried partners and dependent children to the country on dependant visas. If you already have a family member living in the UK on certain work visas, business visas, UK Ancestry visas, or student visas (in limited circumstances), then a dependant visa may be a valid option for you to move to the UK.

The dependent partner or child can work and study in the UK, although there are restrictions on employment as a professional sportsperson or a doctor/dentist in training. They can access public healthcare (NHS) and education facilities in the UK but cannot claim public funds or the State Pension.

A dependant visa is valid for the same duration as the main applicant’s visa and can be extended if and when the main applicant is eligible or required to extend their visa. After living in the UK for five years as a dependent family member of a work visa holder, you may also be eligible to apply to settle permanently in the UK.

Page Contents

• What is a Dependant visa in the UK?
• Who Can Apply for a UK Dependant Visa?
• UK Dependant Visa Eligibility Requirements: Spouses/Partners
• UK Dependant Visa Eligibility Requirements: Children
• Dependant Visa UK Financial Requirements
• UK Dependant Visa Documents Checklist
• How to Apply for a UK Dependant Visa?
• Dependant Visa UK Validity and Conditions
• Dependant Visa to Settlement (ILR) in the UK
• New Rules in 2024 for UK Dependant Visa
• How Can Total Law help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

According to the UK immigration rules, if the main visa holder holds any of the following visas, they can bring their eligible dependent spouse/partner and children to the country:

• Skilled Worker visa
• Health and Care visa (except certain categories)
• Senior or Specialist Worker visa
• UK Expansion Worker visa
• Secondment Worker visa
• Service Supplier visa
• Graduate Trainee visa
• Representative of an Overseas Business visa
• Creative Worker visa
• International Agreement visa
• Charity Worker visa
• Religious Worker visa
• Government Authorised Exchange visa
• Scale-up Worker visa
• International Sportsperson visa
• Minister of Religion visa (T2)
• UK Ancestry visa
• Innovator Founder visa
• High Potential Individual visa
• Graduate visa (only if your eligible family members joined you in the UK as your dependants on your current Student visa or your children were born in the country during your current Student visa)
• Student visa (in limited circumstances)

A dependent spouse or civil partner must be in a marriage or civil partnership, which is recognised in the UK, with the main applicant for at least two years before the date of their dependant visa application. An unmarried partner may be eligible to apply if they can prove that they have been living together with the main applicant for at least the past two years.

If the unmarried partners were in a relationship for the last two years but did not live together due to acceptable and provable reasons (such as if they were working/studying in different places or if living together was not possible due to cultural reasons), they may also be able to apply for dependant visas UK.

However, they will need to prove an ongoing mutual commitment through proof of regular communications, evidence of supporting each other financially, proof of shared parental care for any children they may have, photos from where they have been travelling together, etc.

Children below 18 are eligible to come and live with you in the UK as your dependents. Unless studying full-time in a boarding school or university, they must live with you and not be married or in a civil partnership.

Children over 18 may also be eligible for a dependant visa if they live with you in the UK, are not married or in a civil partnership, and are your sole responsibility financially (or otherwise).

The financial requirements for a UK dependant visa vary depending on the main applicant’s visa type. In most cases, the main visa applicant must be able to prove that they have sufficient financial means to cover their dependent family members’ expenses in the UK.

For example, a Skilled Worker visa holder will need £285 for their spouse/partner and £315 per eligible child to apply for their UK dependant visas. If their employer is sponsoring the Skilled Worker visa holder’s dependants, they must submit evidence thereof.

The dependant visa applicants may be exempt from meeting any financial requirements if they have already been legally and continuously living in the UK for 12 months or more at the time of their visa application. If they are absent from the UK for a significant part of the said period, they will, however, have to submit evidence of sufficient financial means.

You will usually need the following supporting documents to apply for a UK dependant visa:

• Your current and valid passport
• The Global Web Form (GWF) or a Unique Application Number (UAN) for the main visa applicant (to link your applications)
• Proof of your relationship with the main visa applicant, such as marriage/civil partnership certificate, documents proving you have been living together or have an ongoing commitment for the past two years, birth certificates (for dependent children) etc.
• Proof that the main applicant has sufficient financial means to cover their dependants’ expenses, or evidence showing that they meet the minimum salary threshold, if applicable depending on their visa type (e.g. a Skilled Worker visa)
• Proof that your children are living with you, such as a bank statement, credit card bills, driving licence etc.
• A tuberculosis test certificate (if applicable depending on your country of residence when applying from outside the UK)
• Criminal record check certificate for adult applicants (where applicable)

A UK dependant visa application is an online process, where each applicant must complete a separate visa application form. You must create an account on the Home Office website with an email ID to proceed with your online application. You will need the main applicant’s application number to apply for your UK dependant visa, also called a GWF or a UAN.

The completed application form and scanned copies of your supporting documents must be submitted, along with payment for the visa fees and immigration healthcare surcharge. You will then have to book an appointment with a UK visa application centre (VAC) to submit your biometric information, your original passport, and physical copies of supporting documents.

In many countries, the UK embassy outsources some parts of the consular services to third parties, specifically for collecting hard copies of supporting documents, applicants’ passports, and visa interviews (if required). These designated service providers usually have more than one VAC in the respective countries, so you may choose the one nearest to your residential address in your home country.

After your online application is complete, you will need to book an appointment with the concerned VAC to submit your documents and also attend a visa interview, if applicable.

If you are already in the UK on a different visa and want to switch to a dependant visa, you may be eligible to do so unless you are currently holding any of the following:

• A visit visa
• A short-term student visa
• A Parent of a Child Student visa
• A Seasonal Worker visa
• An Overseas Domestic worker visa

A UK dependant visa usually remains valid as long as the main applicant’s UK visa is valid. If the main applicant extends or switches their visa, their dependent family members’ visas will still be valid until their original expiry dates.

In such scenarios, the dependant visa holders may choose to extend or switch their visas at the same time as the main applicant, or at any time before their current visa expires. Dependant visa holders must leave the UK as and when the main applicant’s visa expires, unless they have already been granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or have switched to a different visa category (e.g. a work or study visa).

A dependant visa holder can live, work and study in the UK, as well as travel within and outside the country. They cannot, however, claim UK public funds or be eligible for State Pension.

UK dependant visa holders may be eligible to apply to settle permanently in the UK (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’) provided they have continuously lived in the UK for five years and meet the other applicable conditions, such as:

• Dependent spouses/partners are still in a genuine relationship with their main visa holder spouses/partners, and intend to continue their relationship after they apply for ILR
• Dependent children are still living (or intend to live) with their parents or parents (unless boarding or at university), supported and accommodated adequately without claiming benefits, and are not married or in a civil partnership, or living an independent life
• The family generates sufficient income to support themselves in the UK

In 2024, revised rules were introduced for dependent families of Student visa and Health and Care Worker visa holders. Starting from January 2024, Student visa holders can bring their spouse/partner or children to the UK as their dependants only if they are:

• A government-sponsored student enrolled in a course lasting longer than six months, or
• A full-time student on a postgraduate level course lasting nine months or more

If the course starts on or after that date, it must be either a PhD or other doctorate level course, or a research-based higher degree.

Likewise, from 11 March 2024 onwards, care workers and senior care workers are no longer eligible to bring their spouses/partners and children to the UK as their dependent family members. Care or senior care workers already working in the UK on a Health and Care Worker visa before that date may continue having their eligible family members living with them, provided they are:

• Still holding a Health and Care Worker visa, or
• Extending their Health and Care Worker visa with their current employer, or
• Changing to a new job within the same occupation code while on a Health and Care Worker visa