Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026

UK Student Visa Dependants: Who Can Bring a Partner or Children

NEW Published 30 October 2026

Illustration of a student with a partner and small child holding suitcases outside a home

The post-2024 rules in full — PhD and research-based degrees, government sponsorship, the money each dependant needs, and children born in the UK.

No page in this cell corrects a more common misunderstanding. Since 1 January 2024, the UK Student route has allowed dependants only for a narrow group of students — and most taught-course students, including nearly all master's students, are no longer in it. GOV.UK states the categories precisely, and this guide reproduces that precision rather than softening it: if your course does not qualify, no amount of money or documentation changes the answer.

Quick answer

Your partner and children ("dependants") may be able to apply only if you are a government-sponsored student starting a course that lasts longer than 6 months, or a full-time student on a postgraduate level course (RQF level 7 or above) lasting 9 months or longer. If your postgraduate course starts on or after 1 January 2024, it must be a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8), or a research-based higher degree. Each dependant needs £845 a month in London or £680 a month outside London (up to 9 months), held for 28 days, and pays a £558 fee plus the healthcare surcharge.

SECTION 01The Qualifying Students, Exactly as GOV.UK States Them

GOV.UK's family members page opens the test with "You must be one of the following":

a government-sponsored student starting a course that lasts longer than 6 months
a full-time student on a postgraduate level course (RQF level 7 or above) that lasts 9 months or longer

Then the 2024 restriction: "If your postgraduate level course starts on or after 1 January 2024, it must be either: a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8); a research-based higher degree." Read together, the practical position for new students is this: PhD and doctorate students qualify; students on research-based higher degrees qualify; government-sponsored students on courses over 6 months qualify. Taught master's students — the largest single group of postgraduate applicants — do not, and neither do undergraduate students at any level of funding other than government sponsorship.

SECTION 02Who Counts as a Dependant

A dependant partner or child is one of the following: your husband, wife or civil partner; your unmarried partner; or your child under 18 years old — including a child born in the UK during your stay. You will need evidence of the relationship when you apply: for example, a marriage or civil partnership certificate for your partner, and a birth certificate for your child.

For a child, GOV.UK adds two proofs: the child must be not married or in a civil partnership, and living with you — unless they are living away from home in full-time education, for example at boarding school or university. You will need 2 documents from GOV.UK's list confirming the child's address (a bank statement, credit card bills, a driving licence, an NHS registration document, or an official letter from their university or college), and if your child pays you rent or upkeep, you will need to give details.

SECTION 03The Money Each Dependant Needs

Your partner and each child must have a set amount of money available to them, in addition to the money you must have to support yourself:

£845 a month (for up to 9 months) for courses in London
£680 a month (for up to 9 months) for courses outside London

If the family applies together, you must prove your course fee and your own support money and the additional money for each of them. If a dependant applies separately, later, they only need to prove their own support money. The money must be held for at least 28 consecutive days, with the end of the 28-day period within 31 days of the date they apply. A student loan or financial sponsorship can evidence it — but if the loan does not cover your partner or child, you need to prove the money for them separately.

Two reliefs exist. A dependant does not need to prove the money if they have been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months. And under the differential evidence requirement, if you and your dependant are both from a listed country and apply at the same time, they do not need to prove the money up front — though UKVI may still ask for it before deciding. India is not a listed country, so neither relief is the planning assumption for Indian families.

SECTION 04Fees, Applying, and How Long They Stay

Each dependant pays £558 for the visa and the healthcare surcharge — at the student dependant rate of £776 per year. Biometrics carry no fee. Dependants apply online, as your partner or as your child, from outside or inside the UK, and they need your application number — the Global Web Form (GWF) or Unique Application Number (UAN) from your own application. Identity is proven by the ID Check app or at a visa application centre outside the UK, and at a UKVCAS service point inside the UK. If their application is successful, their visa ends on the same date as yours, and they receive an eVisa accessed through their own UKVI account.

Inside the UK, a dependant can apply to extend or switch at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires — including children who have turned 18 during your stay. But a dependant cannot switch in the UK from a visit visa, a short-term student visa, a Parent of a Child Student visa, a seasonal worker visa, or a domestic worker in a private household visa. While an inside-UK application is pending, they must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man — the application would be withdrawn.

SECTION 05Children Born in the UK

GOV.UK is explicit: if you have a child while you are in the UK, they do not automatically become a British citizen. You must apply for your child's dependant visa if you want to travel in and out of the UK with them, using the inside-UK or outside-UK child application as applicable, with a full UK birth certificate showing both parents' names. You must apply for their dependant visa before they turn 18 if they are to stay in the UK.

SECTION 06Dependants and the Graduate Visa

The Graduate route continues the same closed door. GOV.UK states that if your partner and children joined you in the UK as dependants on your Student visa, they can apply to stay as dependants on your Graduate visa — the route carries forward existing dependants (and children born in the UK during your stay), rather than admitting new ones. A partner who was never your dependant as a student does not gain a route from the Graduate visa. Full detail is in our Graduate visa guide.

FAQFrequently Asked Questions

I am starting a taught master's this year. Can my wife join me?

Not as your dependant on the Student route. For postgraduate courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, GOV.UK limits dependants to PhD and doctorate students, research-based higher degree students, and qualifying government-sponsored students. A taught master's is none of these.

How much money does my partner need to show?

£845 a month for courses in London, or £680 a month outside London, for up to 9 months — in addition to your own money — held for at least 28 consecutive days ending within 31 days of their application.

Does my child at boarding school count as living with me?

GOV.UK allows the child to be living away from home in full-time education — its examples are boarding school and university — but you must still prove the arrangement with 2 address documents from its list.

Our baby was born in the UK. Is the baby British, and can we travel?

No — GOV.UK states a child born in the UK does not automatically become a British citizen. You must apply for the child's dependant visa if you want to travel in and out of the UK with them.

Can my dependant switch from a visit visa once in the UK?

No. GOV.UK lists the visit visa among the visas a dependant cannot switch from inside the UK, alongside short-term student, Parent of a Child Student, seasonal worker and domestic worker visas.

Editorial note: This AllVisaUpdates guide is general educational information — not legal advice, and it does not soften a restrictive rule into a hopeful one. The dependant categories, amounts, fees and process above are GOV.UK's, checked on 30 October 2026. Families separated by these rules face real decisions — other visa routes, timing, and sponsorship questions are individual legal territory: consult a qualified UK immigration adviser regulated in the UK.

Official references and verification status

These official references were accessed and checked on 30 October 2026, and this guide's claims were verified against them (see the accompanying sources file). One honest limit: GOV.UK's family members page defines who qualifies and what they need; it does not publish approval statistics or guidance on evidencing a "genuine relationship" beyond the documents named, and this guide does not fill that space with folklore. Relationship evidence in contested cases is individual legal territory.

General educational information, not individualized legal or immigration advice. Follow the official GOV.UK instructions for your own situation, and consult a qualified UK immigration adviser regulated in the UK for advice about an individual case.

General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.