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International Students

 

Only certain students are eligible to bring family members to the UK on a dependant visa. The following provides guidance on which students are eligible to bring dependants, who can come as a dependant and how to apply for the visa.

Am I eligible to bring dependants on my visa?

Your partner and children will be eligible to apply for a dependant visa if:

  • Your course is a full-time postgraduate level research degree* which is at least 9 months long OR
  • You are a government sponsored student on a full-time course that is 6 months or longer. This means you are receiving a funding award for your studies from the UK government or an overseas government. This is defined in policy guidance as a scholarship from a central government department covering full fees and living costs. There is no requirement for the dependant to be in receipt of an award from a government, but dependants will be required to meet the financial requirements for their application (as outlined in the information below).

*You can check whether individual postgraduate degrees at Cambridge are defined as 'Taught' or 'Research' on the Postgraduate Study website. The Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), issued by the University to support a student visa application, should confirm in the Qualification Awarded field if the course is research. If your course at Cambridge is research-based and your family will apply for dependant visas, check to ensure this is confirmed in your CAS once received following confirmation of offer. 

Students already studying in the UK with dependants

If the requirements outlined above are not applicable to your circumstances, your family members would be eligible to apply for a dependant visa if you have already been studying in the UK and all the following specific requirements are met:

  • you hold current student immigration permission to study on a full-time course of 6 months or longer, or this permission expired no more than 3 months before the new visa application;
  • your new course is full-time and is 6 months or longer;
  • your family member:
    • already has, or had within the last 3 months before the date of application, permission as a dependant partner or dependant child of a student OR
    • the child was born since the last grant of permission to the student
  • your family members are applying for their visas at the same time as you.

Students who started their current course prior to 1 January 2024

Students starting a taught Masters in Michaelmas Term 2023 or earlier are still eligible for their family to apply for a dependant visa, including after January 2024 and whilst their student visa remains valid. 

Who can come to the UK as a dependant?

A dependant for visa purposes is:

  • A husband, wife or civil partner.
  • An unmarried partner if you have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for a period of at least 2 years.
  • A child under 18 years old.

If you are extending your student visa and have children over the age of 18, they may be able to apply for further permission to stay as a Dependant. Please contact the International Student Office for further advice.

If your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner is applying as your dependant the relationship must be genuine and subsisting at the time of application and you must intend to live together throughout your stay in the UK.

For children to be eligible for a dependant visa, it is a requirement that both parents need to be in the UK or coming to the UK. There are few exceptions to this requirement. Families who cannot meet this requirement will need to evidence the 'serious and compelling' reasons why the child should be with you in the UK, or that you have 'sole responsibility' for the child, and that you have made suitable arrangements for the child's care. It is recommended that you contact the International Student Office if this is relevant to your circumstances.

Applying for entry clearance as a dependant (outside the UK)

When to apply

Dependants can apply either at the same time the student is applying for their visa, or after it has been granted.

How much does it cost?

Fees are charged for each dependant and are the same as the student visa costs

Where to apply

Similar to a student visa, dependants should apply in their country of nationality or country of residence (where you have permission to live). The application is made online. A separate application needs to be completed for each dependant.

In most countries, as part of the online application an appointment is booked to attend the visa application centre to enrol biometrics (have your fingerprints and facial image taken) and submit supporting documents.

Applicants in the USA attend a biometrics appointment at a local immigration centre and, following this, must send their supporting documents to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Alternatively, an appointment can be booked at a UK Premium Application Centre to enrol biometrics and submit your passport at the same time, but there is an additional cost for this.

EEA and Swiss passport holders will be able to confirm their identity using the UK Immigration: ID Check app, in the same way that EEA and Swiss nationals can when applying for a student visa. Using the app, you will need to scan your passport with a biometric chip and upload a photo of yourself. You will need either an iPhone 7 or newer or an Android phone to use the app. If you do not have a biometric passport, or are unable to use the app, you will need to book an appointment at a visa application centre as part of your application. 

Financial requirements

As part of the visa application dependants must have sufficient funds to cover living costs in the UK. This is £680 for each month the visa will be valid, up to a maximum of 9 months. This is a total of £6,120 per dependant if the visa will be granted for 9 months or more (9 x £680).

A bank statement or bank letter can be used to fulfil this requirement and the funds can be held in the student's name or the spouse / partner's name. The financial documentation must show that the required level of funds have been held for a minimum consecutive 28 day period (finishing on the date of the closing balance), ending no more than 31 days before the date of application.

If the student has official financial sponsorship which covers the living costs of any dependants, a letter from the sponsor confirming this can be submitted to fulfil the financial requirements. The letter would need to confirm the amount they are providing to cover the living costs for any dependants. If it does not cover the full amount required, additional financial documentation would need to be provided.

Nationals exempt from providing financial evidence

Nationals of the following countries qualify for differentiation arrangements if the student and dependant are both nationals of one of the countries listed below, applying for entry clearance from their country of residence, and both are applying for their visas at the same time:

Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, The Dominican Republic, Hong Kong*, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macau SAR*, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan**, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, British National Overseas*

* Where the applicant is a rightful holder of a passport which has been issued by the relevant competent authority.

**Those who hold a passport issued by Taiwan that includes the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan

If you qualify for differentiation arrangements, financial documents will not need to be submitted with the visa application. However UK Visas and Immigration advises that you should still make sure you have enough funds and they reserve the right to ask you to show evidence of this.

Other supporting documents

The following documents also need to be provided in support of a dependant application:

  • Passport
  • TB test certificate if applicable - check on the gov.uk website
  • Evidence of relationship to main applicant:
    • If you are married or in a civil partnership, you should provide the marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate. The application also requires you to provide 'evidence the relationship is subsisting'. The Home Office advises providing official documents as evidence you are living together. Where this has not been the case, contact the International Student Office for further guidance.
    • If you are not married, you will need to provide evidence that you have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage for at least two years. Documents will only be considered where they are from official sources. They will need to cover the minimum two year period in full. Documents you may use to evidence this could include bank statements, utility bills, tenancy agreements, or official correspondence or documents that link the student and the partner and show they have been living at the same address.
    • For dependant children, a birth certificate, or equivalent official government-issued documentation, should be used to demonstrate the relationship. For children over 16 years old when they apply, documentation confirming their residential address from two separate sources will need to be provided to prove they are not leading an independent life. Contact the International Student Office for further guidance on children over 16 years old.
  • The outcome of the main applicant's decision (if applying separately to the main applicant). The dependant would need to provide the main applicant's visa decision letter OR a copy of their BRP.

Any documents not in English must be accompanied by official certified translations.

Obtaining the visa and collecting the BRP

A time-limed entry vignette is issued in the passport which enables travel to the UK. The actual visa, in the form of a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), will need to be collected within 10 days of arriving in the UK. The BRP can be collected from the University or the Post Office. EEA and Swiss nationals who have used the ID check app will be granted a digital status so will not be issued with a BRP.

Applying for permission to stay as a dependant (within the UK)

Making the application

It is not possible to apply for a dependant visa from inside the UK if you currently have one of the following: a visitor visa (or visitor immigration status), a short-term student visa, a parent of a child visa, a seasonal worker visa and domestic worker in a private household visa. 

Dependants can apply either at the same time the student is extending, or switching their visa, or any time before their current visa expires.

A family member cannot switch to be on a dependant visa if they are in the UK as a visitor or short-term student.

As part of the application, a dependant partner will be able to use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to confirm their identity with their current Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), or if an EEA or Swiss national by scanning their passport. The application will provide instructions on how to do this. If you use the app to make your application, your new visa will be granted as a digital status, also called an eVisa. Only certain nationalities will be issued a new Biometric Resident Permit (BRP). If the app cannot be used, an appointment will be booked as part of the application to enrol biometrics and the visa will be issued as a BRP.

If you have dependant children under 18 years old, biometrics will need to be enrolled by all the family by booking an appointment at a UKVCAS Centre. The application will provide instructions on how to do this. A new BRP will be issued when the visa is granted.

How much does it cost?

Fees are charged for each dependant and are the same as the student visa costs.  

Financial requirements

If a dependant has been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months on the date of their permission to stay application, evidence of funding does not need to be provided to support the new dependant visa application in the UK. The Home Office advises that the requirement is to have held their current visa for at least 12 months at the point of application, rather than the dependant being based in the UK for the full period. However, if the dependant has not been in the UK for a significant part of the previous 12 months, and the Home Office gives an example of at least 3 months, they may be asked to provide evidence of meeting the financial requirements during the application process. 

If the above does not apply, sufficient funds to cover living costs in the UK will need to be held. This is £680 for each month the new visa will be valid, up to a maximum of 9 months. The required funds must have been held for at least 28 consecutive days prior to submitting the online application. The end date of the 28 day period must be within 31 days of the date of application. The additional time granted on the end of the visa from the student's course end date is included in calculating the financial requirement for a dependant if the course length is less than 9 months. For example, PhD students will be granted an additional 4 months on the end of their visa from the course end date.   

If you are required to provide financial documents, the following evidence can be used:

  • A bank statement or bank letter can be used to fulfil this requirement and the funds can be held in the student's name or the spouse / partner's name. The financial documentation must show that the required level of funds have been held for a minimum consecutive 28 day period (finishing on the date of the closing balance), ending no more than 31 days before the date of application.
  • If the student has official financial sponsorship which covers the living costs of any dependants, a letter from the sponsor confirming this can be submitted to fulfil the financial requirements. The letter would need to confirm the amount they are providing to cover the living costs for any dependants. If it does not cover the full amount required, additional financial documentation would need to be provided.

Financial requirements - differentiation arrangements

If the dependant has held a valid UK visa for at least 12 months at the time of application, financial evidence will still not need to be provided with the dependant visa application if the dependant and the student are both nationals of one of the countries listed below, and both are applying for their visas at the same time:

Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, The Dominican Republic, Hong Kong*, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Macau SAR*, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan**, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, British National Overseas*

However, you must still hold the required funds in the manner specified and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) reserves the right to request the evidence during the application process.

* Where the applicant is a rightful holder of a passport which has been issued by the relevant competent authority and where the applicant is applying for entry clearance in the territory related to that passport

**Those who hold a passport issued by Taiwan that includes the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan

Other supporting documents

The following documents also need to be provided in support of a dependant application:

  • Passport
  • Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) if you have one for your current visa
  • Evidence of relationship to main applicant if the dependant partner or child has not previously been granted permission as a dependant of the student:
    • If you are married or in a civil partnership, you would provide the marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate. If your last grant of leave was not as a dependant, you will need to demonstrate your relationship is genuine and subsisting. The Home Office advises providing official documents as evidence you have been living together. 
    • If you are not married, you will need to provide evidence that you have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage for at least two years. Documents will only be considered where they are from official sources. They will need to cover the minimum two year period in full. Documents you may use to evidence this could include bank statements, utility bills, tenancy agreements or official correspondance or documents that link the student and the partner and show they have been living at the same address.
    • For dependant children, a birth certificate, or equivalent official government-issued documentation, should be used to demonstrate the relationship. For children over 16 years old when they apply, documentation confirming their residential address from two separate sources will need to be provided to prove they are not leading an independent life. Contact the International Student Office for further guidance on children over 16 years old.

Any documents not in English must be accompanied by official certified translations.

Working on a dependant visa

A dependant is able to work in the UK except:

  • they cannot work as a professional sportsperson, which includes a sports coach.
  • they cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training if granted the dependant permission prior to 5 October 2020 (unless they have a degree in medicine or dentistry from a UK institution or have previously been granted a UK visa that did not restrict their employment as a doctor or dentist in training and were employed as such during that period).
Children born in the UK

It is not necessary to apply for a dependant visa for a child born in the UK. However, if the child leaves the UK they will require immigration permission to re-enter. In addition, children born in the UK are able to use the NHS free of charge until they are 3 months old. After this, charges can apply for NHS treatment unless a dependant visa has been obtained for the child as the immigration health surcharge would be paid as part of this application.

When applying for a dependant visa for children born in the UK, both parents are required to be in the UK. Unless the student has 'sole responsibility' for the child or there are 'serious and compelling' reasons this is not possible.

Sources of further information

It is your responsibility to ensure you understand and meet the UK immigration requirements.

You are advised to read the information on the gov.uk website before applying for a dependant visa.

UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides information on dependant visas.

Contact us

The University's International Student Office provides a visa advice service and can assist with queries in relation to dependant visa applications.

Coming to the UK as a visitor

If your family members will not be based in the UK, or they are not eligible to apply for a dependant visa, they could visit you in the UK under the standard visitor route. A visitor can normally stay in the UK for up to 6 months. The Home Office provides further information on what you can and can't do as a visitor to the UK. Nationals from certain countries, i.e. a visa national, are required to apply for, and obtain, a standard visitor visa before travelling to the UK. If you are not a visa national, you may request entry as a visitor at immigration control on arrival in the UK.