Dependants

Find out if you are able to to bring family to the UK as ‘dependants’ while you study.

Who qualifies as a dependant

Your husband or wife
Your civil partner (same-sex couples who have registered their partnership to gain formal legal recognition of their relationship)
Your unmarried or same-sex partner (couples living together in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for a period of at least two years)
Your child or children aged under 18 (if applying overseas)
Your child or children aged over 18 (only if applying within the UK and only if they are already your dependant under your visa).

If your husband, wife or partner is applying as your dependant, you must both be at least 18 years old when your partner gets their visa or arrives in the UK.

You can only bring your child/children to the UK if your partner is also coming unless:

You are the only parent
You have sole responsibility for your child/children
There are ‘serious, compelling reasons’ why you and your partner can’t live together in the UK.

Which students can bring dependants

Your dependant can apply to come to the UK if:

You’ve received a financial sponsorship or scholarship from the UK or your national government to study a course lasting six months or longer.
You’re studying a postgraduate-level course at the University of Leeds, lasting nine months or longer. If the course start date is on or after 1 January 2024, the course must also be one of the following:
- a PhD or other doctoral qualification
- a research-based postgraduate degree.
You have permission or had permission within the last three months to study on a full-time course of six months or longer, where either:
- your partner or child applying has been your dependant in that period
- your child applying was born since your last grant of permission, and they are applying at the same time as you or your dependant partner.

If your dependant holds a Point Based System visa

They can apply to become a dependant in the UK without returning home. You’ll need to give them evidence to prove your relationship:

Evidence for partners

Marriage or civil partnership certificates
Bank statements in joint names
Council tax/utility bills in joint names

Evidence for children under the age of 16

Full birth certificate showing both parents' names

Get further guidance regarding your child’s entitlement to free NHS treatment if your child has recently been born in the UK.

Evidence for children over the age of 16

Full birth certificate showing both parents' names

And two of the following documents:

Bank statements and/or
Credit card bills and/or
Driving licence and/or
NHS Registration document and/or
A letter from their current school, college or university confirming your address. It must be on official headed paper bearing the official stamp of and issued by an authorised official of that organisation.

If your dependant doesn’t hold a Point Based System visa

They must apply for entry clearance from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) in their home country before they come to the UK.

Each dependant must complete a separate application form and pay a local fee equivalent to £490.

Find out how to apply for a visa for your dependants on the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website.

How to apply as a dependant

Applying from inside the UK

Your dependant must apply online as a dependant partner in the UK or apply online as a dependant child in the UK. The fee for this application is £490.

They’ll need to provide your application reference number when they apply.

Get their application checked

If you’d like the Student Visa Advice team to check their application before it’s submitted, they should stop at the ‘Declaration’ stage.

Submit your documents

Following payment, read our extending your visa in the UK page to learn how to submit their documents.

Applying from outside the UK

Your dependant must apply online as a dependant partner outside of the UK. The fee for this application is £490.

Documents you’ll need

You’ll need to give your dependant the following documents to support their application:

A letter inviting your family to live with you as your dependants.
Your University registration certificate.
A copy of your tenancy agreement or accommodation contract.
A copy of your current visa – either in your passport or your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).
Evidence of your relationship to your dependants, e.g. a marriage or birth certificate.
Evidence of funds to maintain your dependants financially – this will be your original bank statement and/or sponsor letter. You will need to show that you have a minimum of £680 per month per dependant for the duration of your course up to a maximum of nine months.

If you use a bank statement as evidence, the required funds need to be held for 28 consecutive days, with the bank statement being no more than 31 days old on the date of application.

How long your dependants can stay in the UK

Your dependant partner’s visa will expire at the same time as your visa.

Your dependent child’s visa will expire on the same date as whichever parent’s visa ends first.

If you need to extend your time as a student in the UK

Your dependant can apply to extend their leave at the same time as you do.

If your child is 18 or over, they can apply to extend their leave provided they have previously been granted a visa as your dependant.

If you’re studying a course for six months or less

Your family members cannot apply to come to the UK as Student visa dependants.

However, they can apply for a Standard Visitor visa. They must return home again before the visa expires. Switching from a Standard Visitor visa to any other kind of visa in the UK is not permitted.

Dependants with a Standard Visitor visa must return home to apply for a different type of visa. Go to our visits from family and friends page for more information.

Further information

To double-check your dependants' eligibility, visit the UKCISA dependants page.