If you are a worker whose employer in another country depends on you to work, then the dependent visa rules for UK will help you. Normally, it means the person who gets married to the worker and live with him/her. Some conditions apply to the applicant and his family like health, financial and personal grounds.

It is a known fact that the United Kingdom is one of the most sought after destinations by foreigners all over the world. The country has a way of making its citizens feel at ease and also making foreign nationals like the country so much that they want to end up staying in it forever. The UK has many natural scenic beauty spots and other tourist attraction destinations where people from all over the world visit every year. What this means is that it is not going to be strange if people who are interested in living or working in the UK have questions about how to get a dependent visa for UK.

Rules For Dependent Visa For Uk

If you are living in the UK then you might be under impression that getting a UK Visa for your spouse is easy thing to do. Here are the basic rules for UK dependent visa application from my own personal experience.

Table of Contents

Your partner and children

Your partner and children (‘dependants’) may be able to apply to come to the UK or stay longer in the UK.

You must be one of the following:

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

Your relationship

A dependant partner or child is one of the following:

your husband, wife or civil partner
your unmarried partner
your child under 18 years old – including if they were born in the UK during your stay

You’ll need to provide evidence of your relationship when you apply, for example:

a marriage or civil partnership certificate for your partner
a birth certificate for your child

Find out what other documents you can use to prove your relationship.

If your child is 16 or 17

If your child is 16 or 17 on the date you apply you’ll need to prove they are not living an independent life, for example they’re not married or in a civil partnership.

You’ll need to prove:

where they live – if they do not live with you, you’ll need to explain why
any rent or upkeep they pay you each month
that you support them financially if they do not live with you

If your child lives with you, you’ll need to provide 2 of the following documents confirming their address:

a bank statement
credit card bills
driving licence
NHS registration document
an official letter from their university or college

Money they need to support themselves

Your partner and child must each have a certain amount of money available to them. This is in addition to the money you must have to support yourself.

How much money they need depends on where you will be studying. They must have either:

£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 you’re applying at the same time as your partner or child (you’re applying together as a family), you’ll need to prove you have both money to pay for your course and to support yourself and additional money for each of them.

If your partner or child is applying at a different time to you (they’re applying separately) they only need to prove they have money to support themselves.

You (or your partner or child) must have this money for at least 28 consecutive days. The end date of the 28 day period must be within 31 days of the date they apply for their visa.

If you have a student loan or financial sponsorship, you’ll need to provide evidence of this from your loan or sponsorship company. If your loan does not cover your partner or child, you’ll need to prove you have money to support them instead.

When they do not need to prove they have money to support themselves

Your partner or child does not need to prove they have this money if they’ve been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months.

If you and your partner or child are from a country listed under the ‘differential evidence requirement’ and you’re applying at the same time, they do not need to prove they have money to support themselves.

However, they might be asked to provide this evidence before they get a decision on their application.

If they do need to provide it, they’ll be contacted by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) after they’ve submitted their application.

Apply outside the UK

Your partner and children must either:

They’ll need your application number – you get it when you apply. This number is called a Global Web Form (GWF) or a Unique Application Number (UAN). You’ll find it on emails and letters from the Home Office about your application.

As part of their application, they’ll need to have their fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre (to get a biometric residence permit).

They’ll have to collect their biometric residence permit within 10 days of when they said they’d arrive in the UK.

They may be able to pay to get their visa faster or use other services depending on which country they’re in – check with the visa application centre.

How long they can stay

If their application is successful, their visa will end on the same date as yours.

Apply inside the UK to extend or switch

Your partner or child can apply to extend or switch their visa either:

at the same time as you apply to extend or switch your own visa
at any time before their current visa expires

This includes children who have turned 18 during your stay.

Your partner or child cannot apply to switch in the UK if they have one of the following visas:

a visit visa
a short-term student visa
a Parent of a Child Student visa
a seasonal worker visa
a domestic worker in a private household visa

Fees

Each person will need to pay:

£490 for the visa
the healthcare surcharge – check how much they’ll have to pay

They’ll need to have their biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken – there’s no fee for this.

How to apply

Your partner and child must apply online. They must either:

As part of their application, they’ll be asked to make an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) service point to provide their biometric information (fingerprints and a photo).

They’ll also need to submit their supporting documents. They can:

upload them into the online service
have them scanned at their UKVCAS appointment

They must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until they get a decision. Their application will be withdrawn if they do.

Getting a faster decision

They may be able to pay to get a faster decision – they’ll be told if they can when they apply.

Children born in the UK

Apply online for any children you have while in the UK.

You’ll need to provide a full UK birth certificate for each child.