If you hold or will apply for a Student visa, you may be allowed to bring dependants but only if:

• You are a Government-sponsored student undertaking a full-time course that is 6 months or more; or

The Student case working guidance states scholarships and sponsorships may on occasion be awarded using different terminology. This should not prevent the applicant from meeting the requirement, as long as the evidence provided refers to a financial award issued by a national government for the purpose of completing a course of study which meets the requirements of the student route.

The scholarship or sponsorship is not required to cover the full fees and living costs of the student in order to permit them to sponsor dependants. However, if this is the case, the applicant must provide separate financial evidence to demonstrate that they meet the financial requirement.

If you are intending to be sponsored by a 'government' who is not your national government or the UK government, please contact the International Student Advisory Team.  

• You are studying a full-time course that is 9 months or more and sponsored by the University on a ‘research-based higher degree’ at RQF Level 7 Research or above (postgraduate); or

The UK’s Immigration Rules paragraph 6 defines a research-based higher degree as “a postgraduate programme comprising a research component (including a requirement to produce original work) that is larger than any accompanying taught component when measured by student effort.” If you are unsure if the course you want to undertake meets this requirement please contact the International Student Advisory Team.

• You have a current Student visa, (or it expired no more than three months ago) to study a full-time course of at least six months, it may be possible for you to have dependants if you are going to study a new full-time course that is at least six months; and

- Your dependant already has valid Student dependant immigration permission (or it expired no more than three months ago); or

- They are your child who was born since you were last granted permission and they apply for immigration permission at the same time as you and your dependant partner; or

• They are a child who is born whilst you are studying a full-time course of 6 months or longer and they are applying for immigration permission during that period, or during a period of permission to undertake re-sit examinations or to repeat a module for that course; or

•They are your child who was born no more than 3 months after the expiry of your most recent ‘Student’ permission, and they must be making an application for entry clearance within 6 months of the expiry of your most recent permission. 

You cannot bring family members under the Dependant route if you are in the UK as a visitor, a short-term study student, or as a part-time Student.

Your partner and your children are the only family members who can be your dependant. 

Your partner can be:

• Your husband; 
• Your wife; 
• Your civil partner; 
• Your unmarried partner. You must have been in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years (‘durable relationship’).

You must both be at least 18 years old when you apply for immigration permission, and you must have met in person.

The relationship must be genuine and subsisting. 

There is a requirement that any marriage or civil partnership is valid. 

Any previous relationships must have broken down.

The partners must not be so closely related they would be prohibited from marriage or a civil partnership in the UK.

Your children must be:

• Aged less than 18 years old at the time they apply; or
• Aged 18 or over only if they are already your dependent child and they are applying for further permission as your dependent child.

If the applicant is under the age of 18 on the date of application, there must be suitable arrangements for the child’s care and accommodation in the UK which must comply with relevant UK law.

The applicant must not be leading an independent life. This means:

•They do not have a spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner (‘durable relationship’), and;

•They live with their parents, except where they are at boarding school, college or university as part of their full-time education.

Important: When bringing Dependant children both living parents must normally be coming to the UK or extending their leave in this capacity. If only one parent is applying to come to the UK/extending, please speak to an Immigration Adviser at the University because there are very limited exceptions to this requirement.

Dependants can apply online from within* and outside the UK.

Outside the UK

Each dependant must complete a separate application online at the UK Government website.

Within the UK

Each dependant must apply before their current permission expires.

• Dependents applying at the same time as you should use this form.
• Dependent partner’s applying later than you should use this form.
• If a dependant child, for example a new baby born in the UK is applying later than you use this form.

*In order for a dependant to apply within the UK they must not be on immigration bail or be in the UK:

• As a visitor
• As a Short-term study
• As a parent of a Child Student
• As a Seasonal Worker
• As a Domestic Worker in a private household
• With permission outside the Immigration Rules

Documents not in English must be translated by a fully certified translator/translation company and the translation(s) must meet specific requirements. Please see the Translations page for more information.

More information about the policy on dependants can be found in the Student case working guidance.

They will need:

• Completed appropriate Dependant visa application form (as above).

• Current passport or travel document.

• Evidence they meet the maintenance requirements. 

• Current Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card (if applicable).

• Tuberculosis (TB) certificate, if applying outside the UK and coming to the UK for longer than 6 months and you are resident in any of the countries listed in the following on the UK Government website. If they have lived for at least 6 months in a country where TB screening is not required by the UK, and they have been away from that country for no more than 6 months they will not need a TB test.

Additional evidence for Dependant partners: 

• Evidence of marriage/civil partnership - marriage certificate or certificate of civil partnership issued in accordance with the law of the country where the ceremony took place.

•Evidence of ‘durable’ relationship and/or evidence of a ‘genuine and subsisting’ relationship. The Home Office case working guidance provides information on what evidence can be used to demonstrate this.

Additional evidence for Dependant children:

• Evidence that demonstrates the relationship between the Student and the child, such as a birth certificate, a court order such as a special guardianship order, adoption certificate, ‘de facto adoption’, or a government issued household registration certificate - if they are applying for the first time. 

• If they are living separately, it must only be for study elsewhere and you will need to submit evidence of this such as, official confirmation from their school, college or university.

Outside of the UK - The application fee is £490 per dependant. There may be an additional fee (£76.50) if you attend a ‘user pay Visa Application Centre (VAC)’.

You may be able to pay for optional additional services, such as, priority, document scanning assistance and delivery services. Please check with the VAC that you are going to attend if you want information on these services and the cost.

Within the UK - The application fee depends on the application type:

At times Priority and Super Priority applications may not be available.

As part of the application process, any dependants will each be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) to cover the duration of their stay in the UK. They will then be able to use the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and will not require private medical insurance. Please note that they will still need to pay for certain types of services (e.g. prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests). That is a requirement for everybody, including British nationals. 

If they are applying within the UK and they pay the surcharge twice for the same period of 6 months or more, they may be entitled to a refund of the surcharge for this overlapping period.

The cost of this charge will be £776 for each applicant per year of the actual visa to be granted, including any final extra period. Periods less than six months are charged at £388. Periods between 6 and 12 months are charged at the full year rate.

Outside of the UK:

After you have paid to submit the visa application online, any dependants will need to book an appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) and upload copies of their documents. If you do not wish to upload their documents, you may be required to pay for the relevant additional service. Check with the VAC you are going to attend.

At the appointment, any dependants will also need to provide their biometrics (fingerprints and a photo).

After your dependants have provided their biometrics and their supporting documents at an appointment, the next correspondence received should be from UK Visas and Immigration via email with your dependants’ visa application decision(s).

Vignette and Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)

If their visa is issued for more than six months, your dependants will receive a 90-day vignette (sticker) in their passport. They use this to travel to the UK during its validity to enable them to collect their BRP after arriving in the UK. They must not travel to the UK before the start date on the vignette. You will be able to view the collection location by logging back into the application form.

If their visa is issued for six months or less, your dependants will only receive a vignette which will be valid for their whole stay in the UK.

Within the UK:

They will need to book an appointment to attend a UKVCAS service point to enrol their biometrics (fingerprints and a photo) and to provide the required documents (if you have not uploaded the documents yourself online). If you do not upload the documents yourself online, you will need to pay extra for the document scanning service. The closest Service Point to the University is the Reading Central Library in Reading town centre.

After the appointment

After your dependants have provided their biometrics and their supporting documents at an appointment, the next correspondence received should be from UK Visas and Immigration via email with your dependants’ visa application decision(s). Their BRP(s) will be sent to the correspondence address you inputted into their application forms. We suggest you use the International Student Advisory Team as your postal address to minimise BRP delivery issues. 

If you are a student and you are pregnant, it is very important that you talk to one of our International Student Advisers as soon as possible.

We advise that students who have babies born in the UK seek to make an immigration application for them as soon as possible after their birth to avoid potential liability for NHS charges for treatment in any period between three months after they are born (up to which free treatment is automatically allowed) and granting of their leave.

Birth in the UK does not automatically make a baby a British citizen. If your baby is born in the UK but is not a British citizen, it is quite lawful for him or her to remain in the UK without making an immigration application. However, the baby will need immigration permission to re-enter the UK after any travel abroad, and for babies born to Students, there are limited instances when the baby can apply for immigration permission as your dependant. See ‘who can bring a Dependant?’ in the section above.

'No recourse to public funds’:

You will be prohibited from accessing/claiming specific welfare benefits known as ‘public funds’.

For further information visit the gov.uk website.

Work:

Dependants of University of Reading students are permitted to work. Dependants can work almost without restriction except for working as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach).

Study and Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS):

Study is permitted whilst the dependant visa is valid. However, the study is subject to the ATAS condition in Appendix ATAS (if the study will commence when the partner or child is aged over 18).