Education Services & Student Visas
Your partner and children
Your partner and children (‘dependents’) may be able to apply to come to the UK or stay longer in the UK.
Eligibility
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 dependent 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:
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.
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.
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.
Apply outside the UK
As part of their application, they’ll need to have their fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application center (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 center.
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
If you cannot apply at the same time, your partner or child can apply to extend or switch their visas at a later date – this must be before their current visa expires.
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:
- £475 for the visa
- the healthcare surcharge – check how much they’ll have to pay
They may need to pay £19.20 to have their biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken.
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.