To bring dependants to the UK, you must:

• Hold or be applying for a Student visa AND
• Be studying a ‘research-based’ programme. At the University of Exeter, these are PhD, MPhil or MbyRES programmes. MRES programmes, including Pathway to PhD, are taught programmes and therefore not eligible for dependants in most circumstances. The only exception to this is if you are receiving Government sponsorship and are studying any course of more than 6 months.

Your dependants must be:

• Your spouse (husband or wife), civil partner, unmarried partner;
• Your child. Your children can join you in the UK only if both parents are lawfully present in the UK or are applying with the child (you are not considered "lawfully present" if you have a Visitor or Short Term Study visa). A lone parent can apply for their child to accompany them only in exceptional circumstances, contact us for further guidance if you are considering this.

Your dependants can apply for their visas at the same time as you from outside the UK. Alternatively, you can come to the UK with your Student visa first, and your dependants can apply for their visas to join you once you have settled and found suitable accommodation.

If you find you need to extend your visa to complete your studies (for example, you have been given an extension to your PhD thesis deadline), your dependants will be able to extend their Student Dependant visas with you. You can do this together inside the UK or from overseas.

Your dependants cannot come to the UK on Visitor visas or using Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and apply for their visas from inside the UK.

Your dependant’s visa will:

• Allow them to study without restriction in the UK. If your dependant will be studying and their programme requires it, they will need to apply for an ATAS certificate [LINK].
• Allow them to work without restriction in the UK, except for employment as a professional sportsperson.
• Be granted for the same length as your visa in most cases. A child’s visa may be granted for a shorter period if their parents have two different visa types with one expiring earlier.

Their visa will be granted as a 90 day vignette and BRP or as an eVisa.

Outside UK: £490 per person. Some countries will add extra administrative charges and premium applications optional.

Inside UK: £490 (standard), £990 (priority), £1,490 (super priority)

Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), this is compulsory and entitles you to use the National Health Service (NHS): £776 per person, per year of visa to be granted.

Payable by credit or debit card online

An official financial sponsor must be a government, the British Council or any international organisation, international company, university (including the University of Exeter if you are receiving a full studentship) or an independent school. If your tuition fees and living expenses are covered by an offiical financial sponsor, and your sponsor is also covering your dependants' full living expenses, they can meet the financial requirement without needing to save money in a bank account. Your sponsor will need to provide you with a letter confirming this which names all of your dependants (see Documents section below for more information about the format of the letter).

If the official sponsor pays only part of the living expenses amount (so less than £680 per person per month) you will also need to show money saved in a bank account to cover the remainig amount, in the same way as a self-funded applicant. You cannot rely on the same money twice and so it must be clear that this money has been received from a source other than your sponsorship. If you are in this situation, we would recommend contacting International Student Support to ensure you save the correct amounts.

If your dependants receive their own government sponsorship separate from you (for example, because they are also studying), they cannot use this sponsorship as financial evidence for their Dependant visa application.

Evidence of relationship

Spouses or civil partners will need to provide:

• Marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.

If you have been living together for the past two years, you should not require additional evidence of your relationship. If you have been living together for less than 2 years or you are currently living apart, you may need to submit additional evidence that your relationship is continuing (referred to as 'subsisting'). The Relationship with a Partner Caseworker Guidance includes a long list of acceptable documents to prove that your relationship is subsisting, but we recommend that you contact International Student Support for further advice.

Unmarried partners are usually required to provide substantial evidence from the list mentioned above to show that you have been living together for at least two years. For example a housing contract, household bills in joint names, joint bank statements. This requirement can be difficult to meet and we recommend you contact International Student Support for detailed advice.

Evidence of same address 

Your dependant does not need to submit evidence of your relationship again if they are applying to extend their dependant visa. They will, however, need:

• Evidence that they continue to live with you (the student). This could be an official document such as a bill, housing contract or council tax statement that lists both your names and address. If you have nothing in joint names, students and dependants could use multiple individual bills, bank statements or NHS registration letters that are sent to each of you at the same address.  

Evidence of relationship

Each child must provide:

• a birth or adoption certificate

Evidence of both parents lawfully present in the UK

If the child or children submit their applications separately from one or both parents, include a copy of the parents’ passports and UK visas.

Babies born in the UK

A baby born in the UK does not need to immediately apply for a visa, but if you take your baby out of the UK, they will need a visa to return. Your baby will also no longer be exempt from NHS charges once they are over 3 months old until they have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge as part of their dependant visa application. You can apply for their visa either inside or outside the UK. You and your baby will need to meet all of the requirements outlined above. If your baby is applying at the same time as you, they will use the same application form detailed above. If you and your other dependants already have your visas and you are just applying for the baby, you will need to use this application form: PBS Dependant Child

If you would not usually qualify to have dependants on your Student visa (because you are studying an undergraduate course, for example), please seek further advice from International Student Support.

Evidence that they have not formed an independent life - children over 18 and others

If your children are already in the UK with you on Student Dependant visas which they were granted when they were under 18, if they are now over 18 they may still be able to extend their visas with you. They can only do this if they have not 'formed an independent life' meaning that they must not be married or in a long-term relationship similar to marriage, and they must be living with you unless they are undertaking full-time education where they need to live elsewhere (for example studying at university or boarding school). It is very likely that they will need to submit evidence that they are still living with you or that they are in full-time education if they are living apart. You should seek advice from International Student Support before applying.

The requirement not to have formed an independent life applies to all dependant children. Children under 16 are unlikely to be asked to provide additional evidence of this, but children between 16-18 may have additional evidence requested by UKVI.

Passports

Each dependant will need a valid passport. Some children are included on a parent's passport which may be acceptable.

BRPs

If your dependants already have dependant visas issued as BRP cards, these will need to be included.

TB Certificate (outside the UK only)

If your dependant is from a country listed in Appendix T making an application for entry clearance to come to the UK for more than six months, they must present a valid medical certificate confirming that they have been tested for TB.

They won’t need a TB test if any of the following apply:

• they're a diplomat accredited to the UK
• they're a returning UK resident and haven’t been away for more than 2 years
• they lived for at least 6 months in a country where TB screening is not required by the UK, and they've been away from that country for no more than 6 months

Children must see a clinician who will decide if they need a chest x-ray. Children under 11 will not normally have a chest x-ray. If the clinician decides your child doesn’t have TB they’ll give you a certificate. Include this certificate with your child’s UK visa application.

For more information see Tuberculosis tests for visa applicants