Student Visa Dependants: Only Postgraduate at Universities

The 2024 Rule Change

In January 2024, the government introduced major restrictions on Student visa dependants. Before the change, any student on a postgraduate course of 9 months or longer at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance could bring their spouse or partner and children. Under the current rule, where the course started on or after 1 January 2024 it must also be a PhD or other doctorate, or a research-based higher degree. A taught master's degree no longer carries the right to bring dependants.

This change was part of a broader effort to reduce net migration and was announced alongside other measures affecting the Student visa route. The restrictions are still in the Immigration Rules.

Who Can Bring Dependants

The published rule sets out two groups.

Full-time postgraduate students. All of the following must apply:

• You are a full-time student on a postgraduate level course at level 7 or above on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) — the scale used to rank UK qualifications, where level 6 is a bachelor's degree, level 7 a master's and level 8 a doctorate
• Your course is at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance
• Your course is 9 months or longer
• If your course started on or after 1 January 2024, the provider confirms it is a PhD or other doctorate, or a research-based higher degree

Government-sponsored students. A student whose fees and living costs are paid by a government, starting a full-time course that lasts longer than 6 months, can bring dependants whatever the level of the course.

Who Cannot Bring Dependants

• Undergraduate students (bachelor's degree or below)
• Students on a taught master's degree that started on or after 1 January 2024, unless government-sponsored
• Students at a provider that does not have a track record of compliance, even on a course above RQF Level 7
• Students on pre-sessional English courses
• Students on courses shorter than 9 months

A separate rule covers children born in the UK. A child born during the student's current period of permission on a full-time course of 6 months or longer can apply as a dependant even if the course itself would not otherwise allow dependants.

Who Counts as a Dependant

A dependant is your:

• Spouse or civil partner
• Unmarried partner — the rules require a relationship similar to a marriage or civil partnership for at least 2 years before the date of application
• Children under 18 who are not leading an independent life, including a child born in the UK during your stay

A child must not be married or in a civil partnership, and must live with you unless they are living away from home in full-time education, for example at boarding school or university.

For more on adding dependants to your visa, see our dedicated guide.

Costs

Each dependant must submit their own application and pay their own fees:

• Visa application fee: 558 GBP per dependant, inside or outside the UK — the same as the main Student visa fee
• Healthcare surcharge: 776 GBP a year per dependant. GOV.UK charges students and their dependants at this rate, not the 1,035 GBP standard rate

The surcharge is charged on the length of permission granted, not the length of the course. Where permission is for more than a year and up to 18 months, the charge is a year and a half: 1,164 GBP. That gives about 1,722 GBP per dependant. There is also no fee for taking fingerprints and a photograph. For the full breakdown, see our Student visa cost guide.

Each dependant must also show money to support themselves, on top of the money the student has to show. The published amounts are 845 GBP a month if you are studying in London and 680 GBP a month outside London, for up to 9 months. That is 7,605 GBP in London and 6,120 GBP outside it. The money must have been held for at least 28 days in a row, and the end of that period must be within 31 days of the date of the application. A dependant who has been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months does not have to show it.

Dependant Work Rights

Student dependants can usually work in the UK. They can:

• Work full-time in any job
• Work part-time
• Be self-employed
• Do voluntary work

There is no limit on the number of hours. This is different from the student themselves, who face work hour restrictions during term time. The published exceptions are that a dependant cannot work as a professional sportsperson, including as a sports coach, and that dependants are subject to the no recourse to public funds condition.

One group cannot work at all: a dependant who qualifies only because they already held dependant permission, where the student has been granted less than 9 months' permission (unless that is to continue a course for which at least 9 months had been granted before), or where the student is studying below degree level.

What Happens After Your Course

Your dependant's visa is tied to yours. When your course ends:

• If you apply for the Graduate Route, your dependant can apply for a Graduate Route dependant visa.
• If you switch to a Skilled Worker visa, your dependant can switch to a Skilled Worker dependant visa.
• If you leave the UK, your dependant must also leave.

The Graduate route is narrower than the Student route here. A partner or child can only apply if they already held permission as your Student visa dependant. The exceptions are a child born in the UK during your last grant of Student permission, and — since 30 July 2026 — a child born in the UK to someone who already holds Graduate route permission.

See our guide on what to do after your course ends for all your options.

Other Routes That Allow Dependants

These are the published positions on other routes, for readers whose own course does not carry the right to bring family:

• A qualifying postgraduate course. A student on a PhD, other doctorate, or research-based higher degree of 9 months or longer at a provider with a track record of compliance can apply for dependants to join them.
• The Skilled Worker route. The Skilled Worker visa allows dependants with no minimum salary of its own for that purpose. The exception is a job on the Temporary Shortage List, where dependants are not allowed.
• The Graduate route. Dependants can only continue on it if they already held permission as your Student visa dependant, apart from the UK-born child exceptions above.

Related Guides

• UK Student Visa: Complete Guide
• Student Visa Requirements
• Graduate Route Dependants
• Children on Spouse Visa

For official information, see the GOV.UK Student visa dependants page and the Student route immigration rules.

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