Dependants

You will be eligible to bring certain family members with you to the UK if:

• You are being sponsored to study by your home government and your course is more than six months long OR;
  
  
• You will be studying a postgraduate course (either a taught master’s degree or a PhD research programme) that is nine months or more in duration. 
  
  
• However, please note that due to a recent change to the eligibility requirements, from January 2024 only students who are studying on research degree courses will be allowed to bring dependants on their Student visa. This will be determined by the course start date as indicated on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) - if on or after 1 January 2024 the more restrictive rules will apply. Research degree courses will include Doctor of Philosphy (PhD), Master of Philosophy (MPHil) and Master of Research (MRes)
  
  
• If your current or most recent immigration permission was as a Student for a course of more than six months and your relevant family members have current or recent dependant immigration status, it may be possible to apply for another dependant visa/s. This depends on certain other circumstances – please read the relevant paragraphs of the UK Immigration Rules for the dependants of students (28.1 - 39.3) for further details of this. 

Students who are studying in the UK for less than six months cannot bring dependants to the UK. 

If you are already in the UK on a Student visa, your dependants can apply from their home country to join you in the UK. However, if you are in the same country as your family members, you can make your visa applications at the same time.

If your family members are outside of the UK, the application form can be found at the UKVI website. 

Just like in your own Student visa application, there are finance requirements that each dependant must meet.

For further details about making a student dependant visa application and the requirements, please refer to the UKVI Policy Guidance (this is the same document as for making a Student visa application). This should be reviewed carefully before making the application/s.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) also has a useful guide for dependants available on their website.

Only the following family members can be classified as dependants:

• Your partner – this can be your husband/wife, civil partner or an unmarried or same-sex partner who you have been living with in a relationship for at least two years. In these cases, you must both be aged at least 18. 
  
  
• Your child/children – they must be aged under 18 and must not have formed an ‘independent life or family unit.’ Please refer to the policy guidance for further details of this.

In the case of children, it is a requirement that both parents must be coming to the UK to be eligible to apply for a dependant visa. The only exceptions to this are if one of the parents has died or one parent has sole responsibility for the child.

As with your Student application, each of your dependants will also have to meet financial requirements as part of their dependant visa application. Please refer to the policy guidance for more information.

Brunel University is based in London, so each dependant will need to evidence funds of £845 per month for each month of leave (visa) that will be granted, up to a maximum of nine months (9 x £845 = £7,605).

The documentation requirements for dependants are largely similar to what you would have to supply in your Student visa application (as outlined on our website). But please refer to the guidance above for full details.