Who can be a dependant?

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 or same-sex partner.

You must both be at least 18 years old when you apply for immigration permission.
You must intend to live together throughout your partner's stay in the UK.
Your partner must not intend to stay in the UK longer than the period you are given.

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 in the UK as a Dependant child and are applying to extend their visa.

Important: When bringing Dependent 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/extend, please speak to an International Student Adviser at the University because there are very limited exceptions to this requirement.

Who can bring a Dependant?

It will depend on your visa type, the course you are studying and the duration of your stay in the UK.

If you hold a Tier 4/Student visa you may be allowed to bring dependants but ONLY if:

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 Tier 4/Student.

Where can dependants apply?

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 visa expires.

• Dependents applying at the same times 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

What are the required documents?

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 here.

They will need:

• Completed appropriate Dependant form.
• Current passport or travel document.
• Current Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card (if applicable).
• Police Registration Certificate (PRC) of dependant if they were required to register with the police if applying within the UK. Ensure their PRC is up to date with current address, BRP details etc.
• 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.
• Letter from the university confirming the Student is currently enrolled, (if applying separately).
• Evidence they meet the maintenance requirements. 

• a valid document providing record of the marriage or civil partnership such as a marriage or civil partnership certificate.
• a valid overseas registration document for a same-sex relationship which is entitled to be treated as a civil partnership under the Civil Partnership Act of 2004.

• Unmarried partners will need to provide evidence that they are in a relationship akin a marriage/civil partnership by providing evidence that they have lived together for at least the 2 years before they make their application. 
• Evidence that you are living together e.g. utility bill, council tax bill, joint bank statement(s) or separate statements with the same address (if applying within the UK).
• Evidence of continuing relationship with your partner if you have lived apart for some time (if applying separately). You can evidence this via emails, phone/skype logs, plane tickets from visiting one another, family photos, covering letter laying out your position etc.

Additional evidence for Dependant children:

• Birth certificate showing evidence of relationship between the Tier 4/Student and the child (you do not need to submit this if you have previously provided the document in support of a Dependant visa application).
• Babies born in the UK who are making their first application within the UK do not have to submit a passport or travel document. They must however submit their birth certificate. UK Visas and Immigration may request the passport/travel document whilst processing the application, it is therefore advisable to obtain a passport for your baby from your Embassy or High Commission as soon as possible.
• Children aged 16 and over at the time of application will need to submit particular documents to demonstrate that they have not formed an independent family unit or be leading an independent life e.g. NHS registration document, letter from their educational institution confirming their address, bank statements (you need to submit 2 items).

* Plus, an additional £19.20 biometric enrolment fee

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

Immigration Health Surcharge

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, they will be entitled to a refund of the surcharge for this overlapping period of time.

The cost of this charge will be £470 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 £235. Periods between 6 and 12 months are charged at the full year rate.

Biometric enrolment appointment

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. To provide these they will need to:

• have a digital photo taken of their face; and
• put their fingers on a glass screen to be scanned (unless they are a child under the age of 5 at the time they apply)

Within the UK:

They will need to book an appointment to attend a UKVCAS service point to enrol their biometrics (facial photograph and to provide their fingerprints) and to provide the required documents (if you have not uploaded the documents yourself online).

There are three different types of service points:

Core – offering both free and chargeable appointments. The closest core service point to Reading is in Croydon. You will either need to upload the documents yourself online before the appointment or pay extra for the Document Scanning Service.

Enhanced – offering chargeable appointments only, but document scanning is included. The closest service point is Reading Central Library in the town centre.

Premium lounge – offers a personalised customer experience for a higher fee.

Babies born in the UK

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.

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 Tier 4 students/Students, there are limited instances when the baby can apply for immigration permission as your dependant.

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.

Making an online Dependant visa application in the UK

The form is only available online (see ‘within the UK’ section above).

• Follow the instructions on the form. 
• If you would like an International Student Adviser to check the visa application, stop when you get to stage ‘3: Documents' (pictured below) of the application, click ‘return to this application later’, ‘Download the part-completed application (PDF)’ and email the form and the documents to immigration@reading.ac.uk. If you go beyond this point it may not be possible to make any changes or corrections to the form. DO NOT MAKE ANY PAYMENTS or finish the application.

• You will receive an email with a link, which allows you to return to the form using the password you set up.
• After you have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge and the visa application fee, you will be redirected to the UKVCAS/Sopra Steria website to book a biometric appointment at a service point. You can upload copies of the supporting documents to this website. The closest centre is Reading library, which is an Enhanced service point.
• You will retain the documents (including any passports) whilst the application is being processed, but any applicants must not leave the UK before a decision has been made on the application. If they do, UK Visas and Immigration will treat the application(s) as being withdrawn. If any dependants must leave the UK due to an emergency, please contact the International Student Advisory Team. 

What happens next?

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 with your dependants’ visa application decision(s). Their BRP(s) will arrive separately.

If their visa application is refused, you can contact the International Student Advisory Team for advice.

Need more help?

If clarification is needed on any aspect of the Rules or you have questions about your visa application, please email the International Student Advisory Team at immigration@reading.ac.uk where we will respond to you as soon as possible, alternatively telephone +44(0)118 378 8038.