Table Of Contents
- Who is eligible under the new UK rules as Student Visa dependants in 2026
- Student visa dependents who cannot come to the UK in 2026
- Changes to the dependent partner on a Student visa
- Money that your dependents need to support themselves
- When can your dependents not apply inside the UK to extend or switch in 2026
- Pay the increase application fee from 8 April 2026
- Summary
The UK government significantly tightened the Student visa dependant rules in January 2024. These restrictions remain in place in 2026. Before 1 January 2024, many international students studying a postgraduate degree-level course could bring their spouse/partner and children to the UK as dependants.
Your spouse/partner and children may be able to apply to come to the UK or stay longer in the UK as ‘dependants’ if you are
• a government-sponsored student (this means you are a student whose studies in the UK are financially supported by a government or an international scholarship agency funded by a government) starting a course with a duration of more than 6 months; or
• a full-time student in the UK on a postgraduate level course (RQF level 7 or above) that lasts 9 months or longer
If your course at the postgraduate level starts on or after 1 January 2024, it must be either:
• a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) or other doctorate (RQF level 8) such as Doctor of Education (EdD) or Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
• a research-based higher degree
Who is eligible under the new UK rules as Student Visa dependants in 2026?
In 2026, you can only bring your partner or children to the UK if your course started on or after 2024 and is either a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) or other doctorate (RQF level 8) such as Doctor of Education (EdD) or Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) or a research-based higher degree.
Your dependent partner or child is one of the following:
• your spouse (husband, wife) or civil partner
• your unmarried partner
• your child aged under 18 – including if they were born in the UK during your stay
You will be required to provide evidence of your relationship with them when you apply. For example, a marriage or civil partnership certificate for your partner and a birth certificate for your child.
If your child is to be considered as a dependent, you will need to prove that your child is not married or in a civil partnership and is living with you, unless they are living away from home at boarding school or university in full-time education.
Student visa dependents who cannot come to the UK in 2026?
If you are a student studying taught postgraduate courses, you are no longer permitted to bring your dependants to the UK.
This includes many:
- MSc programmes
- MA programmes
- MBA programmes
- LLM programmes
- Other taught master’s degree
Changes to the dependent partner on a Student visa
From 16 July 2025, if you are applying as a dependent partner of a person on the student route, your partner must:
a) have permission to stay in the UK on the Student route; or
(b) be, at the same time, applying for (and be granted) entry clearance to the UK or permission to stay here on the Student route.”
Money that your dependents need to support themselves
In addition to the money you must have to support yourself as a student in the UK, your partner and child applying as a dependent must each have a certain amount of money available to them.
They must have either:
• £845 per month (for up to 9 months) if your course is in London
• £680 per month (for up to 9 months) if your course is outside London
If your partner or child is applying separately at a different time to you, they only need to prove they have money to support themselves.
In case you have a student loan or financial sponsorship, you will be required to give evidence of this from your student loan or financial sponsorship company. If your loan does not cover your partner or child, you will need to show you have money to support them instead.
However, if your partner or child has been in the UK with a valid visa for a minimum of 12 months, they do not need to show they have this money.
When can your dependents not apply inside the UK to extend or switch in 2026?
Your dependent partner or child can apply to switch or extend their visa:
• at the same time as you apply for an extension or to switch your own visa: or
• at any time before their current UK visa expires
This also includes children who reached the age of 18 during your stay in the UK.
If your partner or child has one of the following visas, they cannot apply to switch in the UK:
• a UK visit visa
• a UK short-term student visa
• a UK Parent of a Child Student visa
• a UK seasonal worker visa
• a UK domestic worker in a private household visa
Pay the increase application fee from 8 April 2026
There is also an increase in fee for those applying as dependents of a student in 2026. As per the new rule, from 8 April 2026, the fee for Student – main applicant and dependants (applying from outside the UK or inside the UK) has been increased to £558 (up from £524)
Summary
In 2026, Student visa dependants eligibility remains largely unchanged from the restrictions introduced in 2024. Dependants are generally limited to the partners and children of government-sponsored students, doctoral students, and students enrolled on eligible research-based programmes. Anyone applying as a dependant should ensure that they can provide strong evidence of their relationship and meet the relevant financial requirements.
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