Are Dependants allowed to UK on student visas?

HYDERABAD, India - Sept. 21, 2023 - PRLog -- UK has been one of the top study destinations for international students with its elite system of education and trailblazing infrastructure. Each year, UK universities receive approximately 7 lakh applications to study in UK (https://www.texasreview.in/study-in-uk.html) because it opens numerous global work opportunities to the students.  Apart from opening a global job market, UK tries to ensure international students' welfare by allowing them to bring their dependants to the country under certain conditions.

Who is a dependant?

Only the partner and children of the student route visa holder are the dependants. Their parents, siblings, or other relatives cannot be considered as dependants on their student visa.

Partners as dependants

Partners is a generic term that denotes:

• husband or wife.
• legal same-sex partner
• Unmarried partner

(Both of you must be 18 years or above and should be staying together at least for 2 years.)

Children as dependents

• Children must be less than 18 years old if they are applying as dependants.

What is a dependent visa?

A dependant visa is a special visa provided by the host country to allow the dependants, partners and children, of the primary visa holder to enter the host country and stay with them. There are mainly two types of dependant visas: temporary and permanent. Dependants of student or work visa holders can only apply for temporary dependent visas.

UK dependant visa new rules

On 23rd May 2023, Ms. Suella Braverman, Home Secretary of the UK, published a ministerial statement on the official website of the Home Department with a list of new rules on international students' rights. She stated that, from 1st January 2024, international students cannot bring their dependants to UK on their student visas, if they are not pursuing a research-oriented course in UK universities.

She also stated that, as of July 17, international students cannot switch their student visas to skilled-worker visas until they complete their university studies.

Why UK is not accepting Dependants?

According to the information received from the Home Department of the UK government, this decision was made to control the net immigration rate in the country.

Statistical reports show that the UK government had to grant almost 1,36,000 visas to the dependants of international students by the end of December 2022. So, the authorities had to find a way to cut down the net immigration rate without compromising their aim of hosting 6,00,000 international students in UK by the year 2030. Consequently, they proposed a set of new rules to apply for a dependant visa in the UK.

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