International Student Office

Dependants

Who qualifies as a Tier 4 dependant?

• Your husband or wife;
• Your civil partner – civil partners are same sex couples who have registered their partnership to gain formal legal recognition of their relationship;
• Your unmarried or same-sex partner (to be unmarried or same sex partners, you will need to have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for a period of at least two years; you will be expected to provide evidence of this);
• In all the above cases you must both be at least 18 years old when your partner receives their visa; or when they arrive in the UK, if they have not yet come to the UK;
• Your child or children aged under 18 (if applying overseas);
• Your child or children aged over 18 only if applying within the UK and only if they are already your dependant under Tier 4. They will need to pay a higher fee of £406

Who can apply as a Tier 4 dependant?

The above members of your family can apply to be a Tier 4 dependant if:

• You are a government sponsored student on a course of longer than 6 months; or
• You are studying at the University of Leeds on a course of 12 months or longer at postgraduate level; or
• You have a Tier 4 visa for a course of longer than 6 months; and
your visa is current or expired less than 3 months before making this immigration application; and you are applying for a visa extension for a course of more than 6 months; and your dependants already have a Tier 4 dependant visa; and you and your dependants are making your immigration applications at the same time.

Double check

Check your understanding with this useful tool to help you find out if you can bring your family to the UK.

What documents do I need to provide?

If your family members are applying from overseas to join you as your dependants, you will need to provide the following documents to support their applications:

• A letter inviting your family to live with you as your dependants;
• Your University Registration Certificate – available from Student Services;
• A copy of your tenancy agreement/accommodation contract;
• A copy of your current visa – either in your passport or your Biometric Residence Permit
;
• Evidence of funds to maintain your dependants financially – this will be your original bank statement and/or sponsor letter;
• Evidence of your relationship to your dependants – original marriage/birth certificate.

Length of leave granted

Your dependant visa will expire at the same time as your visa, the fee for this application from 6th April 2013 is £298. Should you need to apply for more time as a student in the UK, your dependant will be able to make an application to extend their leave at the same time as you. If your child is aged 18 or over, they are permitted to make an application to extend their leave in the UK only provided that they have previously been granted a visa as your dependant.

If you are studying a course of six months or less, then your family members cannot apply to come to the UK as Tier 4 dependants. However, they would be permitted to apply to come to the UK as a Family Visitor, in which case they would be granted a visa for a maximum of six months and must return home again before the visa expires. It is not allowed to switch from a visit visa to any other kind of visa in the UK. Please refer to our ‘Family visits’ page for further guidance.