Dhiraj Kandel
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Quick answer
The essentials at a glance
A UK dependent visa lets your husband, wife, partner or children live with you while you study. You can bring them only on a PhD, a research-based master's or a government-sponsored course. Most Nepali students on taught master's and bachelor's courses cannot bring family. Each family member pays the £558 visa fee and the health surcharge, and shows £680 a month, or £845 in London, for up to 9 months. That is about Rs 12 to 15 lakh per person, kept in the bank for 28 days.
Key takeaways
Main points from this page
- Only PhD, research-based master's and government-sponsored students can bring dependants on courses starting from 1 January 2024.
- Each dependant shows £680 a month outside London or £845 in London, for up to 9 months.
- Every family member pays the £558 visa fee plus £776 a year in health surcharge.
- Students are limited to 20 hours a week in term time, but partners can usually work full time.
- Family members staying over 6 months need a TB certificate from an approved clinic in Nepal.
What Is a UK Dependent Visa?
A UK dependent visa lets your partner and children live with you in the UK while you are on a Student visa, if your course allows it.
GOV.UK calls them “dependants”. They apply on their own forms but are linked to your application, and their visa ends on the same date as yours. Since January 2024 the rule is strict: only some postgraduate and government-sponsored students can bring family, as the GOV.UK partner and children rules explain.
This page covers students and their families. For your own visa, read our guide to the UK student visa requirements, and for the full picture see study in UK from Nepal. A dependant of a student can be:
- Your husband, wife or civil partner
- Your unmarried partner, if you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years
- Your child under 18, who is not married and lives with you
- A child born in the UK during your stay
- A child over 18 only if they are already in the UK as your dependant
The key rule for courses starting from 1 January 2024: you can bring dependants only on a PhD or other doctorate, a research-based master’s (such as an MRes or MPhil), or a government-funded course of more than 6 months. A taught master’s, such as an MSc, MBA or MA, does not allow dependants. Parents, brothers and sisters can never come as student dependants.
Who Can Bring Dependants on a UK Student Visa?
You must be a full-time postgraduate research student on a course of 9 months or more, or a government-sponsored student on a course over 6 months.
These are the UK dependent visa requirements for the student and the family member. The Home Office Student route caseworker guidance adds two details that matter for Nepali applicants. First, your CAS shows “RQF_7_Research” or “RQF_8_Research” if the university counts your course as research. Second, UK government scholarships such as Chevening and Commonwealth awards count as government sponsorship.
The student must
- Hold, or be applying for, a Student visa at the same time
- Study full time at postgraduate level (RQF 7 or above) for 9 months or more
- Be on a PhD or research-based degree, where research is larger than the taught part
- Or hold a government scholarship for a full-time course of 6 months or more
The family member must
- Prove the relationship with official papers
- Show money to live on, held for 28 days
- Get a TB test in Nepal if staying more than 6 months
- Pay the visa fee and the health surcharge
Relationship proof Nepali families use
- Marriage registration certificate from the ward or local registrar
- Birth certificate for each child; see our birth certificate for study abroad guide
- A relationship certificate from the ward office
- Photos, joint documents or proof of living together, for a partner
Check Your CAS Before You Plan Family Travel
Many families from Nepal plan around a course that turns out to be taught, not research. Ask the university in writing whether your course is “research-based” before you pay a deposit.
If it is a taught master’s, your partner cannot come as your dependant, so plan the family’s timing another way.
How Do You Apply for a UK Dependent Visa from Nepal?
Your family applies online with your application number, pays the fees, gives biometrics in Kathmandu and waits about 3 weeks.
The UK dependent visa process is the same whether your partner and children apply with you or join you later. Follow these steps for each family member.
Step 1: Check the course
Make sure your CAS shows a research course or a government scholarship. Without this, a dependant application is refused.
Step 2: Prepare the papers
Passports, marriage and birth certificates, money evidence and TB certificates. Nepali certificates often carry Bikram Sambat dates, so check them with our Nepali date converter and make sure translations match.
Step 3: Apply online
Each person fills in the “partner” or “child” form on GOV.UK and enters your application number (GWF or UAN). The form asks for your home address in Nepal; our Nepal postal code finder gives the right postcode.
Step 4: Pay the fees
Each person pays the £558 visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge for the length of the visa.
Step 5: Prove identity
Use the UK Immigration: ID Check app or give fingerprints and a photo at VFS Global in Kathmandu. See our biometrics locations in Nepal guide.
Step 6: TB test
Each family member staying more than 6 months gets a TB certificate from an approved clinic in Kathmandu or Damak. Children under 11 usually see a doctor instead of an x-ray.
Step 7: Wait for the decision
A decision usually comes within about 3 weeks from outside the UK. Approved family members get an eVisa that ends on the same date as yours.
Apply together if you can. One family linked by the same application number is easier for UKVI to check than papers sent months apart.
How Much Money Do Dependants Need to Show?
Each dependant needs £680 a month outside London or £845 a month in London, for up to 9 months, on top of your own money.
This is in addition to your unpaid first-year fees and your own living costs. The money must be held for 28 days in a row, ending no more than 31 days before the family applies.
| Who | Outside London | London |
|---|---|---|
| Each dependant, per month | £680 | £845 |
| Each dependant, 9 months | £6,120 (about Rs 12 lakh) | £7,605 (about Rs 15 lakh) |
| You, the student, 9 months | £10,539 (about Rs 21 lakh) | £13,761 (about Rs 28 lakh) |
| You + partner + 1 child, 9 months | £22,779 (about Rs 46 lakh) | £28,971 (about Rs 58 lakh) |
Add your unpaid tuition to the last row. If your family applies later, they only show their own amount. Rupee figures are rounded; check today’s rate with our GBP to Rs forex converter. Real monthly spending for a family is often higher, especially rent, so read our cost of living in the UK guide too. Most Nepali families show a bank balance certificate with statements, and UKVI checks where the money came from.
What Documents Does a UK Dependent Visa Need?
Each family member needs a passport, proof of the relationship, money evidence, a TB certificate and your application number.
Upload clear scans with certified English translations. Names and dates must match across every paper, from the passport to the marriage certificate. If a passport is close to expiry, renew it first; our Nepal passport for study abroad guide explains how.
- Valid passport for each family member
- Your CAS details and your application number (GWF or UAN)
- Marriage registration certificate or proof of 2 years together
- Birth certificate for each child, with both parents named
- Bank statement or balance certificate held for 28 days, or a loan or scholarship letter that covers dependants
- TB test certificate for each person staying over 6 months
- For children: 2 documents showing their address, such as a bank statement or school letter
- Certified English translations of every Nepali document
- Helpful extras: a short cover letter explaining your family situation
- Photos together across the years, for a partner
- Joint documents, such as a shared bank account or property papers
- Your scholarship letter, if it is a government award
- Income papers for the person whose money you show
How Much Does a UK Dependent Visa Cost?
Each family member pays £558 for the visa plus the health surcharge of £776 for each year of the visa.
The visa fee is the same as yours. The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) gives them the National Health Service. The GOV.UK IHS rules charge students’ dependants £776 a year, plus £388 for an extra part year of 6 months or less. A 3-year PhD visa lasts about 3 years and 5 months, so the IHS is about £2,716 per person. With the visa fee that is about £3,274 (about Rs 6.5 lakh) for each family member. See the UK student visa fee page for totals by course length.
The TB test is paid at the clinic, and VFS may sell optional extras. The IHS is refunded if a visa is refused; the visa fee is not.
How Long Does It Take, and When Should Your Family Apply?
Decisions usually take about 3 weeks, and your family can apply with you or join you later.
If they apply with you, the applications are decided together. If they join later, they need your visa to be granted first and show only their own funds. Their visa ends on the same date as yours. Applying together is usually smoother, because the money and the story are checked at the same time.
VFS Kathmandu and the TB clinics get busy before the September and January intakes. The clinics warn of waits of up to 10 days from June to October. Book early, and see our medical exams and TB tests guide for what to expect. The GOV.UK list of TB clinics in Nepal has their phone numbers.
Can Dependants Work in the UK?
Yes, a student’s partner can usually work full time in almost any job, and children can go to school.
This is one of the biggest benefits for Nepali families, because a partner’s wage can help with rent. Still, UKVI expects you to show the full money before you travel and does not count future earnings. Our guide to part-time jobs in the UK shows the kinds of work students and partners find. Your own limit as the student is on our UK student work hours page.
What dependants can do
- Work full time or part time, with no weekly hours limit
- Change jobs without asking the Home Office
- Study, and children can attend state schools
- Use the National Health Service, because the IHS is paid
Limits to know
- No work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach
- No public funds, such as most benefits
- An ATAS certificate before some science or technology study over age 18
- No work if the student later moves to a course under 9 months or below degree level
Why Are UK Dependent Visas Refused?
Most refusals happen because the course does not allow dependants, the money is short, or the relationship proof is weak.
UKVI also asks whether the main reason for the student’s application is the family’s jobs, schooling or health care in the UK. So your own study plan must be strong, and your family plan must fit your course and money. If the student’s visa is refused, the family’s visas are refused too. These are the common reasons:
- The course is a taught master’s or bachelor’s, so dependants are not allowed
- Money below the total for every person, or not held for 28 days
- Marriage registered just before applying, with little other proof of the relationship
- Different spellings or dates on passports, certificates and the CAS
- A missing or expired TB certificate for one family member
Which Other UK Visas Let You Bring Family?
The Skilled Worker visa usually allows dependants, but the Graduate visa only keeps family who were already your dependants.
Many people searching for a UK dependent visa from Nepal are thinking about work routes too. The Skilled Worker family rules let most workers bring a partner and children. Care workers and senior care workers are the exception. They cannot bring new dependants unless they have done that job on a UK work visa since before 11 March 2024.
On the Graduate visa, your partner can stay only if they were already your dependant on your Student visa. So a taught master’s student cannot bring a partner later through the Graduate route. Our UK Graduate route visa guide explains its length and rules.
Tips That Make a Family Application Stronger
- Confirm in writing that your course is research-based before you pay
- Show the money for every person in one account if you can, for the full 28 days
- Register your marriage well before applying, and keep the ward records
- Make sure every name is spelled the same on passports, certificates and the CAS
- Book TB tests for the whole family on the same day
- Apply together, so UKVI sees one clear family file
What Should You Do Next?
First decide whether your course allows dependants, then plan the money for the whole family at least 3 months before your intake.
If you want your family with you, look for a PhD or a research master’s in our guide to a master’s in the UK for Nepali students. You can also apply for a government award from our list of UK scholarships for international students. Then follow the steps in how to apply to UK universities from Nepal. Ask for your CAS early, using our CAS letter UK guide.
You can get advice wherever you live in Nepal, from Butwal to Biratnagar, and our branches are in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Itahari and Pokhara. Talk to a Goreto counselor to check your course, family papers and money before you apply.
Not Sure If Your Family Can Come?
Send us your offer letter or CAS details, and a counselor will tell you whether your course allows dependants and what your family needs to show.
FAQs on the UK Dependent Visa
Only if it is a research-based master’s, such as an MRes or MPhil, or you have a government scholarship. On a taught master’s, such as an MSc or MBA, you cannot bring dependants. Check how your CAS describes the course.
Yes, but only to PhD and research master’s students and government-sponsored students. For most other courses starting from 1 January 2024, dependants are not allowed. This is the main new update for families in Nepal.
No. A student’s partner or child does not need to pass an English test for the dependant visa. Good English still helps your partner find work and settle in.
Each dependant needs £680 a month outside London or £845 in London, for up to 9 months. That is about Rs 12 lakh or Rs 15 lakh per person, on top of your own funds and fees.
Yes. Your partner and children can apply after you are in the UK, as long as your course still allows dependants. They show only their own funds, and their visa ends when yours does.
Yes, a dependant who is in the UK can usually apply to switch to their own Student visa with a CAS from a licensed university. They then meet all the student rules themselves.
Yes. Chevening is a UK government scholarship, so it counts as government sponsorship. The scholarship may not cover family costs, so you still show money for each dependant.
A child born in the UK does not become British automatically. Apply for the child’s dependant visa if you want to travel in and out of the UK, using a full UK birth certificate with both parents’ names.
No. Only a partner and children under 18 can be a student’s dependants. Parents can visit on a visitor visa, which is a separate application.
Usually about 3 weeks after applying from outside the UK. Add time for the TB test, biometrics and papers, so start at least 2 months before you want to travel.
Sources
Reference links
Disclaimer
Important guidance note
This page provides general guidance about studying abroad. Requirements, fees and policies can change. For advice about your situation, speak with a Goreto counselor before applying.
