Your partner and children under 18 can usually apply as dependants of a Skilled Worker visa holder. Since 22 July 2025, though, many people on care and medium-skilled jobs can no longer bring family unless they fall within a transitional arrangement. Whether you can bring your family depends on your job’s skill level and on when your own Skilled Worker application was made. This guide sets out who qualifies, what you must prove, what you pay and what your family can do once they arrive.
TL;DR
- Eligible dependants are your spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner (with a 2-year relationship), and children under 18. A child over 18 qualifies only if they already hold permission as your dependant.
- Rules tightened in 2025: for many care and medium-skilled roles, dependants can apply only where the worker’s original application pre-dates 11 March 2024 (care roles) or 22 July 2025 (medium-skilled roles).
- Each family member makes a separate online application, pays the visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, and usually shows maintenance funds.
- Dependants can work (with limited exceptions), study and travel, and can apply to settle after 5 years’ continuous residence.
- Get your category checked by a solicitor before you apply, because a refused dependant application is costly to put right.
Table of Contents
- Who counts as a Skilled Worker dependant?
- The 2025 changes: which jobs still allow dependants
- Why the rules changed: the numbers
- Documents and money you need to show
- How to apply, fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge
- What dependants can and cannot do
- Settlement: can dependants get indefinite leave to remain?
- Our perspective
- Getting your family application right
- FAQ
- Sources
Who counts as a Skilled Worker dependant?
GOV.UK states that you can bring your partner and children if they are eligible. The categories are narrow, and each has its own evidence needs.
Partners. This covers a husband, wife or civil partner. It also covers an unmarried partner who meets the 2-year relationship requirement. Unmarried partners must show evidence that you have lived together in a relationship. Our guide to evidence for an unmarried partner visa explains what caseworkers look for.
Children. A child under 18 can apply. A child who is 18 or over can apply only if they currently have permission to be in the UK as your dependant. A young adult who has never held dependant status generally cannot join the application later. All of this is set out on the GOV.UK page for partners and children.
If you are weighing up the different routes open to family members, our overview of types of dependent visas in the UK puts them side by side. For children specifically, see who can apply for a child dependent visa.
The 2025 changes: which jobs still allow dependants
This is the part of the rules that most affects families now. The government introduced stricter skill-level requirements in 2025. According to the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules Impact Assessment, the effect is to restrict dependants for many medium-skilled and care roles, as part of efforts to reduce migration volumes.
In practice, three groups of workers are affected differently.
| Your situation | Can you bring dependants? |
|---|---|
| Job at RQF level 6 or above (graduate level) | Yes, if the other requirements are met |
| Care worker or senior care worker | Only where your original Skilled Worker application was made before 11 March 2024, with continuous permission |
| Medium-skilled job (below RQF level 6) | Only where your original Skilled Worker application was made before 22 July 2025, with continuous permission |
These cut-off dates come from GOV.UK’s guidance on partners and children and the Home Office’s staff guidance on dependent family members in work routes, last updated on 3 August 2026. The staff guidance also stresses that your permission must have been continuous since that original application.
Transitional arrangements and why they matter
The transitional arrangements let existing visa holders keep bringing dependants in eligible cases. The Impact Assessment says they will not stay in place indefinitely and will be reviewed. If you are relying on one, treat it as something to use sooner rather than later, and keep a clear paper trail of your original application date and of every extension since.
What can go wrong
The most common problems we see with this rule are practical ones:
- A gap in permission between visas, which can break the continuity the transitional rule depends on.
- Uncertainty over whether a job’s occupation code sits at RQF level 6 or below.
- A change of sponsor or job that moves a worker into a different category.
If any of these applies to you, take advice before you submit anything. Our Skilled Worker and care worker fee is published, so you can see the cost of having the main application handled by a solicitor.
Why the rules changed: the numbers
The Home Office’s immigration statistics show the scale of the shift. In the year ending June 2026, 76,119 work-route visas were issued to dependants, according to Why do people come to the UK? Work. The same release reports that worker visa grants, including dependants, were 76% fewer than in the year ending December 2023, driven mainly by the Health and Care Worker and Skilled Worker routes. It attributes part of the fall in dependants to the restrictive changes for student dependants in 2024 and worker dependants in 2025.
For you, the lesson is simple: policy is moving in one direction, so families whose circumstances fit the current rules should not assume the window stays open.
Documents and money you need to show
Every dependant application stands or falls on evidence. Expect to provide the following.
- Valid passport or travel document for each applicant.
- Proof of the relationship. For a spouse or civil partner, this is usually a marriage or civil partnership certificate. For an unmarried partner, GOV.UK requires evidence of cohabitation as well.
- Your own visa details, such as your Skilled Worker visa or your immigration status, so the caseworker can link the applications.
- Proof of funds, usually bank statements.
- Birth certificates and proof of parental responsibility for children, where the child is not applying with both parents.
Our separate checklist on solicitor-checked spouse visa documents is useful for organising relationship evidence, even though it was written for a different route.
Maintenance funds
GOV.UK says dependants usually need to show they have money available. The published amounts are £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each additional child (GOV.UK). A family of a partner and two children would therefore show £285 + £315 + £200 = £800. Check the official page for the rules on how long the funds must be held and for any exemption, for example where your sponsor certifies maintenance.
If you are also planning a home purchase or mortgage as a visa holder, it helps to understand how lenders look at your visa status and funds. This guide to mortgage eligibility rules for UK visa holders covers the lender side of the same paperwork.
How to apply, fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge
Applications are made online. Each family member completes a separate application and pays the visa fee, according to GOV.UK. Dependants can apply at the same time as you or later, and the timing affects the health surcharge.
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)
The IHS is calculated on the length of permission granted. For applications submitted on or after 6 February 2024, the rate is £1,035 per person per year, as stated in the Home Office IHS guidance (published 30 September 2025). The same guidance explains the timing difference:
- Applying alongside you: the IHS is assessed on the length of the visa to be granted.
- Applying later: the IHS is based on the time remaining on your current visa.
Because the surcharge is charged per person per year, a family’s total can be large. Work it out for every family member before you commit to a plan, and always confirm current visa fees on the official fee page, as they change.
How long will it take?
GOV.UK publishes decision times for the Skilled Worker route itself: usually 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside the UK, and a faster decision may be available for an extra payment. We are not aware of a separate dependant-only standard published on that page, so treat these as the working guide and expect a dependant application made with yours to follow a similar pattern. If your family needs to travel by a fixed date, plan for the longer end of the range.
Where travel is urgent, our urgent visa application service can prepare an application in as little as 24 hours. This is preparation time, not a Home Office decision time.
What dependants can and cannot do
According to GOV.UK, dependants can:
- Work in the UK, except as a professional sportsperson or sports coach.
- Study.
- Travel abroad and return to the UK.
They cannot apply for most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension. That restriction matters when you plan household finances, particularly if one partner stops work to care for children.
A dependant visa also does not give independent rights. Your partner’s permission depends on yours, so if your visa ends or is curtailed, theirs is affected. If your circumstances change, see our guidance on reporting changes and keeping proof.
Settlement: can dependants get indefinite leave to remain?
Yes. Dependants may apply to settle permanently after living in the UK for 5 years and meeting the other eligibility requirements (GOV.UK). The Home Office’s continuous residence guidance, dated 5 June 2026, confirms that Skilled Worker dependant partners need 5 years of continuous residence with qualifying permission. It also makes clear that decision makers assess absences from the UK and the evidence you provide.
Two practical points follow:
- Keep your travel history. Long or repeated absences can raise questions about continuity.
- Keep every visa. A gap in lawful permission can cause difficulty with the qualifying period.
Settlement rules have been under review by the government, so check the position before you plan your timeline. Our settlement and ILR service covers the application from start to finish.
Our perspective
We see the same pattern in dependant cases every week. Families come to us after reading three conflicting guides, unsure whether the 2025 changes apply to them. The answer almost always turns on two facts: the skill level of the job, and the date and continuity of the original application.
That is why every enquiry at MNS goes to a qualified solicitor from the first conversation, not to a trainee. Dependant rules combine occupation codes, transitional dates and evidence requirements, and a small misreading can mean a refusal and a lost fee. Our fees are fixed and published, so you know the cost before you instruct us.
Our advice is to check your category first, gather your evidence before you apply, and not rely on a transitional rule without confirming that your permission has been continuous. If time is short, our fast-track service can prepare an application in as little as 24 hours.
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Getting your family application right
If you want a solicitor to check your eligibility and prepare the application, we start with a one-hour initial consultation at £150. Our published fee for a Skilled or Care Worker visa is £1,200, and additional family members are £480 per additional applicant. All fees are shown on our fees page, with no hidden extras.
If your partner or child is applying from a different route, such as a spouse visa, our spouse visa team can advise on which option fits best. Workers moving from a graduate visa can read about switching from a Graduate visa to Skilled Worker, and those still waiting for a job can see our job offer visa guide.
FAQ
Can I bring my unmarried partner on a Skilled Worker visa?
Yes, if you have been in a relationship for at least 2 years and can prove it. GOV.UK requires evidence of cohabitation for unmarried partners. Joint tenancy agreements, bills and correspondence at the same address are typical examples.
Can my child over 18 apply as my dependant?
Only if they already hold permission to be in the UK as your dependant. A young adult who has not previously been a dependant on your visa generally cannot apply for the first time once they turn 18. Children under 18 can apply as long as other requirements are met.
I am a care worker. Can my family still join me?
Only in specified cases. For care roles, dependants can apply where your original Skilled Worker application was made before 11 March 2024 and your permission has been continuous. If you applied after that date, the route is generally closed to your dependants, so seek advice on alternatives.
Can my dependant partner work in the UK?
Yes. A dependant can work, except as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. They can also study and travel abroad and return. They cannot claim most benefits or the State Pension.
When can my dependants apply for settlement?
After 5 years of continuous residence with qualifying permission, and subject to the other eligibility requirements. Absences and your evidence are assessed by the decision maker, so keep your travel records and visa history in order.
Sources
- Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children, GOV.UK
- Skilled Worker visa, GOV.UK
- Dependent family members in work routes, Home Office staff guidance
- Spring 2025 Immigration Rules Impact Assessment
- Why do people come to the UK? Work, GOV.UK
- Immigration Health Surcharge guidance
- Continuous residence guidance
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