UK Publishes Conditions Foreigners Must Meet to Bring Family on Skilled Worker Visa

• The UK government published the full eligibility rules for partners and children joining Skilled Worker visa holders in the country
• Applicants must meet financial, relationship, and suitability requirements before a dependent visa can be granted
• Partners and children granted dependent visas are barred from accessing public funds but are allowed to work and study in the UK

The United Kingdom government has set out the conditions that partners and children of Skilled Worker visa holders must satisfy to join them in the UK, covering everything from financial thresholds to criminal record checks.

The rules, published on the UK government's immigration guidance page, apply to both applicants already in the UK and those applying from abroad.

UK: Who can apply and how?

Applicants outside the UK must apply for a dependant partner visa or dependant child visa through the gov.uk website.

Those already in the UK use a separate permission-to-stay application. In either case, the Skilled Worker must hold valid permission on that route, or be applying for it at the same time, before a dependent's application can proceed.

Partners must be aged 18 or over at the time of application. Dependent partners applying for permission to stay must also not have held their last permission as a visitor, short-term student, seasonal worker, domestic worker in a private household, or under any arrangement outside the Immigration Rules.

UK: Financial and documentary requirements

Applicants who have lived in the UK on a valid visa for 12 months or more are exempt from showing funds.

All others must demonstrate available savings, either held collectively by the applicant, the Skilled Worker, and any lawfully present parent, or certified by the Skilled Worker's sponsor. The minimum amounts required are:

1. £285 (approximately ₦460,000) for a dependent partner.

2. £315 (approximately ₦510,000) for the first dependent child.

3. £200 (approximately ₦325,000) for each additional dependent child.

These funds must have been held for a continuous 28-day period before the application date and must be separate from any funds the Skilled Worker is using to meet their own financial requirement.

Where the Skilled Worker is sponsored in certain care-related occupation codes, additional restrictions apply on whether dependants can be brought at all, depending on when permission was first granted.

Dependent partners of Skilled Workers sponsored in specific occupations listed under SW 16.1 must also provide a criminal record certificate from every country where they spent 12 months or more in the 10 years before applying, while aged 18 or over.

UK: What happens after approval?

If all requirements are met, a dependent partner is granted permission ending on the same date as the Skilled Worker's permission, or for three years if the Skilled Worker is being granted settlement.

A dependent child's permission ends when the earliest-expiring parent's permission lapses, unless both parents are settled or British citizens, in which case the child receives three years.

All grants come with the following conditions:

1. No access to public funds.

2. Work, including self-employment and voluntary work, is permitted, except as a professional sportsperson or sports coach.

3. Study is permitted, subject to the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) condition for applicants over 18.

Applications that fail to meet validity requirements may be rejected outright without further review. Refused applicants can seek an Administrative Review under Appendix AR.

Legit.ng reported that the UK had published salary checks for foreigners applying for its visas.

In a related story, Legit.ng reported that the UK had listed 307 occupations that are eligible for a Skilled Worker visa.

UK lists jobs with shortage of workers

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the UK listed 70 jobs facing shortage of workers.

UK Visas and Immigration released the guidance, confirming that workers whose jobs appear on the list and who are employed in medium-skilled roles can make applications to switch visa routes, apply for entry clearance, or extend their existing Skilled Worker permission.

According to the official guidance, the 70 jobs on the Temporary Shortage List will be removed after December 31, 2026, meaning no new sponsorship can be issued for them after that date unless extended.