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Bringing family on a Skilled Worker visa: costs and rules

Each partner and child pays the same application fee as the Skilled Worker for the same length of stay (£819 or £1,618 from outside the UK), plus the Immigration Health Surcharge, and must show £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each further child. Restrictions apply to dependants of care workers and some medium-skilled jobs.

A Skilled Worker visa lets the worker's partner and children apply as dependants, but each of them makes a separate application and pays separately. The total for a family is mostly a multiplication: the worker's application fee and healthcare surcharge, repeated for each person, plus a set of funds that must be held in a bank account for 28 days. Since 2024 and 2025 the rules have also limited who can bring dependants in some care and medium-skilled jobs.

This guide sets out what the GOV.UK Skilled Worker pages, the Immigration Health Surcharge page, the Home Office fee table of 8 October 2026 and Appendix Skilled Worker say about family costs and eligibility. Everything was read on 9 October 2026. It explains how the rules work and does not say whether any family meets them.

Who counts as a dependant

GOV.UK defines a dependant partner or child as any of the following:

  • the worker's husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner;
  • a child under 18, including a child born in the UK during the worker's stay; or
  • a child over 18 who currently has permission to be in the UK as the worker's dependant.

A partner must show one of the following: a marriage or civil partnership recognised in the UK, a relationship of at least 2 years when applying while living together, or a relationship of at least 2 years when applying where living together is not possible, for example because of work, study or cultural reasons, with evidence of ongoing commitment. Children must live with the worker unless they are away in full-time education, and must not be married or in a civil partnership. Appendix Skilled Worker sets the rules in SW 27 to 36, using Appendix Relationship with Partner for partners and Appendix Children for children.

The family members' visa usually ends on the same date as the worker's. If a child's parents have visas with different expiry dates, the child's visa ends on the earlier date (SW 36.2).

Application fees: the same as the worker's

GOV.UK says that if a partner or child applies to join the worker, they pay the fee for the same length of time as the worker, even if they apply after the worker's visa has been granted. The Home Office fee table of 8 October 2026 lists each Skilled Worker fee as "main applicant and dependants". The figures are:

  • Applying from outside the UK: £819 per person for up to 3 years; £1,618 per person for more than 3 years.
  • Extending, switching or updating inside the UK: £943 per person for up to 3 years; £1,865 per person for more than 3 years.
  • Job on the Immigration Salary List: £628 (up to 3 years) or £1,235 (more than 3 years), whether applying from inside or outside the UK.
  • Health and Care Worker visa: £324 (up to 3 years) or £628 (more than 3 years) per person, from inside or outside the UK.

GOV.UK gives an example of how the length applies: if the worker's 5-year certificate of sponsorship expires in 2027 and a child applies in 2025, the child pays the fee for more than 3 years. The fee table keys each band to the length of the certificate of sponsorship.

The healthcare surcharge for each family member

The Immigration Health Surcharge is charged separately to each person and for each year of the permission. The IHS page gives £1,035 per year for most applicants, including adult dependants, and £776 per year for applicants under 18 when they apply. For a 3-year visa that is £3,105 for each adult and £2,328 for each child. Dependants aged 18 or over usually pay the same as the worker. The IHS page also says a part year of 6 months or less from inside the UK costs half the annual rate, that a visa of more than 6 months but under a year costs a full year, and that a visa for between a year and 18 months costs the annual rate plus half.

There is one exemption that matters to families. The IHS page lists a health and care worker eligible for a Health and Care Worker visa "(or you're their dependant)" among those who do not need to pay, and the Health and Care Worker page says "You - and your partner or children - will not have to pay the healthcare surcharge." Skilled Worker families outside that route pay it.

The surcharge can be refunded in some cases. The IHS page says dependants are refunded only if their visa covers the same period as the worker's, and that a refused application brings a refund.

Funds each dependant must show

The family must also show money to support itself. SW 33.3 sets the amounts for dependants:

  • £285 for a dependent partner;
  • £315 for the first dependent child; and
  • £200 for each other dependent child.

These are on top of the £1,270 the worker normally has to show for their own application. GOV.UK gives the example of £600 for a partner and one child (£285 plus £315), plus the worker's £1,270.

The money can be held by the worker, the partner or the child, or collectively, and must have been available for at least 28 days in a row, with day 28 within 31 days of applying (SW 33.5, and the GOV.UK page). Proof is usually needed unless everyone has been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months (SW 33.1 gives this for permission to stay applications), or the employer certifies on the certificate of sponsorship that it can cover the family's costs for the first month (SW 33.2(b)). A dependant applying at a different time from the worker only needs to prove funds if they have been in the UK for less than 1 year.

Other requirements for dependants

Besides cost, the Rules attach other conditions.

  • TB test. SW 28.2 requires a TB certificate for entry clearance where Appendix Tuberculosis applies. The GOV.UK TB page says a test is needed if the applicant has lived in a listed country for 6 months or more and is coming to the UK for 6 months or more.
  • Criminal record certificate. SW 34.1 requires a dependent partner applying for entry clearance to provide a criminal record certificate where the worker is sponsored in one of the listed occupations (for example health services and public health managers). It covers any country where the partner has been present for 12 months or more in the last 10 years while aged 18 or over, and SW 34.2 allows a satisfactory explanation if a certificate cannot reasonably be obtained.
  • Suitability. Dependants must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability (SW 27.1).
  • Applying. Each person completes a separate application online, before travelling, using the worker's application number and optionally a family linking code. For applications from outside the UK, GOV.UK says a decision usually takes 3 weeks. Inside the UK it usually takes 8 weeks. Applicants prove identity with the UK Immigration: ID Check app or biometrics at a visa application centre or UKVCAS service point, and must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before a decision on an in-country application.

Some people already in the UK cannot switch to dependant status. GOV.UK lists those on a visit visa, a short-term student visa, a Parent of a Child Student visa, a seasonal worker visa, a domestic worker in a private household visa, on immigration bail, or given permission outside the Rules, for example on compassionate grounds. Someone on a Student visa can switch only if they have completed the course they were sponsored to study or studied for a PhD for at least 24 months.

Who may not be able to bring dependants

Two groups face restrictions, set out on GOV.UK and in SW 29.1A and SW 32A.2.

Care workers and senior care workers. On GOV.UK's wording, partners and children outside the UK can apply as dependants only if the worker has been continually employed in the UK as a care worker or senior care worker and on a Skilled Worker visa since before 11 March 2024, or if the child was born in the UK. Partners and children inside the UK can apply to stay if that is true, or if the child was born in the UK, the worker is the only living parent responsible for the child, or the child's other parent is also sponsored as a care worker or senior care worker. Our guide to care worker visas and dependants covers this rule on its own.

Medium-skilled jobs. For a job listed as medium skilled (other than care workers), partners and children outside the UK can apply only if the worker has been continually employed in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa in a medium-skilled job since before 22 July 2025, or if the child was born in the UK. The inside-the-UK conditions mirror those for care workers, with the 22 July 2025 date, and there is a specific allowance for dependants of prison officers (code 3314) when the worker extends or switches.

These rules do not apply to jobs that are not in these categories. Whether a particular job is "medium skilled" depends on its occupation code and the lists in Appendix Skilled Occupations; the employer can say which code the job is sponsored under.

What dependants can do and the road to settlement

GOV.UK says a dependant partner or child can work, except as a sportsperson or coach, study, travel abroad and return, and apply to settle permanently if they have lived in the UK for 5 years and meet the other eligibility requirements. They cannot claim most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension. SW 36.3 sets the same conditions: no access to public funds, work permitted except as a professional sportsperson or coach, and study permitted subject to the ATAS condition for those over 18.

If the worker applies for settlement, dependants settle in step with them through form SET(O), with the conditions in SW 37 to 39 (the dependant must have last been granted permission as the worker's dependant, or be a UK-born child). The Home Office fee table lists indefinite leave to remain at £3,226 for "main applicant and dependants". The worker's own settlement rules, including the B2 English requirement the Rules add from 26 March 2027, are covered in the guide to ILR after a Skilled Worker visa.

A child born in the UK during the worker's stay is not automatically a British citizen, according to GOV.UK. The worker must apply for the child's dependant visa to travel in and out of the UK with them, and for the child to stay once they turn 18, the application must be made before they turn 18.

Worked example (illustrative)

A worker on a 3-year certificate of sponsorship, in a job that is not on the Immigration Salary List and not on the Health and Care route, applies from outside the UK with a partner and two children under 18, all applying together.

  • Application fees: £819 for each of four people, £3,276.
  • Healthcare surcharge for 3 years: £3,105 for each of two adults (£6,210) and £2,328 for each of two children (£4,656), £10,866.
  • Total to the Home Office: £14,142.
  • Funds to show, on top of that: £1,270 for the worker, £285 for the partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for the second, £2,070 in all, held for 28 days, unless the employer certifies maintenance.

In the same family on a Health and Care Worker visa for 3 years, the application fee is £324 each, £1,296 in all, and no surcharge is payable, though the funds still apply. If the job is on the Immigration Salary List and not on the Health and Care route, the fee is £628 each, £2,512 in all. Those are the published figures; employer-paid costs and eligibility for dependants in care and medium-skilled jobs have to be checked separately.

Finding a regulated adviser

Families sometimes ask a regulated adviser to review the evidence, the funds and the sequence of applications before a worker travels. GOV.UK explains how to find an immigration adviser. Only advisers registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly the OISC), solicitors and barristers may give immigration advice in England and Wales.

The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work; it does not tell you what to do in your case.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to bring family on a Skilled Worker visa?

Each partner and child pays the same application fee as the worker for the same length of stay (£819 up to 3 years or £1,618 over 3 years from outside the UK), plus the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 a year per adult and £776 a year per child, and must show funds of £285, £315 and £200.

How much money must dependants show on a Skilled Worker visa?

Appendix Skilled Worker SW 33.3 requires £285 for a partner, £315 for the first child and £200 for each other child. The money must have been held for 28 days in a row, unless the family has been in the UK for 12 months or the employer certifies maintenance.

Do dependants pay the healthcare surcharge on a Skilled Worker visa?

Yes, unless they are dependants of a Health and Care Worker visa holder, who GOV.UK says do not pay it. The surcharge is £1,035 per year for adults and £776 per year for under-18s at the time of application.

Can the dependants of a care worker join them in the UK?

GOV.UK says partners and children outside the UK can apply only if the worker has been continually employed as a care worker or senior care worker on a Skilled Worker visa in the UK since before 11 March 2024, or if the child was born in the UK.

Can dependants work on a Skilled Worker visa?

GOV.UK says a dependant partner or child can work, except as a sportsperson or coach, and can study. They cannot claim most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • Care worker visas and dependants: the 11 March 2024 rule — GOV.UK says a partner and children outside the UK can apply to join a care worker or senior care worker only if the worker has been continually employed in that role on a Skilled Worker visa since before 11 March 2024, or the child was born in the UK. Different conditions apply to dependants already in the UK.
  • Skilled Worker visa cost: worker and employer totals — A worker applying from outside the UK for up to 3 years pays £819 plus £1,035 a year in healthcare surcharge, and usually needs £1,270 held in savings. The employer separately pays a £525 certificate fee and the immigration skills charge, and its licence fee if it is new.
  • Care worker visa in 2026: who can still apply — Under rule SW 6.1B, care workers (6135) and senior care workers (6136) can only apply for permission to stay, not for entry clearance from abroad. The rule allows either a switch after at least three months working legally for the sponsor, with an application before 22 July 2028, or an application by someone already holding permission in those codes.
  • Medium-skilled jobs after July 2025: the ISL and TSL — Since 22 July 2025 the Skilled Worker route is open to degree-level jobs, plus mid-level jobs only if they are on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, or if the worker already held permission before that date. Both lists have a cut-off date for new certificates.
  • ILR after a Skilled Worker visa: the 5-year test — Settlement as a Skilled Worker needs 5 continuous years with permission on listed work routes, absences of no more than 180 days in any 12 months, a sponsor that still approves and pays you at least the settlement salary, and the Life in the UK Test. Rule SW 22A.1 adds B2 English for applications made on or after 26 March 2027. The fee is £3,226 per person.
  • Skilled Worker salary: £41,700 and going rates — Under Appendix Skilled Worker the general salary test is at least £41,700 a year and the occupation's going rate, whichever is higher. Lower thresholds of £33,400, £37,500 or £25,000 apply to specific groups, and only guaranteed basic pay counts.
  • Skilled Worker visa refused: options and deadlines — A refused Skilled Worker application can be challenged by administrative review (£80; 14 days if you applied in the UK, 28 days if you applied from abroad) because Appendix Skilled Worker is on the eligible list. A certificate of sponsorship that has been used in a refused application cannot be used again (SW 5.1(d)), so a fresh application needs a new certificate and a new visa fee.
  • How to check a UK immigration adviser is registered — In the UK only a "qualified person" may give immigration advice: an IAA-registered adviser, a solicitor, barrister or chartered legal executive, or someone working under their supervision. Ask for the regulator and registration number, then check it yourself on the IAA Adviser Register or the SRA Solicitors Register.