Unmarried partner as Student visa dependant

Short answer

Yes, an unmarried partner can qualify as your Student visa dependant, but only if two separate sets of conditions are met. First, you as the main Student visa holder must be in one of the limited categories of students who are permitted to bring dependants at all. Second, your relationship must satisfy the Immigration Rules’ definition of an unmarried partner. If either condition is not met, your partner cannot come as a dependant, regardless of how genuine the relationship is.

Can you sponsor a dependant at all?

This is the first and most common obstacle. Since 1 January 2024 the rules were tightened significantly, and most students can no longer bring dependants.

You can only sponsor a partner (or child) as a dependant if you are one of the following:

1. A government-sponsored student on a course lasting longer than six months; or

2. A full-time student on a postgraduate course at RQF level 7 or above lasting nine months or longer, but for courses starting on or after 1 January 2024 this is restricted to a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8) or a research-based higher degree.

If you are studying an undergraduate degree, or a taught master’s course starting on or after 1 January 2024, you will generally not be able to bring a partner as a dependant, even if the relationship is entirely genuine. The type and level of your course and its start date are therefore decisive, so it is worth checking these carefully against your CAS and offer letter.

The unmarried partner definition

If you fall within a category that permits dependants, your unmarried partner must then meet the relationship requirements in the Immigration Rules. The key requirements for an unmarried partner are broadly these.

You must both be aged 18 or over. Any previous relationship of either of you with another person must have permanently broken down. You must not be so closely related that you would be prohibited from marrying each other in the UK. And, crucially, you must have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years before the date of application. This two-year cohabitation requirement is the point that most often defeats unmarried partner applications, so you should be prepared to evidence it in detail.

The relationship must also be genuine and subsisting, and you must intend to live together in the UK.

Evidence you will need

For a married or civil partner, a marriage or civil partnership certificate is the core document. For an unmarried partner, because there is no certificate, you must build a documentary picture of at least two years of cohabitation and an ongoing genuine relationship. Useful evidence includes joint tenancy agreements or mortgage documents, joint bank account statements, utility and council tax bills in both names, correspondence addressed to you both at the same address spread across the two-year period, and evidence of the relationship such as photographs, communication records and travel together.

Ideally the documents should be in both names and should span the whole two-year period at roughly regular intervals, rather than being clustered at the start and end. If some documents are in only one name, try to show a mix addressed to each of you at the same address for overlapping periods.

Other requirements

Your partner will also need to meet financial requirements, showing a set level of maintenance funds held for a continuous 28-day period, and pay the visa application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge. The exact maintenance figures depend on whether your study is in or outside London and the number of dependants, so these should be checked at the point of application.

Your partner can normally apply at the same time as you or separately later, and if granted, their visa will usually be tied to the length of your Student visa. Dependant partners of students are generally permitted to work, though your own permission to work is restricted, so check the specific conditions on each grant.

Where different facts change the answer

If you cannot yet show two years of living together, the unmarried partner route is not available at the point of application, and you would need either to wait until the two years is met, or to marry or enter a civil partnership and apply under that category instead.

If your course does not fall within the permitted dependant categories, marriage would not solve the problem, because the restriction is on your status as the sponsoring student rather than on the nature of the relationship. In that situation your partner would need to look at a separate immigration route in their own right.

Practical next steps

1. Confirm your own eligibility to sponsor a dependant by checking your course level, whether it is research-based or a doctorate, and its start date against the post-January 2024 rules.

2. Assess honestly whether you can evidence at least two years of cohabitation in a relationship akin to marriage.

3. Start gathering dated documents in both names now, since gaps in the two-year timeline are the most common reason these applications are refused.

4. Check the current fees, Immigration Health Surcharge and maintenance funds figures before applying, as these change periodically.

If you tell me the exact name and level of your course, its start date, and how long you and your partner have lived together, I can tell you more precisely whether both limbs of the test are likely to be satisfied.