When you have been offered your first NHS post, you may want your family members (dependants) to come with you.
Your partner and children can apply to join you or to stay in the UK as your ‘dependants’ if they’re eligible. If their application is successful, their visa will end on the same date as yours.
The UK Visa and Immigration department state that a ‘dependent’ is any of the following:
When applying for a Dependant Visa , your dependents must evidence that they can be financially supported whilst they are in the UK.
Your partner and children must have a certain amount of money available to support themselves while they’re in the UK.
You - or your partner or child - will need:
When making the application, they must be able to evidence that these funds have been available for at least 30 days prior to the application being made.
Please note, you will not have to evidence funds if your hospital offers you and your family “maintenance”, by ticking this box on your CoS.
To apply for a dependent visa, you can do so online.
After the application has been accepted by the Visa and Immigration office all dependents will need to book an appointment at the local visa application centre to get their fingerprints and photograph taken to receive their biometric residence permit. Their biometric residence permit must be collected within 30 days after they have arrived in the UK.
Please click here to find your nearest visa application centre.
Yes – dependent visa holders can work freely in the UK, but they are not allowed to work as a doctor in training (they must apply for their own Skilled Worker visa in this case).
A Skilled Worker (Health and Care) Dependent Visa up to 3 years costs £232
A Skilled Worker (Health and Care) Dependant Visa for more than 3 years costs £464.
The fee is the same whether you apply from inside or outside the UK.
As long as you have applied yourself through the Skilled Worker Health and Care Visa, then your Dependants will not need to pay Immigration Health Surcharge.
GOV.UK. 2021. Skilled Worker visa. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-partner-and-children> [Accessed 17 March 2021].
GOV.UK. 2020. Health And Care Visa (Tier 2). [online] Available at: [Accessed 17 March 2020].
If you have any questions or you are an IMG looking to relocate to the UK and join the NHS, please email your CV to [email protected] and one of our Specialist Advisers will be in touch.
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