International students and their dependants will be seeing changes to the Immigration rules coming into effect in January 2024.
Following an announcement published by the UK Government on 17 July 2023, visa holders under the student route will be seeing changes to their ability to bring their dependants with them to the UK in the New Year.
From 1 January 2024, international students will only be able to bring their dependant partner or children with them to the UK if they are enrolled in a PhD or postgraduate research programme. Therefore, if your course is not a PhD or a postgraduate research programme starting in 2024, you will not be permitted to bring your dependants with you to the UK.
If the main applicant (the student visa holder) has started their course of study before the 1 January 2024, any dependants will be able to extend their visa for as long as their visa remains valid. Essentially, the change will only affect those applicants whose courses start after 1 January 2024.
If you were looking to enter the UK as a dependant of a student visa holder whose course begins after the specified date, you may need to seek an alternative visa route. The type of visa most suitable for you will depend on your personal circumstances. If you are not sure which visa route is available to you, do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our UK Inbound Immigration team and we will be happy to assist you.
How Gherson can assist
Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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