Information for International Families

In June 2023 the UK Government announced that it intended to make some changes to the UK immigration system on 1st January 2024. 

These changes include: 

"Removing the right for international students to bring dependants unless they are on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes.” 

"Removing the ability for international students to switch out of the student route into work routes before their studies have been completed.” 

"Reviewing the maintenance requirements for students and dependants.” 

On 17th July 2023, the government released it's formal Statement of Changes to the Immigration Law, which added further clarification to some of the intentions above.

This Statement confirms that international students, who start their course after 1st January 2024, will not be eligible to apply for dependants to join them in the UK. The only exceptions to this will be those who are government sponsored (on course of more than 6 months) or those studying PG Research courses (PhD). 

Conversely, those whose courses start before 1st Jan 2024 (so September/autum 2023) will still be able to apply to bring their dependants to the UK. They do not have to make their dependant applications at the same time as their own visa application but can make this application at any point during the duration of their course. 

Regarding switching from Student to Work routes in the UK, clarification has been made that students will not be able to switch into a work route until they have completed their course. The only exception to this is for PhD students who have already completed 24 months of their course at the time of switching or students who had already made a visa application to switch before 17th JUly 2023.

You may also find the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) a useful resource, so please also check there.

You should be aware that there is currently a family housing crisis which is affecting the majority of the UK and not just Swansea and the surrounding area. As a result there is very little available family accommodation and proporties are very expensive. We have further information about short and longer term accommodation available in our UK Travel and Accommodation: An International Students' Guide, so please ensure you are reading that too.

Wherever possible, you should try and arrange accommodation before you leave your home country and also make sure that you are budgeting accurately for rental costs (it is standard that an accommodation contract will expect you to pay for several months upfront). If you cannot pre arrange your accommodation, you should think about coming to the UK before your family and bringing them over once you have accommodation/schooling in place. This can avoid both unncecessary distress and significant financial outlay- as you will likely have to stay in temporary accommodation (e.g. a hotel) while looking for family suitable accommodation and this could take some time. It is important to note that even if you have applied for/been granted visas together, you do not need to travel together as a family. If a dependant;s 90 day travel vignette expires, it can be renewed at any point (giving an extra 30 days travel from date of renewal).

If you are applying to come to the UK under the Student Route, you will need to confirm/evidence to the UKVI that you have living costs for a minimum of 9 months available to you (on top of your fees) before travel and in order to be granted a visa. You will need to sign a declaration confirming that these funds are specifically to support you and your family once you arrive in the UK. Livings costs needed to secure a UK Student Route visa are currently £9,207 for the main applicant plus £6,120 per dependant. For example, a family of 5 would need to confirm they have £33,687 upfront and which is specifically for initial UK living costs. You should expect that a significant part of these funds will go towards securing your accommodation and initial UK set up costs. Further information about UK Finances and Living Costs have been provided for you. 

If you have read the guidance and you have dependants applying for immigration permission under the Student Route, our supplementary Leaflet on Applying for visas found in our Immigration for Dependants section will help you prepare for that.

Please note: If you are bringing children and hope to enrol them in school it is important that you plan to have secured your accommodation and be in the UK at the beginning of the school year (by 1st September or 1st January) and that you have the correct visas for the whole family.

You can apply for your school place from overseas (as long as you have already secured your accommodation) and we urge all families to do this if they can. Please see our for information around that. Arriving in the UK on time prevents unnecessary upset to both your children and the staff and children within our local schools. 

When your dependants apply to come to the UK depends on your personal, financial and practical situation and you should pay particular attention to the information about finances, accommodation and responsibilities listed on our pages.

Some students believe that if they want to apply for the Graduate Route after they have studied, then their families must be here in the UK with them for the duration of their course in order to be eligible. This is not true- only the student must have been in the UK for the whole length of the course, a dependant just has to be a Student Dependant (and have arrived in the UK) by the time you make the Graduate Route application.

Therefore, it is possible for dependants to apply for their visas at the same time as you and then stay at home and join you later (as a dependant on your Tier 4/Student Route visa) in the last month or so of your course (e.g. perhaps July/August 2024 for courses that start in September 2023). We know that lots of students are not aware of this and so are bringing it to your attention.

Why would I want to bring my family to the UK towards the end of my studies instead of the beginning?

There are several reasons why you may want to do this:

• Cost of living and rental prices are very high in the UK, especially for family accommodation, you may want to save this additional expense until both parents can legally be working full time in the UK to help cover these costs
• You may want to live close to family and friends, who are not in the Swansea area to help with accommodation or childcare costs (the University does not hold any responsibilities relating to these). While you are studying, you and your family are restricted to living a maximum of 50 miles from the Campus. Under the Graduate Route, you can live and work where you like.
• Family accommodation is very scarce in Swansea and can be very expensive, your family coming later allows more time to look for suitable/affordable accommodation in the Swansea area or, after your course is finished, to look elsewhere in the UK if you so wish!
• Single person accommodation is plentiful and reasonable in Swansea and so this could save both money and stress!
• Coming as a student and bringing your family later allows you to truly focus on your studies, to get great grades and to complete within time

Of course, it will be a personal choice on what you decide to do in relation to bringing your dependants. However, we just wanted to ensure that you were fully informed about your options in relation to Graduate Route and the timings of this.

If you are bringing dependants to the UK, it is your responsibility to ensure the following:

1. You have enough money, upfront, to support your family in the UK (you should not rely on part time work to fund your living costs/studies, your primary focus should be on your full time study)
2. You source and finance suitable family accommodation in the UK (if you cannot arrange this before you arrive, it may be necessary for you to send for your family members later and after you have made suitable arrangements)
3. You must live no more than a maximum of 50 miles from the University campus
4. You apply for school places on time and adhere to UK school admissions and attendance processes. You may also need to organise additional childcare, so as not to impact on your engagement with your full time studies.
5. You have read all the University support resources provided for you in relation to the above. The University can offer you advice and guidance but you must make your own arrangements:

UK Living Costs and Finances: International Students

Immigration for Dependants

International Students' Information Guide