Who are your family members?

Under UK immigration law, your family members are your husband or wife (spouse) or your civil partner and your children. This Guidance Note is aimed at those who are in the UK with immigration permission as a student.

Spouse

Your spouse is a person to whom you are legally married.  If your marriage is recognised in your own country, then UK immigration officials will accept that you are married to your spouse. If you have more than one spouse, only one can be with you in the UK. There is no provision under the UK Immigration Rules for you to be in the UK with an unmarried partner as your family member.

Civil Partner

Your civil partner is your same sex partner with whom you have either registered a civil partnership in the UK, or entered into a simular form of legally recognised relationship in a different country. For details of partnerships in countries outside of the UK that are regarded in the same way as civil partnerships, see the website of the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group and the website of UK visas. In relation to immigration, and most other matters, civil partners should be treated in the same way as spouses. There is no provision under the UK Immigration Rules for you to be in the UK with a same sex partner who is not your civil partner. 

Children

Children must be under the age of 18 when they first enter the UK as your children.

Other family members

Other family members, including unmarried partners and parents, who want to be with you in the UK are not covered by the UK Immigration Rules for students. This means that they must apply for immigration permission in some other catergory, for example, as a visitor or as a work permit holder, or as a student in their own right.  For information about the different types of immigration permission your family member might be able to apply under, see the websites of UK visas and the UK Border Agency (Home Office). If it is very important that a family member comes with you to the UK, and that person is not your spouse or civil partner or child, and does not fit into any of the other immigration categories, you or your family member should seek legal advice before making an immigration application.

Immigration requirements

 For further information regarding immigration requirements, please click on the following website: www.ukcisa.org.uk