Your partner and your children under 18 can come with you as dependants on the Global Talent Visa. Each of them pays the same £766 in application fees as you do, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge, and once they are here they can work in almost any job, run a business or study without needing any further permission.

Who counts as a dependant:

  • Your spouse or civil partner.
  • An unmarried partner, provided you have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years. There is no way around the two years, and you have to evidence it properly: tenancy agreements or property deeds in both names, joint bank statements, utility bills, official post to the same address, a letter from your landlord, and joint travel. If you moved during that period, show the chain of addresses rather than one contract.
  • Children under 18, and children over 18 who are already in the UK as your dependants.

On cost, each dependant pays £766 in application fees and the health surcharge of £1,035 per person per year, paid upfront for the whole length of visa requested, so five years comes to £5,175 a head. Rates for children can differ from the adult rate, so check the current figures before you budget for a family. The full picture is in my breakdown of what the visa costs.

Dependants are not tied to a sponsor or an employer. They can take employment at any level, be self-employed, start a company or study, and children go to state school in the normal way.

The point worth planning around is settlement. Dependants always need five years of continuous residence before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain, even where the main applicant qualifies after three years under Exceptional Talent. Families are regularly caught out by this: you settle at three years and your partner still has two to go, with an extension to pay for in between. It is one of the better arguments for asking for a five-year visa from the start.

Applications can be made at the same time as yours or at any point afterwards, including switching from another visa while already in the UK. I have set out the detail on bringing family members separately.

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