The category of Dependent Visa allows a person’s dependent, who is a permanent resident to apply to join them in the UK. Usually, this form of the application relates to family and children.
Points Based System Visa permits to bring dependents of the UK citizens. Stringent rules govern the visa holder’s work rights for them and their dependents.
So, if you’re coming to the UK as a dependent visa holder, or you’re here already, you may wonder what kind of work you can do. In this post, we’ll give you an overview of the types of employment that dependent UK visa holders can do.
Purpose of Dependent Visa
If one is a dependent of a person possessing a point-based system (PBS) visa (Tier 1 or Tier 2), he gets issued with a dependent visa. The validity of stay is similar to that of the primary permit holder. However, it may differ for different options depending on places and/or type of employment.
For example, a holder of a Tier 2 General Visa must work for a holder of a Tier 2 Sponsor License, but its dependent does not have to.
In many cases, this means that the dependent has far better work opportunities than the primary holder of the visa. Dependent visas are provided as a way for a point-based migrant system (PBS) to keep their family together while also providing them with the option to move to the UK to live and work.
While the dependent visa provides generous work rights opportunities, it is time-limited in the same way that the leading visa is, so you may need to make this a consideration of the work that you plan to do.
It would help if you made your prospective employer know that you are on a visa in the UK so that they can precisely check your right/permissibility to work in the country.
Rules For Dependent Visa Holders
As we have already noted, dependent visa holders in the UK have very flexible work choices. They will work freely, whichever employer they want. It is one of the most significant benefits of a dependent visa. It allows households to have multiple incomes, a crucial choice given the cost of living in the United Kingdom.
Employers in all possibilities will verify your right/permissibility to work in the United Kingdom as it will protect them from any possible future legal consequences. Besides that, it is effortless to work in the UK, and many UK-based employers are more happy to take on dependent visa holders.
Because of the British workforce’s diverse existence, you can find that most companies are incredibly open to candidates from all over the world, often using their specific skills to assist in their company.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify as an employee, you must be the sponsor’s spouse, single or civil partner. Children under 18 may also follow the sponsor to the UK as dependents of the sponsor. If as an applicant your employer is an EEA member then the dependent’s age limit for your children is 21 years. Different criteria are applicable and vary with the type of UK visa that the person funding your application holds.
You must be a dependent family member of a PBS migrant to apply for a Dependant Visa. The Immigration Rules define a ‘dependent’ as follows-
- spouse, unmarried or same-sex partner
- child under the age of 18.
For a Dependant Visa, it is highly unlikely that any other family member will claim dependent status. For getting a Dependent Visa as a partner or spouse,
- Your partner or spouse should possess either a PBS visa in the UK or
- He should get/apply a PBS visa application simultaneously as you apply for a Dependent Visa.
Same-sex or unmarried couples must also be able to prove that for the past two years, they have been in a genuine subsisting relationship similar to marriage.
Children can apply for a Dependent Visa if:
- Everyone in the family is applying for entry clearance at the same time
- If both parents are already in the UK, and the child is applying for entry-clearance.
- One parent is already a citizen, and the other parent is applying for entry to join the child.
An essential condition of the Dependant Visa is that it must be shown that the family has ample money to support itself without having to rely on public funds.
How to apply for the Dependent Visa
Applications for a Dependent Visa can be submitted online (unless the applicant is from North Korea) or inside the UK. For further detailed information, you can go through the UK Government’s immigration website.
Documents Needed For the Dependent Visa
You will need to include the materials below in your application
- A passport or other legitimate travel document
- Marriage Certificate for Spouse or Child Birth Certificate
- Bank statements to show that the principal applicant will help you with a specified maintenance condition during your stay
- Proof of genuine dependent relationship with the primary aspirant.
- The results of tuberculosis test(if any)
- The outcome of a criminal record check (if any)
Employment Opportunities for the Dependent Visa Holder
You will be able to work and live in the UK as a dependent (with some restrictions), and children will be ready to go to either a public or private school. And your family will, of course, live together, willing to enjoy life in a new country.
When you follow the applicable immigration rules for this visa, you will be given Indefinite Leave to Remain in the United Kingdom. Dependency Visa holders will usually apply for British Citizenship as a resident of the UK after consistently spending five years in the UK.