Dependent Visas by Destination: Who Counts as a Dependant and How Family Joins You

What This Page Answers

The question: a spouse, partner or child wants to accompany a primary applicant (a worker, student or permanent-residence applicant) or join them afterwards. Who counts as a “dependant”, and what changes from one destination to another?

The direct answer: a spouse or partner and children below a set age are the usual core of every system, but almost everything around them is route-specific: the age cut-off and what happens when a child turns that age, whether an unmarried partner qualifies, whether family can be included at the start or only follow later, whether family must show their own funds, and whether the partner may work or study. A rule that is correct for one route is often wrong for the next, including routes of the same country.

The sections below compare four destinations using their own authorities’ published pages: Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany. Other destinations are not covered here, so do not assume they follow any of these patterns.

Route Comparison: Who Is Included and What Follows

Each row is a different route, not a country-wide rule. “Check” means the official page cited for that route did not settle the point, so it is left for you to confirm.

What “Dependant” Means in Each Destination

Canada

IRCC’s help centre says the family members who can immigrate with you are those processed as your dependants: a spouse or common-law partner, your dependent children or your partner’s, and the dependent children of dependent children. IRCC’s guidance on dependent children says a child must be under 22 and not a spouse or common-law partner, and that someone aged 22 or over may qualify only if they have depended on their parents for financial support since before 22 and cannot support themselves because of a mental or physical condition. The child’s age is fixed on a “lock-in date” that varies by programme, and the same guidance notes that these rules extend beyond permanent residence to some temporary permits, with age limits that can differ by application date. Sources: IRCC help centre ↗, dependent child rules ↗.

Australia

Home Affairs’ form 1496i explains that applicants for some visas can include members of their family unit, and that you must read the requirements of your own visa to see who counts. A partner must be married to you or in a de facto relationship, the relationship must be genuine and continuing, and the partner is generally at least 18 when the application is lodged. A child may be your child, your partner’s child, in certain circumstances a stepchild, or an adopted child; must not be married, engaged or in a de facto relationship; and must be under 18, or 18 to under 23 and dependent, or older only where reliant on you because of physical or cognitive limitations. A dependent child of a qualifying child can also be included. Source: Home Affairs form 1496i ↗.

United Kingdom

On the Skilled Worker route GOV.UK defines a dependant partner or child as your husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner, your child under 18 (including a child born in the UK during your stay), or your child over 18 who currently has permission to be in the UK as your dependant. An unmarried partner generally must show two years in a relationship when applying. Children must not be married or in a civil partnership and must live with you unless away in full-time education. Source: GOV.UK Skilled Worker dependants ↗.

Germany

Make it in Germany states that for a spouse to join a skilled worker from a non-EU country, the sponsor holds a residence permit, a settlement permit or an EU Blue Card, has adequate health insurance and resources for the family, and the spouse is at least 18. Children must be under 18 and not married, divorced or widowed; special requirements apply from age 16, and an 18-year-old generally needs their own residence title. Foreign registered civil partnerships can qualify if they essentially correspond to the partnership types that existed in Germany until 2018. Sources: spouses joining non-EU citizens ↗, children joining ↗.

Spouse, Partner, Child, Parent: Where the Lines Fall

Accompanying vs Applying Later

“Accompanying” means being part of the principal applicant’s application or travelling at the same time. “Later” means a separate application or a separate permission after the principal applicant is established. Which is allowed, and what it costs you in funds or eligibility, depends on the route:

• Canada, permanent residence: IRCC says dependants cannot arrive before you. Its processing manual says the principal applicant must list all family members living inside and outside Canada, and that family members who were not declared and examined may later be excluded from the family class. Leaving a family member off an application is therefore a decision with consequences, not a shortcut.
• Australia, skilled and student: skilled visas allow family unit members to be included when the visa permits it, and a 491 holder’s family can apply under a subsequent-entrant visa. For Student visas, Home Affairs says from 2 October 2026 current holders can no longer add family members after grant, with no exemptions to that rule.
• United Kingdom: each family member makes a separate application. From inside the UK this can be at the same time as the main applicant or any time before the dependant’s current visa expires. A partner or child applying at a different time only needs to prove funds if they have been in the UK for less than a year, and then only their own.
• Germany: family usually follows a sponsor who already has a qualifying residence title. After arrival they register with the residents’ registration office and apply for a residence permit before the entry visa expires; Make it in Germany warns that foreigners-authority appointments often have long waiting lists.

The practical point: decide with the principal applicant, before the first application, who will travel, when, and under which application. That decision is easier to make than to reverse.

Funds, Accommodation and Insurance: Route-Specific Only

None of these is universal. Treat any single figure you read elsewhere as unverified until you find it on the official page for your route.

• Canada: for Express Entry, the proof-of-funds family size counts you, your spouse or common-law partner, your dependent children and your partner’s dependent children, whether or not they accompany you. Applicants under the Canadian Experience Class, and applicants authorised to work in Canada with a valid job offer, are listed as exempt. The amounts are on the IRCC table and are updated by IRCC, so this page does not repeat them.
• United Kingdom, Skilled Worker: GOV.UK lists funds of £285 for a partner, £315 for one child and £200 for each additional child, held for at least 28 days in a row with day 28 within 31 days of applying, unless you have all been in the UK on a valid visa for at least 12 months or your employer covers your family’s costs for the first month on the certificate of sponsorship.
• United Kingdom, Student: each dependant needs £845 a month for up to 9 months for courses in London or £680 a month for up to 9 months outside London, on the same 28-day pattern, with listed exemptions. Funds are additional to the student’s own.
• Germany: the sponsor needs adequate health insurance and resources for the family. The Make it in Germany pages cited do not give a fixed figure or housing test, so ask the embassy or foreigners authority which evidence applies to your case.
• Australia: the pages cited here cover who counts as family and whether they can be included; charges, health and insurance requirements differ by visa and are on each visa page.
• Insurance and health charges generally: the pages cited do not settle whether a dependant must hold insurance or pay a health charge on every route, so confirm this for your specific visa.

Application Stages for Family Members

The official stages differ by route, but family applications tend to move through the same practical sequence. This sequence is IndoWorld’s working structure, not an official procedure.

1. Fix the route first. A dependant’s eligibility is derived from the principal applicant’s route and status. If that route is uncertain, the family plan is uncertain.
2. Define the family unit. List everyone who may count as a dependant under that route’s definition, including those who will not travel, and note any child close to an age cut-off.
3. Choose together or later. Check whether the route allows inclusion at the start, a linked application, or a later subsequent-entrant or reunification application.
4. Build the relationship and dependency evidence. Marriage, birth, custody, consent and cohabitation documents must tell one story with the principal’s file.
5. Show funds and support as the route requires. Some routes test the dependant’s own funds, some the sponsor’s resources.
6. Complete identity, biometrics, health and character steps for each family member as the authority requests.
7. Submit and track each application, using any family linking or application-number feature the authority provides (the UK uses an application number and an optional family linking code).
8. After the decision, follow arrival, registration and permit-conversion steps. In Germany, for example, family members register locally and apply for a residence permit before the entry visa expires.

What the Evidence Is For, and What Can Go Wrong

A dependant’s file has one job: show that this person is the relationship claimed, that they meet the age and status test on the relevant date, and that they will be supported. Each document does a specific job and each can create a conflict:

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

• Assuming a spouse can work on every route. Canada’s open work permit for spouses has been limited since 21 January 2025, and Germany’s rule for spouses depends on the permit. Check the specific route.
• Assuming a student can always bring family. Australia now restricts this for most Student visa applicants, and the UK restricts it to certain students.
• Leaving a family member off an application to simplify it. In Canadian permanent-residence cases, undeclared family can later be excluded from family-class sponsorship.
• Treating the age cut-off as the date a child turns that age today. Several systems measure on a fixed date, such as Canada’s lock-in date, or on the date of application.
• Using one family’s funds figure for another route. Funds are set per route, per person and sometimes per city.
• Forgetting that the dependant’s status follows the principal’s. If the principal’s permit has too little time left, or their occupation falls outside a category, the dependant’s route can close, as with the UK limits on dependants for some care worker and “medium skilled” jobs and Canada’s 16-month requirement.

What This Page Does Not Cover

• Destinations other than Canada, Australia, the UK and Germany, including New Zealand and the USA, which have their own rules.
• Spouse, partner or child sponsorship into Canada as a family-class application, partner visas, and family visits (for family visitor applications see the Family Visa Application Preparation Guide).
• Citizenship, protection or humanitarian routes.
• Current charges, processing times and appointment availability, which government authorities set and change. IndoWorld does not control these, nor decisions, quotas or officer judgement.

What IndoWorld Does, and Does Not Do

We assess how a family’s facts fit a route’s published dependant definition, help prepare consistent relationship, dependency and support evidence across every family member’s file, and flag the points where the family plan depends on timing or on the principal’s status. Our reasoning follows the Evidence Integrity Framework, and where a route does not suit the family’s timing or facts we say so; see when we would recommend not applying yet.

We do not decide applications, set government rules, or control processing, quotas or officers. Nothing here promises an outcome. For visitor-visa family consistency, see the Family Visa Application Preparation Guide.

Related Case Evidence

These are anonymised, representative case studies describing the type of dependant work IndoWorld handles. They are not individual client experiences and not outcomes. The Client Experiences section is a separate system.

• Dependent Child Included on a Parent’s PR Application: why a child’s eligibility is checked against the programme’s own dependant definition.
• Spouse Accompanying a Principal Applicant on a Visitor Visa: why both applicants’ information must tell one consistent story.
• All Dependent / Family case studies

Questions People Ask

Is there a single dependent visa I can apply for?

No. Each destination defines dependants and the application route for them separately, and often differently per route within the destination.

Can my spouse work while I study or work abroad?

It depends on the route and your status. Canada restricts open work permits for spouses to specified worker and student categories; UK Skilled Worker dependants can work except as a sportsperson or coach; Germany allows a spouse to take up employment without restriction once the residence permit is issued; Australian rules depend on the visa. Check your route’s page.

Can I add my family after I arrive?

Sometimes. Skilled Worker family can apply from outside the UK or from inside the UK, Germany works by reunification with an established sponsor, and Canada requires family to be declared even if they follow later. Australia’s Student visa rule changed from 2 October 2026 and no longer lets holders add family after grant.

Do my spouse and children need to show their own money?

Often, but the amount and rule differ. The UK sets per-person amounts, Canada’s Express Entry proof of funds scales with family size, and Germany looks at the sponsor’s resources. See the funds section and the official page for your route.

What if my child turns the age limit during the process?

It depends on the measurement date. Canada fixes age on a lock-in date that varies by programme, Australia and the UK apply their own tests, and Germany treats 18 as the point where a child generally needs their own residence title. Ask before you plan the timing.

Official Sources Used on This Page

• IRCC: which family members can come with me when I immigrate ↗
• IRCC: who you can include as a dependent child ↗
• IRCC: Express Entry proof of funds ↗
• IRCC manual: general requirements for overseas dependants ↗
• IRCC: open work permits for family members of foreign workers ↗
• IRCC: help your spouse or partner work in Canada (student families) ↗
• Australian Home Affairs: form 1496i, including family members in your application ↗
• Australian Home Affairs: subclass 491 subsequent entrant ↗
• Australian Home Affairs: changes to Student visa application rules ↗
• Australian Home Affairs: Student visa (subclass 500) ↗
• GOV.UK: Skilled Worker visa, your partner and children ↗
• GOV.UK: Student visa, your partner and children ↗
• Make it in Germany: spouses joining citizens of non-EU countries ↗
• Make it in Germany: family reunification for children ↗
• Make it in Germany: Opportunity Card questions and answers (family reunification) ↗

Related IndoWorld Resources