UK Dependant Visa From Nigeria: Who Can Bring Family, 2026

A UK dependant visa in 2026 depends entirely on your own route. This guide covers what gov.uk calls a dependant visa, often searched as a UK dependent visa. A Skilled Worker can bring a spouse and children with no restriction. A Health and Care Worker can too, but only as a nurse or another CQC-regulated health professional. Care workers and senior care workers have been barred since 11 March 2024. A student can only bring family on a PhD or doctoral course of 9 months or more. Every shorter course lost that right in January 2024. Below is the per-route grid, then the real ₦ cost for a family of four, then the relationship evidence that clears a UKVI caseworker.

Who can still bring a dependant in 2026 — the per-route grid

In short: a Skilled Worker can bring a partner and children without restriction; a Health and Care Worker only if they are a nurse or CQC-regulated professional; a student only on a PhD/doctoral course of 9+ months. Source: gov.uk, “Skilled Worker” and “Student” visa “partner and children” pages.

Every route below falls under the umbrella term UK dependent visa, but eligibility differs sharply route to route.

Four labels describe the same thing. A form may say spouse/partner of Skilled Worker, or dependant of Student. Some guidance calls it the 'join family member UK' route. Pre-2021 guidance calls it a PBS dependant visa, short for Points-Based System dependant. Most solicitor pages still print one blanket answer for who can bring a dependant. That answer is right for Skilled Worker and wrong for a care worker or a Master’s student. Check your own row above first.

The family cost in ₦ — worked for a 3-year Skilled Worker CoS

In short: a family of four on a 3-year Skilled Worker Certificate of Sponsorship pays £15,696 in total. That’s visa fees plus the full IHS for every person — about ₦31,329,000 at ₦1,996/£ (24 July 2026). Source: visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk; gov.uk IHS calculator.

Source: visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk; gov.uk IHS calculator, checked 24 July 2026. ₦ figure is this site’s own conversion at ₦1,540/$ × $1.296/£ ≈ ₦1,996/£, not an official naira price.

Two corrections belong here. First, a dependant is not discounted. Every person pays the same £819 visa fee as the main applicant, at the same CoS length. Second, the £776/year rate some guides call a “children’s discount” is not age-based. Your dependant IHS bill only drops to £776/year if the household’s underlying route is Student. A child dependant joining a Skilled Worker parent pays the full £1,035/year, same as the adult — see the IHS priced per route.

Run the same four people through a 3-year PhD student route instead. The visa fee is £558 each, so £2,232. The IHS is £776 a year each, so £9,312 over three years. That is £11,544, about ₦23,042,000 — roughly ₦8,300,000 less for the identical headcount. Route, not family size, drives most of that gap.

Paying from Nigeria: UKVI bills every fee here in US dollars. A naira card will not clear it. Use a dollar card, a domiciliary account with a prepaid card, or someone abroad — the full decision tree.

The financial requirement for dependants has a second path. Most sponsors certify maintenance on the Certificate of Sponsorship, and that ends the test. Where a sponsor does not, gov.uk’s money-to-support figures apply instead. The main applicant holds funds for themselves, plus £285 for a partner, £315 for a first child and £200 for each further child. Hold it for 28 consecutive days, like any other UK funds evidence. Confirm the current figures on gov.uk before you plan around them.

Relationship evidence that works for a Nigerian couple

In short: married couples need proof the marriage is legally valid under Nigerian law. That includes a valid customary marriage. Unmarried partners need 2 years of cohabitation, evidenced by joint bills and statements at the same address. Source: gov.uk, Immigration Rules Appendix Relationship with a Partner; community reports, r/ukvisa.

A well-documented dependant application still fails for a Nigerian couple here. Generic UK solicitor pages give no route-specific help. Two evidence tracks apply.

Married couples need a marriage recognised as legally valid where it happened. That includes a Nigerian customary or traditional marriage, if it meets Nigerian law’s formal rules. No state-issued certificate? A sworn declaration helps. Add ceremony evidence: photos, family or community witness statements, any later registration. Specifics vary by state. A registered adviser earns their fee exactly here.

Unmarried partners need 2 years of living together in a genuine relationship. Evidence must sit in each partner’s name, or jointly, at the same address, spread across the full period. An r/ukvisa PBS-dependant thread from August 2023 shows both the right shape of evidence and the common failure. One applicant described a relationship since 2013. The only evidence: shared dormitory accommodation, then later holiday photos, no ongoing paperwork in between. A community reply spelled out what UKVI actually wants: “bills and bank statements from you both, not just you, at the same address... generally this means something in each name (or something joint) every 4 months, using at least 3 sources.” Another reply added a second point: cohabitation must be current, right up to the application. Photos from years earlier don’t bridge the gap alone. That is a community report, not Home Office policy — check the evidence list on gov.uk before you build your bundle.

In a cash-heavy economy, joint utility bills are rare. Many households share a compound, or run a prepaid meter in one name. Lean on joint bank transfers and remittance receipts instead. That’s proof of shared household spending. Add a tenancy naming both partners, where one exists. Thin evidence, not the relationship itself, is the top reason a genuine Nigerian couple gets refused.

Can a dependant work or study in the UK?

In short: yes, a dependant on any of these routes can work in any job and study, but cannot access UK public funds. Source: gov.uk, “Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children.”

A dependant’s visa is not tied to a specific employer or course. They can take any job, or enrol in study, freely. The one hard limit is public funds. Benefits and certain housing support are off-limits for the whole household.

Red flag: no one can “add” a dependant onto an approved application later, for a fee. No agent can override the route restrictions above. A promise to get a care worker’s spouse in “through a side door” is a scam. Verify any claim against the gov.uk pages linked here, and see how to avoid visa scams from Nigeria.

Your next step: find your own row in the grid first. If it says Open, price every person in your household on UK visa fees from Nigeria before you commit to a start date — the IHS multiple, not the visa fee, is what surprises families at checkout.

FAQ

Sources

• gov.uk, “Skilled Worker/Student/Graduate visa: Your partner and children” pages. Checked 25 July 2026.
• visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk. gov.uk IHS calculator. Checked 24 July 2026.
• Community reports, r/ukvisa (PBS dependant relationship-evidence thread, Aug 2023).
• This site’s ₦ conversion basis: ₦1,540/$ × $1.296/£ ≈ ₦1,996/£ (24 July 2026), not an official price.