Step son dependent visa
 

My wife and step son have recently come to the UK on partner / dependent 2.5 year settlement visa's. My step son is 17. Would he be eligible to apply to extend his dependent settlement visa for a further 2.5 years in 2025? He will be 19 then.

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Yes.

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

He can apply for the second 2.5 year dependent settlement visa when he's 19? He just has to be under 18 on the initial dependent settlement visa application? It's of great concern to us, let me know, would really appreciate the clarity. Thanks!

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Correct. Providing he starts the process whilst under 18 then he can continue to ILR as your dependant providing your period of residence isn’t broken and he doesn’t form an independent household, i.e. marry and have children of his own.

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Thank you very much for your help, it's really appreciated :thumbs_up:

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

I was wondering what the rules would be if he was to go to university (paying international fee's) during ILR as a dependent? Would he be able to move out of the family home to another city living in student accommodation during ILR as our dependent? Or would he need to stay in our home the full 5 years of ILR before applying to university?

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

University attendance is explicitly permitted in those circumstances.

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Thank you again for your guidance! This is incredibly helpful :thumbs_up:

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Due to the high cost of international fee's for university on top of visa costs over the same period, we've come to the conclusion the most practical option would be for my step son to go to a local(ish) university - Hull and remain living with us to save on living costs of him living away. After his A levels next year, he's taking a year off to work full time and save to help contribute to the £19.5k annual fee's when he goes to university in Sept 2026. We need to apply for the 2.5 year spouse / dependant visa extensions later in 2025 for my wife and son - when he'll be working full time and living with us. He'll still be earning under 50% of our combined income (he would earn about £20k a year, ours combined is £64k a year), I just wanted to check - 1. This situation (Age 20, working full time, but still living with us, earning under 50% of our income) is compliant with him being considered a dependant, and 2. What evidence is applicable for this situation). Any guidance appreciated!

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Living at home with you will certainly make the application easier however working full-time is typically not permitted.

When was his current visa issued and when is it due to expire?

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Ah ok, relieved I asked then. His dependant visa was issued April 2023 when he was 17 and expires December 2025, and apply for the 2.5 year extension at that time.

Is part time work permitted? Would there be an expectation he be in full time education if living with us age 20 when we apply for the 2.5 year extension. Or would him simply being in part time work and living with us be permitted? The thinking of the gap year at home is to give us some breathing room to prepare for the £19.5k annual international fees. He would have ILR by 2028, so if he started university Sept 2026, presumedly his final year in 2028 he'd be entitled to home fee's which would make things easier.

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Another possibility we were considering was him doing a lower cost (£10k annual) distance learning business BSc with Falmouth uni, studying from home (accelerated 2 year full time online BSc) starting in September 2025 (as oppose to taking a gap year), along with a part time job over those two years while at home with us. On completion of that course in September 2027 he'd then do the on campus sport BSc he really wants to do in Hull. Would give us some breathing room, and would mean only paying 1 year at international fee's in 2027, then once he has ILR in 2028, he can pay UK home fee's for years 2 & 3. Would that all permitted under his dependant visa?

Also in this scenario he was wanting to work full time hours over the summer 2025 after his A levels in June until the start of his distance learning BSc in September. Are short periods (2-3 Months) of full time work over academic breaks permitted for dependants?

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Is that really worth it? £20k for 2 years of a distance degree, then £19.5k international fees, then £18.5k home fees for years 2 and 3 of his second degree = £58k. Whereas 3 years at £19.5k = £58.5k so a saving of just £500 for two years extra study? Add in the costs of those two years i.e. textbooks, travel, etc, and I'd think that would cost more in the end than just doing the 3 year degree as an international student.

But have you checked with the uni that he would definitely have to pay international fees? If it's a less popular uni then they're often very lenient with home fee status, we have lots of friends who were expecting to pay international fees but didn't have to. When we were looking for my daughter and enquiring it was very dependent on the university. About half said she'd have to pay international fees, and generally it was the more popular/more highly regarded ones that said that i.e. Russell Group.

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

Yeah I had done the same calculation, it would be the same cost. Though it would give some breathing room to pay for it over 5 years as oppose to 3 years. £58.5k uni fee's plus probably around another £20k visa costs for extensions, then ilr, then naturalisation for my wife and step son. It's a lot to cover over the same 3 year period. He would also have two degree's though, one in sports and exercise, one in business, may give him broader career options. The other option would be a post grad of course.

What was the circumstances with your daughter at the time she applied to university? Did she have settled status? Was she ordinarily resident in uk for previous 3 years? My step son won't have settled status until 2028, and would have only been in UK 2.5 years by September 2025. Ill speak to Hull uni, see what they say. Would be nice if that was the case.

Re: Step son dependent visa
 

To quote the guidance: