When one person in a family moves abroad for work, study or residence, the first question is usually whether the others can come too. The answer depends on the country, the route the main applicant is using and the family’s documents.
This guide explains the general mechanics. It is orientation, not legal advice. Each route has its own rules, and they change often.
Dependant status and sponsorship are different
Family members usually come under one of two arrangements.
Dependant status means the family member’s permission is linked to the main applicant’s visa, such as a work or student visa. It usually lasts as long as the main applicant’s permission and can end if that permission ends.
Sponsorship means a citizen or permanent resident applies to bring a family member to live with them. Examples include the UK family visa for partners of British citizens and settled persons, Canada’s spouse and partner sponsorship for permanent residence, and Australia’s Partner visas. The sponsor often takes on formal obligations. In Canada, for example, the sponsor signs an undertaking to support the family member for a set period.
Which arrangement applies to you decides the evidence, the financial test and what happens if your circumstances change.
Travelling together or joining later
Many routes let family members apply with the main applicant or join later. Each has trade-offs.
- Applying together means one timeline and one set of decisions. Every family member’s documents must be ready at the same time.
- Joining later lets the main applicant start work or study, find housing and choose a school first. The family then applies with evidence of the main applicant’s status and, on some routes, of income or accommodation.
- Some routes do not allow dependants at all, or allow them only for certain groups. Most students on taught courses in the UK, for example, can no longer bring dependants.
You may need to declare family members even if they are not moving with you. In Canada, a spouse or child who is not declared and examined when you immigrate may not be eligible for sponsorship later. Read each form’s family questions carefully.
If your family stays in the UAE while you move first, remember that UAE family residence visas are generally linked to the sponsor’s own residence visa. Check with the relevant UAE authority how cancelling your visa would affect theirs before you set dates.
Proving the relationship
Every family route asks for proof of the relationship. For a married couple this starts with the marriage certificate. Some routes also accept unmarried partners who have lived together for a period set by the route, or who can show a lasting relationship. Officers may look beyond the certificate to whether the relationship is genuine and continuing.
- A marriage certificate, attested or legalised as the destination requires.
- Birth certificates for children that name both parents.
- Evidence of a shared life, such as a Dubai tenancy contract registered with Ejari in both names, joint bank accounts, or a UAE family residence visa showing one partner sponsoring the other.
- Evidence of contact during any time apart, such as call records and travel to see each other.
- A divorce decree or death certificate for any previous marriage.
- For a child travelling with one parent, the other parent’s consent or a court order on custody.
Money and accommodation
Most family routes include some kind of financial test, but the form it takes varies.
- A minimum income for the sponsor, as on the UK family visa. The level is set by the government and reviewed.
- Funds for each family member, held for a set period, on some work and study routes. On some work routes, a sponsoring employer can confirm maintenance instead.
- A formal undertaking by the sponsor to support the family for a period, as in Canada’s family sponsorship.
- Conditions on the main applicant’s earnings or job skill level before a partner or child can be supported, as in New Zealand’s Accredited Employer Work Visa.
- Evidence of adequate housing, which the UK family visa and some other routes require.
From the UAE, this evidence usually means a salary certificate, recent payslips, UAE bank statements and the employment contract. The salary on each should match. If there are gaps or unusual deposits, explain them briefly in writing.
Documents, translation and attestation
Family applications often rely on civil documents from several countries. Plan for the ones that take longest.
- Documents issued in your home country may need attestation or an apostille there, depending on the issuing country and the destination.
- Documents issued in the UAE, such as a marriage certificate from a UAE court or a UAE birth certificate, may need attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, in some cases, by the destination country’s embassy.
- Documents in Arabic or another language usually need a certified translation. Check which translators the destination accepts.
- Names should match across passports, certificates and forms. Spelling differences are common and are easier to explain at the start than after a query.
- Adult family members may need police certificates, including from Dubai Police or Abu Dhabi Police, and medical examinations with a doctor approved by that government.
Children and schooling
Children are usually included as dependants if they are under an age limit set by each route and are not living independently. Older children may need a route of their own, so check this early if your eldest is close to the limit.
- In the UK, children who hold dependant permission can study, and state schools are generally open to them.
- In Canada, minor children of a parent who is authorised to work or study there can generally attend primary and secondary school without a study permit of their own.
- In Australia, some states charge fees for public school places for children of certain temporary visa holders.
- School places in popular areas fill early, and admission is often linked to your address. Plan housing and schooling together.
Bring school reports, transcripts and any learning support records from your child’s UAE school. Schools abroad often ask for them, and they help with placement.
Work rights for partners
Whether a partner can work depends on the country and the main applicant’s route. It is one of the areas that has changed most in recent years.
- In the UK, partners of Skilled Worker visa holders can generally work, although dependant rights depend partly on the skill level of the main applicant’s job.
- Canada has narrowed open work permits for spouses of students and workers to certain programmes of study and occupations.
- In Ireland, the spouse or partner of a General Employment Permit holder currently needs an employment permit in their own right to work.
- In New Zealand, whether a partner of an Accredited Employer Work Visa holder can get a work visa depends on the worker’s earnings and job skill level.
- In the United States, work authorisation for spouses depends on the visa category.
If a second income is part of your family’s plan, check the partner’s work rights before the main applicant accepts a job or a place on a course.
If you would like to understand how these rules apply to your family, you can request an assessment or book a consultation with Ashford. We will review the route, your documents and the order in which to prepare them. In countries where representation must be by a licensed practitioner, we will explain this and your options.
