Bringing Your Family to the UK as a Romanian: Visa Rules (2026)

Romanians living in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa can bring their partner and children as dependants, provided their salary meets the £41,700 minimum threshold — the same general threshold required for the main visa. Partners and children each apply separately and pay their own fees.

This guide covers two distinct situations: bringing family as dependants on a Skilled Worker visa, and the separate Family visa route for Romanians joining a British citizen or settled person. The rules are different and it matters which one applies to you. For a full overview of available routes, see our guide to UK visa options for Romanians.

Two Different Situations

Before going further, identify which situation applies:

• You are moving to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa and want to bring your partner and/or children with you — they apply as dependants on your Skilled Worker visa. This is covered in sections 2–5 below.
• You are a Romanian who wants to join a British citizen or settled person already living in the UK — you apply for a UK Family visa (Spouse or Partner visa). This is covered in section 6.

These are separate visa routes with different fees, income requirements, and timelines. Do not apply under the wrong category.

Bringing Your Partner as a Dependant

Your partner can apply for a Skilled Worker dependant visa if you are the main Skilled Worker visa holder and your salary meets the required threshold. The dependant visa allows your partner to live and work in the UK for the same duration as your visa.

Income requirement

To bring a partner, your salary as the main visa holder must meet the standard Skilled Worker threshold: £41,700 per year or the going rate for your occupation code, whichever is higher. This is the same salary requirement as the main visa — there is no additional income requirement on top of this specifically for dependants on the Skilled Worker route.

Dependant partner visa fees

The dependant visa fee matches the main Skilled Worker visa fee. Your partner applies separately and pays their own fee and IHS:

Your partner applies online at gov.uk using the Skilled Worker dependant application form, attends biometrics in Romania, and waits for a decision. Applications should be submitted at the same time as the main visa application or at any point before the main visa expires.

Bringing Children

Children under 18 can join you in the UK as child dependants. Each child applies separately, pays their own visa fee and IHS, and must be included in your application plans from the start. Children's IHS is £776 per year (lower than the adult rate of £1,035).

You must show one of the following for each child:

• Both parents are moving to the UK together on the Skilled Worker visa
• You have sole parental responsibility and the other parent has died
• The other parent has given written consent to the child living in the UK
• There are serious and compelling reasons why it is not possible to get consent

Applying as a Family

You do not submit one combined application. Each family member submits their own application on gov.uk, linked by the main applicant's CoS reference number. Each application is processed independently. In practice, most families apply at the same time to avoid complications, but dependant applications can be submitted at any point while the main visa is valid.

The overall process for each family member is the same as the main visa application: online application, payment of fees and IHS, biometrics appointment in Romania, decision, and eVisa. Each person needs their own UKVI account.

What Dependants Can and Cannot Do

Skilled Worker dependants have broad rights in the UK:

• Work: full right to work in any role, for any employer, without restriction or sponsorship
• Study: can enrol in any educational institution, including universities
• NHS: access to the NHS from arrival — IHS was paid as part of the application
• Travel: can leave and re-enter the UK freely within the visa validity

Dependants cannot:

• Claim most public funds or benefits (Universal Credit, housing benefit, etc.)
• Stay in the UK if the main visa holder's visa is curtailed or cancelled — they must leave or apply for their own visa
• Extend their visa independently — the extension must be tied to the main visa holder's extension

The UK Family Visa — Joining a British Partner

This is a separate route for Romanians who want to join a British citizen or settled person already living in the UK. This is not a dependant visa — it is a stand-alone Family visa (Spouse or Partner visa) governed by different rules.

Who this applies to

You apply for a UK Family visa if you are in a genuine relationship with a British citizen or someone with settled status (ILR) in the UK, and you want to live together in the UK permanently.

Income requirement — sponsor

The UK-based partner (the sponsor) must earn at least £29,000 per year gross for all new applications in 2026. This threshold replaced the long-standing £18,600 figure in April 2024 and has been paused here pending the outcome of a government review by the Migration Advisory Committee. It may change — check gov.uk before applying.

If the sponsor earns less than £29,000, they may be able to use savings to make up the shortfall: the formula is (shortfall × 2.5) + £16,000. So if the sponsor earns £25,000 — £4,000 below the threshold — they would need £26,000 in savings.

Planning a Family Move

The practical reality of moving as a family is that the costs add up quickly and the paperwork multiplies. Every person in the household requires their own application, their own biometrics appointment, and their own IHS payment. A family of four on a 5-year Skilled Worker visa — main applicant, partner, and two children — faces roughly £30,000–£35,000 in visa fees and IHS combined before they set foot in the UK. That is the honest number that most guides understate.

The most impactful variable you can control is whether your employer contributes to these costs. Relocation packages that cover visa fees and IHS for the whole family are available — particularly in the NHS, where the Health and Care Worker IHS exemption already removes a large part of the burden. For non-NHS roles, negotiating employer coverage before signing a contract is significantly more achievable than asking after.

Start the planning early, apply all family members at the same time where possible, and treat the UKVI account setup as a household project — each person will need their own account, and managing multiple accounts in parallel is easier when everyone understands the system from the beginning.

Disclaimer: This guide is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. UK immigration rules change frequently. The £29,000 income threshold is subject to review in 2026. Always verify current requirements at gov.uk before making any application. Last reviewed April 2026.