If you would like to add your partner or child to your visa application, you can do this directly on the Borderless platform.
Before adding a dependant, you must make sure you are eligible.
✅ Check If You Are Eligible
🚫 Health & Care Worker Visa (SOC 6135 / 6136)
If you are switching to a Health & Care Worker visa under SOC code 6135 or 6136 for the first time after 11 March 2024, you are not eligible to add dependants.
You may only add dependants if you:
Received your first Skilled Worker visa under SOC 6135/6136 before 11 March 2024, or
Qualify under a specific exemption. See here for more information.
Our platform will not allow you to proceed if you are not eligible. For full guidance on exemptions and other dependant restrictions, please see our dedicated dependant eligibility article.
➕ How to Add a Dependant on the Platform
Step 1
Login to the candidate portal and click “Add Dependant” in the 'Visas' section of the Borderless platform. You can do this at any stage of your application process.
It is important to note that dependents' applications are the responsibility of the main applicant and not the sponsor. Ensure that only the main applicant submits dependent visa applications through the Borderless platform.
Step 2
Select whether you are adding:
A partner
A child
Step 3
Confirm key details:
Is your dependant applying from inside or outside the UK?
If inside the UK, what visa are they currently on?
If adding a partner, you must confirm you are legally married.
⚠️ We cannot proceed with partner applications where the couple is not legally married. You may need independent legal advice in these situations.
If adding a child, you must confirm whether:
Both biological parents are still together (married/long-term partners), or
One parent is widowed.
At this time, we only support child dependant applications where parents meet the above conditions.
💳 Dependant Application Fees
Each dependant application requires the following:
Borderless Fee
£399 + VAT
Government Visa Fee
The amount depends on:
Whether the dependant is applying inside or outside the UK, and
Whether the main applicant is sponsored under a Health & Care Worker visa.
If your dependent is applying from outside the UK:
💊 On a Health & Care worker visa: £319 (sponsorship up to 3 years) or £604 (sponsorship up to 5 years)
⚙️ On any other Skilled Worker visas: £769 (sponsorship up to 3 years) or £1,519 (sponsorship up to 5 years)
If your dependent is applying from inside the UK:
💊 On a Health & Care worker visa: £304 (sponsorship up to 3 years) or £590 (sponsorship up to 5 years)
⚙️ On any other Skilled Worker visas: £885 (sponsorship up to 3 years) or £1,751 (sponsorship up to 5 years)
❓ Dependant Application FAQs
Do my dependants need to meet the English language requirement?
No. The English language requirement only applies to the main applicant.
Dependants do not need to provide an English certificate.
I didn’t add dependants when I submitted my visa application. Can I add them later?
Yes. Even if your submitted application says you are not applying with dependants, you can still apply for them at a later date.
Your dependants can submit their applications separately when you are ready.
Do I need a family linking code to add dependants later?
Not necessarily.
If you are applying for your dependant outside of Borderless and select “Yes” to the question about a family linking code, you must enter the code.
However, you can select “No”, and the application will instead ask for the main applicant’s CoS details to link the applications.
⚠️ Please note: We cannot assist with dependant applications that are submitted outside of Borderless.
I received my Skilled Worker visa under SOC 6135/6136 after 11 March 2024. My child was born in the UK. Can I still add them?
Yes. If your child was born in the UK and has a valid passport, we can proceed with their dependant application.
I want to add my child to my visa application who was born in the UK, but I am separated from her father. Can I still add my child as dependent?
No. We’re sorry, but at this time we only support applications for children whose parents are either still married/long‑term partners or widowed.
Declaring family members you are not applying for yet
If you have a partner or children who are not applying as dependants right now, do not answer that you have no partner or children. Declare them, and set out their position in the Additional Information section of your application: give their details, say where they are living, and say that they are not applying for a dependant visa at this stage but that you intend to apply for them in future.
This matters for two reasons. Your application needs to be accurate and consistent with anything you have told the Home Office before, and a later dependant application is more straightforward when the relationship was declared from the start.
Declaring a child does not commit you to applying for them, and it does not require you to upload their passport if they are not applying. If the platform asks for a passport you do not have, put the details in Additional Information and speak to your Borderless contact rather than removing the child from your application.
Evidence that you held Skilled Worker permission before 11 March 2024
If you are relying on having held Skilled Worker permission in SOC 6135 or 6136 before 11 March 2024 in order to include dependants, you will need to upload something that shows it. Any of the following is usually suitable:
Your previous eVisa, showing your Skilled Worker permission with its start and end dates.
Your previous visa decision letter, confirming the grant of Skilled Worker permission and the date it was granted.
Your previous Certificate of Sponsorship, where it clearly shows it was for your first Skilled Worker visa and the date it was assigned.
The date that matters is when your Skilled Worker permission was granted or applied for, not when you started work. If you are not sure which of your documents shows this, send what you have to your Borderless contact and we will confirm.