Dependent Visa Explained: Can Your Spouse Work Abroad While You Study or Immigrate?
In our experience as leading student and family visa consultants in Ahmedabad, we have observed this repeatedly in our interactions with prospective visa applicants.
Nobody asks about university rankings when starting the s consultation on family visas. They ask about their spouse. Can they work after the relocation? How will the family survive financially? Will we be able to rely only on one income?
The answer has greatly changed over the past two years. Canada, the UK, and Australia have changed dependent visa rules and made them stricter. The following information will be useful for families who plan to study or immigrate in 2026.
Canada: Work Permissions for Spouses Became Less Available
In Canada, it became harder to obtain spousal work permits.
If you are a foreign worker and apply for a work permit for your spouse, then the main applicant must work in an occupation that qualifies for an eligible TEER category, and the permit must be valid for at least 16 months when applying for the work permit.
In the case of international students, the eligibility of the spouse depends on studying in a doctoral program, in a master’s program for at least 16 months, or in some selected courses like medicine, engineering, nursing, pharmacy, law, and education. One-year master’s programs are no longer eligible.
One more important change is that the applications filed during the last academic period may be rejected. The time planning is equally important as the choice of a program.
Before choosing any program, we recommend you read the latest Canada Student Visa Rules and Updates.
UK: Most Students Cannot Bring Their Dependants to the UK
As of January 2024, it is no longer possible to bring your spouse or children to the UK while studying for an undergraduate degree or a master’s program.
The only exceptions are research-based postgraduate programs, including PhD programs, and government scholarships, such as Chevening or the Commonwealth.
In case dependants are allowed, they can work without restrictions regarding the number of working hours imposed on the student visa holders. It is also possible to bring family members to Skilled Worker visa holders with full work rights and settlement possibility.
Families who consider UK universities should know this before deciding on studying there.
Australia: Working Hours Are Restricted
In Australia, it is still possible to join the spouse who studies with a Subclass 500 Student Visa, but work rights are restricted.
Most spouses can work up to 48 hours per fortnight, and the permission to start employment begins after the start of the study course.
The exception is for Master’s by Research and PhD students, as spouses in these cases are generally not restricted by the 48-hour rule.
Make the Decision Together With Your Family Members
Very often families compare the tuition fees, university rankings, and cities before asking whether the spouse can work after the relocation. But by that time, it becomes difficult to change anything.
Spouse’s work permission should be taken into account while making decisions about studying or immigration. Whether you choose Canada, the UK, or Australia, knowledge of these details at an early stage will help to save time, money, and nerves.
NB Visa World has been helping families to make such decisions for more than three decades. If you are planning to study or immigrate with your spouse abroad, contact us and discuss your options.
The Real Planning Question
University rankings. City. Tuition fees. Those questions come first in nearly every consultation we run. Dependant work rights come last, usually after the offer letter has already landed and the programme choice is basically locked in. That order is backwards, and it costs families money and time they don’t get back.
Map the spouse’s work eligibility at the same time as the programme shortlist, not after it. A dependent visa consultation belongs at that shortlisting stage, not as an afterthought once the excitement of an acceptance letter has taken over. Whether the plan involves a Canada immigration or study route, a UK student visa, or an Australian student visa, the spousal work rules should shape which country and course get picked, not follow from whatever choice felt most exciting at the time.
NB Visa World has walked families through exactly this trade-off for over three decades, as the best visa consultant in Ahmedabad. If a move abroad is on the table and the real question is whether a spouse can actually work once you land, talk to our team before the programme gets finalised, not after.
