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Visa strategyRelocate your whole family: study destinations that welcome dependants
Bringing your family with you is one of the biggest reasons Nigerian professionals study abroad, and it is the area where the rules have changed most sharply in the last two years. Advice that was true in 2023 can now get an application refused. If relocating your spouse and children is part of the plan, decide the destination and course type around that first. Here is where things actually stand.
The United Kingdom: dependants are now the exception
This is the change that catches most people out. Since January 2024, students on taught master’s and most other courses cannot bring dependants to the UK. The route survives only for:
- PhD and doctoral study, and research-based degrees such as an MRes or MSc by Research (the course must be designated research-focused by the university); and
- government-sponsored courses of at least six months, where an official sponsor confirms the funding.
If your family is coming with you, this alone can be the reason to choose a research master’s over a taught one, or to look at another country. You must also show extra maintenance for each dependant: £845 per month in London or £680 per month elsewhere, for up to nine months. Our detailed companion guide, Can you bring your family? A 2026 guide to dependants, walks through the specifics.
Canada: family welcome, spouse work narrower than it was
Canada remains one of the more family-friendly choices, dependants can accompany you, and school-age children can usually attend public school. What has tightened is the spousal open work permit: it is now generally available only to spouses of master’s and doctoral students on programmes of at least 16 months, with a further update in 2026 refusing spouses of students in their final term. So a longer master’s can keep the door open for your partner to work where a short one will not. See Canada in 2026 for the wider study-permit picture.
Where family and a working spouse are more open: Ireland and Germany
Ireland and Germany are generally more accommodating for families, and both give your spouse a realistic route to work once you are settled into study or, especially, once you move onto skilled employment, Ireland’s Critical Skills route and Germany’s skilled-work permits are strong for family reunification. The exact conditions (timing, funds, and whether the spouse can work immediately or after you start working) vary, so these are cases where the details genuinely matter and we confirm them for your situation before you plan around them.
The money question, do not underestimate it
Every destination adds a maintenance requirement per dependant on top of your own funds, and family living costs, housing, and school fees where they apply, are real. A route that allows your family is only workable if the numbers add up. Model your own case with the proof-of-funds estimator and read Proof of funds by country so the family budget is planned, not discovered at the visa stage.
Choose the course around your family
The practical takeaway is simple: if bringing your family is non-negotiable, that requirement should drive the shortlist. It may point you to a research degree in the UK, or to Canada, Ireland or Germany over a UK taught master’s, and it interacts with your longer-term plan, many of these family-friendly routes are also strong for settling permanently. Tell us who is coming with you, and we will build the shortlist around them.
Frequently asked
Can I still bring my family on a UK student visa?
Can my spouse work if I study in Canada?
How much extra money do I need to bring dependants?
Planning to move with your family?
Tell us who’s coming, your spouse, your children, and your field. We’ll build a shortlist of courses and countries that actually allow it, with the funds mapped out.