Student Visa Proof of Funds With Dependants: Spouse and Child Costs 2026
Estimate how a spouse and accompanying children change the official maintenance or living-funds component of a student visa application across selected destinations with government-published formulas, with dates and scope noted below.
Student Visa Family Proof of Funds Calculator
Choose a verified destination profile, then add a spouse and children. The result separates the student’s base maintenance amount from the dependant add-on and the combined family maintenance requirement. Tuition, travel, visa fees and other route-specific costs are excluded unless a rule is explicitly included in the profile.
Australia school-age child adjustment
For Australia, enter the number of accompanying children for whom the annual school-cost amount applies. It cannot exceed the total number of accompanying children.
Estimate calculated
Your family maintenance estimate
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How Dependants Change Student Visa Proof of Funds
Adding family members can change a student visa financial requirement in three different ways. Some systems add a fixed amount for every dependant, some use a household-size table, and others distinguish a spouse from a child. The calculator preserves those differences instead of applying one universal multiplier.
For the UK Student route, the maintenance amount for each eligible dependant is added to the student’s own living-cost requirement. In 2026, the maximum nine-month maintenance calculation is £845 per month for each dependant in London and £680 per month outside London. The student’s corresponding maintenance figure is £1,529 per month in London and £1,171 outside London. [S1]
Canada uses family size rather than separate spouse and child rates. For applications made on or after September 1, 2025 outside Quebec, the first-year living-expense requirement is CAN$22,895 for one person, CAN$28,502 for two and CAN$35,040 for three. Tuition and transportation are additional. [S2]
Spouse and Child Proof-of-Funds Rules by Destination
| Destination profile | Student base | Spouse treatment | Child treatment | Period and limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK – London | £1,529/month | £845/month | £845/month each | Up to 9 months; dependant eligibility is restricted by course type. [S1] |
| UK – outside London | £1,171/month | £680/month | £680/month each | Up to 9 months; course fees are separate. [S1] |
| Canada – outside Quebec | CAN$22,895/year for family size 1 | Household-size table | Household-size table | First-year living expenses; tuition and transport are additional. [S2] |
| Australia | AUD$29,710/year | AUD$10,394/year | AUD$4,449/year each | The Home Affairs benchmark lists AUD$13,502 in annual school costs per applicable child; the current checklist continues to require school costs for school-aged dependants. [S3] [S10] |
| Sweden | SEK 10,656/month | SEK 4,440/month | SEK 2,664/month each | 2026 maintenance rates; calculator shows a 12-month illustration. [S4] |
| Finland – Helsinki metro | €800/month | €610/month | €610 first child; €480 second; €360 each further child | First-year family resources; family-member thresholds are lower elsewhere in Finland. [S5] |
| Denmark – state-approved higher education | DKK 7,426/month | DKK 7,426/month | DKK 7,426/month each | Up to 12 months; special rules and exemptions apply to some study and PhD situations. [S6] [S7] |
A Spouse Does Not Always Add the Same Amount as a Child
Relationship-specific rates
Australia and Sweden use different maintenance amounts for a partner and a child. Finland also distinguishes the second adult from children and reduces the amount for later children in the household. [S3] [S4] [S5]
Household-size rates
Canada does not assign the same stand-alone price tag to “spouse” and “child.” The official table increases the required living-expense amount as the total number of family members rises, so the calculator uses total household size. [S2]
Child Costs Can Include More Than Living Expenses
Australia is a clear example of why “child cost” should not be treated as a single living-cost number. The Home Affairs financial-capacity benchmark adds a child living-cost amount and an annual school-cost amount, while the current checklist continues to require school costs for school-aged dependants. The calculator therefore keeps school costs separate in the breakdown and adds them to the dependant component only when you enter applicable school-age children. [S3] [S10]
Other destinations may require school fees, insurance, healthcare, visa application charges or local education costs that are not represented by the maintenance figure itself. Use the result as the official maintenance component for the selected profile, not as a complete family relocation budget. For broader planning, compare destination pages in the CostToStudy country section.
Check Whether Your Student Route Allows Dependants First
A financial amount does not create eligibility to bring a spouse or child. In the UK, most students can no longer bring dependants simply because they are enrolled in a postgraduate course. For courses starting on or after January 1, 2024, the principal student generally needs to be government-sponsored on a qualifying course or studying a PhD, other doctorate or research-based higher degree that meets the Student route rules. [S8]
Denmark also distinguishes the type of study programme. Students in state-approved higher education can have accompanying family under the relevant rules, while students who applied on or after May 2, 2025 for a non-state-approved higher education programme cannot obtain residence permits for accompanying family members through that route. [S6]
New Zealand uses a different structure again: a fee-paying student cannot include a partner or dependent children in the same student visa application. Family members apply for their own visas based on the relationship, and eligibility for a partner work visa or dependent-child student visa depends on the student’s qualification and circumstances. [S9]
What Is Not Included in the Calculator Total
The family maintenance total is intentionally narrower than a full study-abroad budget. Depending on the destination, a complete visa file can also require tuition, travel, health insurance, healthcare surcharges, visa application fees, biometric charges, school fees, accommodation deposits or other evidence. Canada explicitly requires proof for tuition and transportation in addition to the living-expense table. The UK requires course fees in addition to maintenance. [S2] [S1]
Australia’s school-cost amount is the one extra child-related item included by this calculator because it is directly tied to the title’s spouse-and-child proof-of-funds intent and has a clear government-published amount. Tuition and travel remain outside the result. You can use the CostToStudy calculators for broader cost planning.
Methodology
The calculator uses only destination profiles with a clear government-published formula that can be represented without inventing a national average. It does not convert currencies because exchange-rate conversion would make unlike visa systems look directly comparable.
UK calculations use the maximum nine-month maintenance period: student monthly rate × 9 plus dependant monthly rate × 9 × number of accompanying dependants. Canada uses the official first-year family-size table; for more than seven family members, the published additional-person increment is applied. Australia adds the government-published student living-cost benchmark, spouse amount when selected, per-child living amount and school-cost amount for the number of applicable school-age children entered. [S1] [S2] [S3]
Sweden uses the 2026 monthly student, spouse and child rates multiplied by 12 for the comparison profile. Finland uses the Helsinki metropolitan first-year table: €9,600 for the student, €7,320 for a spouse, €7,320 for the first child, €5,760 for the second and €4,320 for each further child. Denmark uses DKK 7,426 per month for the student and DKK 7,426 per accompanying family member, capped at 12 months in this comparison profile. [S4] [S5] [S6] [S7]
Refundable deposits, private living-cost estimates and discretionary spending are excluded. The tool compares official maintenance requirements or published financial-capacity benchmarks, not realistic household spending. Rules and amounts were checked on August 8, 2026.
Official Sources
- [S1] GOV.UK – Financial evidence for Student and Child Student visa applicants — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S2] Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – Proof of financial support — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S3] Australian Department of Home Affairs – Increase to the Financial Capacity Requirement for Student and Student Guardian visas — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S4] Swedish Migration Agency – Residence permit for studies at higher education — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S5] Finnish Immigration Service – Student’s family members — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S6] New to Denmark – Higher educational programmes — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S7] New to Denmark – Accompanying family members for study and PhD — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S8] GOV.UK – Student visa: your partner and children — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S9] Immigration New Zealand – Bringing family if you have a student visa — checked August 8, 2026.
- [S10] Australian Department of Home Affairs – Document Checklist Tool — checked August 8, 2026.