Family composition

In plain words

Family composition is the range of relatives that a programme allows to be included in one application with the main applicant. In the basic version this is a spouse and minor children. Many programmes also allow adult children, if they are financially dependent and studying, and parents who meet certain conditions.

Each additional person affects three things: the cost — government fees and the check are usually charged per person; the volume of documents — each person needs their own set with legalisation and translation; the timing — the check covers everyone included, and questions about any one of them hold up the whole application.

A separate subject is evidence of kinship and dependency. Kinship is proved by certificates, while the financial dependency of adult children or parents is proved by a separate set of documents: certificates of study, evidence of financial support, sometimes medical documents. The rules differ from programme to programme, so the composition of the application is agreed at the start.

When this needs to be thought through

Who can be included in the application

How the composition of the application is formed

1. 01Define the range of relatives
2. 02Check against the programme’s conditions
3. 03Gather evidence of kinship
4. 04Evidence dependency
5. 05File a single application

What you need to know

• Each person increases the cost and the volume of documents
• Children’s ages are checked on the date of filing or decision
• Financial dependency is evidenced separately
• Rules on parents differ greatly between programmes
• A question about one participant holds up the whole application

Common mistakes

• ✕Not taking into account that a child will pass the age limit
• ✕Assuming parents can be included as a matter of course
• ✕Not preparing dependency documents in advance
• ✕Planning the budget without fees for each person
• ✕Forgetting the other parent’s consent for children

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