PBS Dependant Visa Expiring While Abroad on Maternity Leave – Any Options to Avoid Job Loss?

[giro_smug_6x]

Hi all,

I’m looking for some advice on a specific Skilled Worker Dependant visa situation.

My situation:

I’m a Skilled Worker visa holder in the UK, recently extended until 2028.
My wife and child are PBS Dependants. Their current visas expire on 3 July 2025.
My wife is currently in India on maternity leave (she gave birth there) and is unlikely to return to the UK before 3 July.
She is employed in the UK and officially on maternity leave.


From what I understand, the only reliable option that would protect her visa status and her job is for her to return to the UK before 3 July, apply for her PBS Dependant extension using the Super Priority service, and then travel back to India after receiving the new visa.

Before we commit to this difficult option, I wanted to ask if there’s any better option available

[CR001]

Apply for a new entry clearance visa from India.

[secret.simon]

For a start, if she plans to travel with the baby, has the baby got both an Indian passport and a PBS Dependent visa already ?

If not, is she planning to travel on her own?

Keep in mind that Superpriority does not guarantee a grant within the timeframe, merely that it is (super) prioritised for consideration. Also, there are only limited slots for both priority and super-priority applications, so don't count on them being available on the dates you have in mind.

To maintain continuity of her current visa, she will need to apply for further leave to remain from within the UK and that can't be applied from abroad.

To the best of my knowledge, if she applies for a new entry clearance visa from India, her PBS Dependent visa clock will reset back to zero and she will need to spend 5 (or 10, unclear based on the proposals in the recent government white paper on legal migration) more years in the UK before she is eligible for ILR. But I am not certain on this point and wait for others to respond on this point.

Also, the child born abroad will follow the same immigration pathway as the mother and will qualify to register for British citizenship when both the child and mother are granted ILR. So effectively, twice the immigration fees and IHS payments till ILR for both mother and child.