Child Student visa

The Child Student visa is how international families place children at UK independent schools — prep schools and boarding schools from age 4 through to sixth form. It is a points-based route like the adult Student visa, but built around the child’s welfare.

What you need

An unconditional offer from a licensed independent school, which issues the CAS. State schools cannot sponsor Child Students — this route is for fee-paying schools only. Financial evidence must cover a year’s course and boarding fees, or, where the child lives with a parent in the UK, course fees plus £1,560 a month (up to nine months) for the parent and child together, with £625 a month for each additional child. Both parents (or all legal guardians) must consent in writing to the application, the travel and the care arrangements.

Care arrangements

The application must show who looks after the child: boarding at the school, living with a parent who holds a Parent of a Child Student visa, or an approved private foster care arrangement for older children. This is the part of the application schools and the Home Office scrutinise most closely.

How long, and what next

Children under 16 can be granted the length of the course up to six years (plus four months); 16- and 17-year-olds up to three years (plus four months). At 16, a pupil can switch to the standard Student visa — needed for university in due course anyway. Time as a Child Student does not lead to settlement by itself, but it can count towards the 10-year Long Residence route — relevant for children who complete much of their schooling in the UK.