Parent of a Child Student visa eligibility requirements

A parent of a child attending school in the UK can apply for a visa to look after the child.

The child must have a Child Student visa or a Tier 4 (Child) visa. It must be aged between 4 and 11 years when the application is submitted, and must attend an independent school in the UK.

Only one parent can accompany the child to the UK. They must prove they have funds at their disposal in the amount of £1,560 for each month of their stay, up to a maximum of 9 months. They must also submit evidence showing they are maintaining a home outside of the UK to which they can return when their visa expires. The other parent must continue to live abroad and they cannot apply for a Parent of Child Student visa to join the family in the UK. Other children can only come to the UK if they also have a Child Student visa. Bringing other children increases the maintenance amount the parent has to show by £625 per month for each additional child. This requirement is automatically satisfied if the parent has already been in the UK for 12 months with a different UK immigration permission.

The visa of the parent will be issued with the same expiry date as the child’s, and the parent must leave the UK on or before this date, or it will expire when the child turns 12, whichever event occurs earlier.

If the child needs to continue their education in the UK beyond the age of 12, the parent will need to ensure their ongoing care. Options are enrolling the child in boarding school or having them live with other family members already in the UK.

A parent of a child student cannot work, study or start a business while in the UK, and cannot apply for benefits.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson has extensive experience dealing with all types of visa applications, including Parent of Child Student visa, Child Student visa and Student visa. If you have any queries relating to the blogs published or are interested in talking to us about your specific circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or, LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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