Child Student Visa

What Is the Child Student Visa

The Child Student Visa is the route under Appendix Child Student that lets a child aged 4 to 17 study at a licensed independent fee-paying school in the UK. It is the only long-term study route open to children under 16, and it runs parallel to the adult Student route for 16 and 17 year olds at independent schools below degree level.

The route is built around sponsorship. The school must hold a current Child Student sponsor licence and must issue an electronic Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) before the application is made. The CAS confirms the course, tuition fees, care arrangements, and start and end dates, and is the evidential anchor of every application.

The visa is time-limited and time spent as a Child Student does not count towards settlement. Anticipate a switch to the adult Student route at 16 or 18 and, in due course, a later work or family route.

Who Is the Child Student Visa For

The Child Student Visa is for children aged 4 to 17 whose families have chosen an independent, fee-paying UK school. It is most often used by international families enrolling children in British preparatory schools, senior schools, and sixth forms, together with day schools that accept overseas pupils on a sponsored basis.

The route is appropriate where you can pay school fees, put in place safeguarding-compliant care arrangements, and evidence genuine study intent. Only one parent can accompany a child under 12, and accompanying parents cannot work.

If your primary goal is UK residence, a family visa route may suit better, under which a child can attend either an independent or a state school as a dependant. Children already in the UK on a parent’s visa do not need a Child Student Visa. This route is specifically for children who need immigration permission to study, typically because the family base is overseas.

Age Groups: 4 to 11, 12 to 15, and 16 to 17 (Different Rules)

Different rules apply depending on your child’s age, because age determines the care arrangements and the evidence your application must provide.

Children aged 4 to 11 must live with a parent or a close relative in the UK. A parent who accompanies the child applies separately on the Parent of a Child Student Visa. Boarding as a sole form of care is not permitted below 12, even where the school would admit the child as a boarder at 11.

Children aged 12 to 15 may board at the school, live with a parent, live with a close relative, or live with an approved host family arranged through the school. Boarding is the most common arrangement at this age.

Children aged 16 to 17 have the widest range of options, including limited private rented accommodation approved by the school, provided the arrangement remains safeguarding-compliant. This group also has limited work rights in term time and can be granted up to three years at a time, subject to a combined six-year maximum on Child Student permission below degree level.

Licensed Child Student Sponsors

The sponsor must hold a Student sponsor licence with a rating that permits the sponsorship of Child Students. The Home Office maintains a public register of licensed student sponsors, and the rating next to each school indicates whether it is authorised for the Child Student route, the Student route, or both. Many established British boarding schools and London day schools hold the Child Student rating; many small independent schools and most state schools do not.

Inspection by the Independent Schools Inspectorate or Ofsted is not the same as a sponsor licence. A school without a current sponsor licence cannot issue a CAS. Before accepting a place, verify the school appears on the public register and that the licence is not revoked or suspended.

The Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

The CAS is the electronic reference number the school generates from the Home Office sponsor management system. It confirms an unconditional place, academic suitability, and that the school accepts sponsor duties for the course. The CAS sets out the course title, start and end dates, tuition fees, any fees already paid, and the care arrangements.

A CAS is valid for six months from issue, and the application must be made within that window and not more than six months before the course start date. Your child’s details on the CAS must match the passport exactly. Mismatches in names, dates of birth, or nationality are a common source of refusals.

If any material detail changes between CAS issue and application, the school must withdraw the CAS and issue a new one. Do not submit an application on a superseded CAS. Schools usually issue the CAS shortly after the family has paid the deposit and completed any academic assessments.

Parental Consent Requirements

Parental consent is a core safeguarding requirement. You must provide written, signed consent from both parents, or from the sole parent or legal guardian where that applies. The consent letter should address the application, travel arrangements, proposed living and care arrangements, and the choice of school.

Where only one parent has parental responsibility, include evidence of sole responsibility: a court order, a death certificate, a sole adoption order, or a certified letter from a qualified overseas authority confirming the position under the law of the child’s home jurisdiction. 

Where the child is in the care of a legal guardian rather than a parent, provide the guardianship order together with the guardian’s consent letter. Consent letters should be signed, dated, and translated into English where the original is in another language, with a translator’s certificate attached.

Care Arrangements for Children Under 12

Children under 12 must live with a parent or with a close relative approved to act as carer. Boarding on its own is not permitted, even where the school would accept the child as a full boarder.

Where a parent accompanies the child, the parent applies separately on the Parent of a Child Student Visa, granted in step with the child’s visa. Only one parent can hold that permission at a time.

Where neither parent will accompany the child, a close relative may act as carer. Close relatives include a grandparent, an aunt or uncle, or an adult sibling, each of whom must hold immigration status that allows them to host the child and must provide written confirmation of the arrangement with evidence of suitable accommodation. The school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead will usually verify the carer’s details before signing off the CAS.

The Parent of a Child Student Visa

The Parent of a Child Student Visa permits one parent to accompany a child under 12 for the duration of the child’s permission, up to the child’s 12th birthday. It is tied to the child’s status and ends automatically when the child turns 12, when the child’s visa expires, or when the child ceases studying, whichever is earlier. 

The parent must satisfy the genuine parent test, the financial requirement (additional maintenance at the London or non-London rate for up to nine months), and the suitability requirements in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules. The parent cannot work, claim public funds, or study, other than on a short course incidental to the stay.

At the child’s 12th birthday, the parent must leave the UK or switch into another route if one is available. There is no transitional extension. Plan the next step, often the child’s move to boarding or the parent’s own move to a work or family route, at least twelve months in advance.

Care Arrangements for Children Aged 12 to 17

From the child’s 12th birthday, the choice of care arrangements widens. Your child may continue to live with a close relative, or board full-time at the school. Full boarding is the most common arrangement for senior school and sixth form pupils and the simplest to evidence: the school records on the CAS that the child is a boarder, the pastoral framework covers term time, and you only need to evidence care for holidays and half-terms.

Day pupils aged 12 to 17 who are not living with a parent or close relative usually live with an approved host family arranged through the school. Some sixth forms allow 16 and 17 year olds to live in private rented accommodation approved by the school, provided the arrangement is safeguarding-compliant.

Most British independent schools also require you to appoint a UK-based guardian as an additional point of contact where your child is boarding or in a host family. Schools accredited by AEGIS (the Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students) expect a vetted guardian in place before the child starts. The guardian steps in during half-terms, exeats, and emergencies. For families new to the UK, an AEGIS-accredited guardian is the safer choice.

The Financial Requirement

The financial requirement has two components: tuition fees for the first academic year, and maintenance at the rates set by Appendix Finance. Funds must be held in a qualifying account for at least 28 consecutive days, ending no more than 31 days before the date of application.

Acceptable sources are cash in the child’s own account, cash in a parent’s account (with the parent’s written consent and evidence of the parental relationship), or sponsorship from an official financial sponsor such as a government or recognised scholarship body. Funds must be immediately accessible and must not be held in fixed-term deposits that cannot be withdrawn during the 28-day period.

Where the school has already received tuition fees, the CAS will show the amount paid and the balance outstanding. The balance, plus one year of maintenance, is what you must evidence. Where the full year’s fees have been paid in advance, you only need to evidence maintenance, still held for the full 28-day period.

Nationals of certain countries on the Appendix Finance differential evidence list do not need to submit financial evidence with the initial application, but must be able to produce it on request. This applies to the child’s nationality, not the parent’s.

London vs Outside London Maintenance Rates

Maintenance rates depend on whether the school is in inner London or elsewhere in the UK. For 2026 applications, the rate is £1,560 per month for study in inner London (the City of London and the boroughs of Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, and Westminster), and £1,140 per month elsewhere in the UK, including the outer London boroughs. An additional £1,560 or £1,140 per month applies for an accompanying parent on the Parent of a Child Student Visa. Up to nine months of maintenance is the maximum you must show.

Boarding pupils whose CAS confirms that fees include board and lodging do not need to show monthly maintenance in addition, because the fees cover living costs. Day pupils, and boarders whose fees exclude board, must show both.

The English Language Requirement

The English language requirement on this route differs from the adult Student route. For children under 16, there is no formal CEFR-level test. The school assesses academic suitability, including English ability, as part of admissions and records its assessment on the CAS.

For 16 and 17 year olds studying at RQF level 3 (most A level and IB Diploma courses), the school’s CAS-level assessment remains the main evidence. Where a sixth former is applying for a foundation or access course at a degree-level access provider, the standard Appendix English Language evidence will usually apply.

Where English is an additional language, schools commonly include an in-house assessment, a recognised junior English test such as the Cambridge Young Learners English test, or a certificate from a recognised English language school. The Home Office will normally defer to the school’s assessment

What the Child Student Visa Allows

The Child Student Visa allows your child to study full-time at the sponsoring school, to live in the UK for the length of the grant, and to travel in and out as a multiple-entry permission. Children under 16 cannot work. Children aged 16 and 17 can undertake limited paid work, capped at 10 hours a week in term time where consistent with school rules, 20 hours during short holidays, and full-time during long holidays. Self-employment, professional sports work, and agency work are not permitted.

The visa does not permit study at a state school, does not allow most public funds, and does not allow a change of sponsor without a fresh application. Your child can use NHS services for the period covered by the IHS payment and can open a UK bank account with the school’s letter of introduction. The route does not confer settled status or count towards the ten-year continuous residence route. If your child wants to attend a state school, they must hold a different status, for example as a dependant on a work or family visa.

Turning 16 and Switching to the Student Visa

Once your child is 16, they can apply for a Student Visa under Appendix Student rather than as a Child Student, provided the course is at RQF level 3 or above and the sponsor is licensed for the Student route. Most independent schools sponsoring sixth form study hold both ratings, so the decision is driven by the pupil’s plans.

The Student Visa is more flexible on work rights (up to 20 hours a week in term time at degree-level study), on accommodation, and on progression to university. Switching at the start of sixth form means your child is treated under the adult financial evidence rules and, on progressing to university, does not need to leave the UK and re-apply.

Families planning a return home after sixth form often prefer to stay on the Child Student route, because it avoids the SELT test. Families planning a UK degree almost always benefit from switching at 16 or 17. Where a child stays on the Child Student route, the visa can be extended in-country on a fresh CAS with updated funds and care arrangements, up to the combined six-year limit below degree level. Apply before the existing permission expires so that section 3C leave continues while the extension is decided.

Turning 18: What Happens Next

A Child Student Visa can continue past your child’s 18th birthday where it was granted before 18, but no new Child Student Visa can be issued to someone already 18. A pupil who turns 18 partway through the year continues on the existing permission to the end of the course; a pupil who is 18 when applying must apply as a Student instead.

At 18, many sixth formers progress to a UK university and apply for a Student Visa for that next stage. The application is usually straightforward, because the CAS, financial, and English requirements map cleanly across. Your child’s permission will be re-issued for the length of the degree, with the right to work up to 20 hours a week in term time.

Families whose child will not continue to a UK university, or who will take a gap year, should plan the wind-down before the wrap-up period ends. A fresh overseas application will be needed if the child later decides to return.

How Whytecroft Ford Can Help

Whytecroft Ford is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority to provide Immigration advice on for Students. 

To discuss your child’s application, call +44 (0)208 757 5751, email info@whytecroftford.com, or book a consultation.

Sources 

• Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor, GOV.UK
• Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor, GOV.UK
• Home Office immigration and nationality fees, GOV.UK