What is a Parent of a Child Student Visa?

To be eligible for a Parent of a Child Student visa, the following criteria will need to be met:

• Child's Visa - Your child must either hold or be applying for a Child Student visa or possess a Tier 4 (Child) visa.
• Child's Age - Additionally, your child must be between the ages of 4 and 11 at the time of your application and attend an independent school in the UK.
• Sole Parent - You must be the sole parent accompanying your child to the UK. The child’s other parent must reside abroad and cannot apply to join you in the UK.
• Financial Requirement - You need sufficient funds to support yourself and your child in the UK. This requires you to have £1,560 for each month of your stay, up to a maximum of 9 months.
• Primary Residence - Your primary residence should remain outside the UK.
• Intention to Leave - You must intend to leave the UK once your visa expires (although extensions are permitted).

If the above criteria can be satisfied and adequately documented, then you will be able to proceed with an application.

The Parent of a Child Student visa is essentially a dependant visa, that is contingent on the Child Student visa that your son or daughter holds. Therefore, other family members can't accompany you on this visa. However, you may bring other children with you if they hold or are applying for a Child Student visa.

Under the terms of the visa, only one parent is permitted to apply for a Parent of a Child Student visa, while the other must remain in their home country. However, the UK government recognises the need for families to visit each other, so the other parent may be eligible to apply for a short-term visit visa to come to the UK.

When applying for a Parent of a Child Student visa, you’ll need to provide the following:

• Passport - a valid passport or other current travel document.
• Maintenance funds - proof of sufficient funds to support yourself and your child (unless you’ve been in the UK for at least 12 months on a valid visa).
• Overseas Address - evidence of a permanent residence outside the UK.

Depending on your situation, you may also need:

• Tuberculosis test certificate - tuberculosis (TB) test results if you’re from a country that requires it.
• Translated documents - certified translations of any documents not in English or Welsh.

There are a number of different costs and fees applicable when applying for a Parent of a Child Student visa. In all cases, you will need to:

• Pay the Visa Application Fee - The application fee for a Parent of a Child Student visa is currently £637.
• Pay the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge - You must also pay a healthcare surcharge as part of your online application, which allows you to access the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. This surcharge is £1,035 per year for adults and £776 for children. You will need to pay this fee upfront as part of your online visa application, and the exact fee will be aligned with the length of your visa.
• Provide Evidence of Funds to Support Yourself and Your Child - You must demonstrate that you have adequate funds to cover living expenses for yourself and your child while in the UK. This requires £1,560 for each month of your stay, up to a maximum of 9 months. For instance, if you are staying 9 months or more, you must show you have £14,040 (9 months × £1,560). For each additional child joining you in the UK, you’ll need an extra £625 per month, up to a maximum of 9 months. Each child must be a sibling of your other child and hold a Child Student visa.

Other costs may also be payable, including translation costs, the cost for the biometric appointment and any priority services that you select to fast-track your application. 

The processing time for a Parent of a Child Student visa begins once you've completed all of the initial stages of the application process. This means you must first submit your application online before then verifying your identity at a biometric appointment and, lastly, providing the required supporting documentation. From this point, a decision on your visa application is typically made within 3 weeks. If you need a quicker decision, you'll need to utilise one of the priority services that are available for an additional fee. Services are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and are therefore not always available. Availability is shown online when scheduling your biometric appointment. 

As we highlighted earlier, the Parent of a Child Student visa is fairly limited in its scope. It doesn't allow the same rights and privileges as many other dependant visas, which are generally quite flexible and allow you to work and study study in the UK. Under the terms of this visa you are not permitted to:

• Engage in paid employment
• Enroll in studies
• Start a business
• Make the UK your primary residence
• Apply for public funds, including benefits or the State Pension
• Bring other family members with you
• Switch to a different visa category

When your visa is granted, you'll receive a comprehensive list of what you can and cannot do during your time in the UK. 

While the intention on arrival should be to leave at the end of your visa, it is also possible to extend a Parent of a Child Student visa. You can apply for further extensions to remain in the UK until your child’s visa expires or they reach the age of 12, whichever occurs first. This also assumes you continue to meet the eligibility criteria and you have abided by the terms of your visa.

When extending a Parent of a Child student visa you'll need to go through a similar application process. This includes an initial online application, attending a biometric appointment and then submitting supporting documents to demonstrate your eligibility. You'll also need to pay the £637 government fee again. The only difference when extending your visa is you will not need to prove maintenance funds if you have been in the UK on a valid visa for at least 12 months. Therefore you will not need to provide evidence of funds to support yourself and your child in order to extend your visa.