This route lets one parent live in the UK while a young child attends an independent school here. It is narrow by design: the child must be aged 4 to 11 when you apply, only one parent can use it, the other parent must not be in the UK, and the permission ends when the child turns 12.
School Parents
The Parent of a Child Student Route in 2026
Who the Route Is For
It exists so that a young child studying at a UK independent school is not living here unaccompanied. The parent's permission is entirely derivative: it exists because of the child's Child Student permission and ends with it. You may not work, study or claim public funds while here.
The child must be aged 4 to 11 at the date of application and attending an independent fee-paying school — not a state school or academy. The fee is £637 from outside the UK, decisions usually take three weeks, and you must show £1,560 for each month of your intended stay, up to nine months. Permission ends when the child turns 12.
Only One Parent, and the Other Must Stay Away
The rules allow only one of the child's parents to be in the UK under this route, and require that the Child Student's other parent must not be in the UK or seeking to come to the UK. Families sometimes plan on both parents relocating and discover the bar late. There is no dependant provision either — you cannot bring other family members on this application.
The Requirements
Core Criteria
- The relationship: you are the parent of the child.
- The child's status: they hold, or are applying at the same time for, entry clearance or permission as a Child Student.
- The child's age: between 4 and 11 years on the date of application.
- The school: an independent fee-paying school, not a state school or academy.
- The other parent: not in the UK and not seeking to come.
- Funds: the monthly figure below, held for the required period.
- Intention: to leave at the end, and not to make the UK your main home.
Suitability
The suitability rules apply as they do to every route. Criminality, deception, previous breaches of immigration law and a non-conducive assessment can each defeat an otherwise sound application, and some carry re-entry bans. Our pages on general grounds for refusal, the deception ban and re-entry bans cover the consequences.
The Money Requirement
You must show £1,560 for each month of your intended stay in the UK, up to a maximum of nine months. Where you bring another child who is not the Child Student, add £625 for each month, again capped at nine. These are maintenance funds, held on top of the school fees, not instead of them.
Maintenance Funds Required
| Length of stay | For you | Plus each other child |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months | £4,680 | £1,875 |
| 6 months | £9,360 | £3,750 |
| 9 months or more | £14,040 | £5,625 |
Source: Appendix Parent of a Child Student, paragraph PC 7.3, checked 22 August 2026.
Exemptions From Financial Evidence
Where you have already been in the UK with permission for a qualifying period, the financial evidence requirement can fall away, as it does on the student routes. Check your own position against the current appendix before assuming it applies — the exemption depends on how long you have held permission, not on how much money you hold.
Maintenance requirements are about money held for a specified period in an account you can evidence, in an institution the rules permit. A transfer arriving days before the application does not meet a held-funds test, however large it is. Plan the balance months ahead of the application date.
Cost and Processing Time
Application Costs
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Parent of a Child Student, from outside the UK | £637 | Per application |
| Child Student visa, from outside the UK | £558 | Your child's separate application |
| Health surcharge, adult rate | £1,035 a year | Not payable where applying from abroad for 6 months or less |
| Health surcharge, under 18 and student rate | £776 a year | Applies to your child's application |
| Priority service | £500 | Five working day target |
| Super priority service | £1,000 | Next working day target |
Source: GOV.UK route pages and health surcharge guidance, checked 22 August 2026.
Decisions usually arrive within three weeks of your appointment. Our page on how the health surcharge works covers who pays and when, and our guides to processing after biometrics and delays cover timing when a school term is approaching.
When the Surcharge Is Not Payable
The health surcharge is not charged where you apply from outside the UK for a period of six months or less. That makes the length of stay you request a real financial decision: a term-length application avoids the surcharge, while a longer one adds £1,035 a year at the adult rate on top of the £637 fee.
Weigh that against the cost of applying twice. Two applications across a school year mean two fees, two appointments and two decision waits during term time, so the saving is rarely as large as it first appears. Where the child's permission runs for a full academic year, matching your request to it is usually the simpler course.
Where the Parent Is Not Accompanying
Many families use boarding instead, with the parent visiting. That is an ordinary standard visit: up to six months per entry, no work, no public funds, and no right to remain between terms. A long-term visit visa suits a parent making several trips a year, since each visit is capped at six months but the visa itself can run for two, five or ten years.
Documents
- Passport: valid, with previous travel history.
- The child's birth certificate: evidencing your relationship, translated if not in English or Welsh.
- The child's confirmation of acceptance for studies: from the independent school.
- Evidence the school is independent and fee-paying: not a state school or academy.
- Bank statements: showing the maintenance funds held for the required period.
- Evidence about the other parent: confirming they are not in the UK and not applying to come.
- Accommodation details: where you and the child will live.
Our supporting documents guide covers evidential standards, and our application form walkthrough the questions that follow, including how to describe the arrangement without suggesting relocation.
Your Child's Own Application
The child applies separately for a Child Student visa: £558 from outside the UK, or the same to extend or switch inside. Decisions take around three weeks from abroad and around eight weeks in-country. Your application depends on theirs, so a refusal of the child's application ends yours as well.
The Two Visas Compared
- Purpose: the child studies; you accompany.
- Study rights: your child studies at the named school; you may not study at all.
- Work rights: none for you. The child's route has its own limited provisions.
- Duration: the child's route continues past 12; yours does not.
- Settlement: neither route leads to settlement.
Our student route page covers the wider study requirements. Where the child is older than 11, this route is not available and boarding arrangements or a different family route are the realistic options.
Conditions and Duration
What You Cannot Do
- No work: including paid employment, self-employment and starting a business.
- No study: the route carries a study prohibition.
- No public funds: benefits are not available.
- No dependants: other family members cannot be added to your application.
- No switching: you cannot move to a different route from within this one.
- Not your main home: the UK must not become your permanent base.
How Long Permission Lasts
Your permission ends at the same time as the Child Student's permission, or on the date the child reaches the age of 12, whichever is sooner. That is a hard stop written into the rules. A parent who applies when the child is 11 may receive only a matter of months, whatever the school year looks like.
You can extend in the UK while the requirements are still met, which in practice means while the child is under 12 and still enrolled. Plan the transition well in advance: boarding from the child's twelfth birthday, or a different immigration route for the family, needs to be arranged before permission expires rather than after.
Unaccompanied Children and Care Arrangements
Where a child under 18 travels to the UK without a parent or guardian, the arrangements for their travel, reception and care are examined in their own right, and evidence of parental consent to those arrangements is expected. A child is not required to hold funds in their own name; access to a parent's or a third party's money meets that requirement.
If the Application Is Refused
Read the refusal notice for the paragraph relied on. Eligibility points — funds held for too short a period, an unclear school status, missing evidence about the other parent — are usually fixable in a fresh application. Suitability points are not, and warrant advice. See our page on refusal grounds.
Which Route Does Your Family Need?
- Child aged 4 to 11 at an independent school, one parent accompanying: this route.
- A short school visit or exchange: the child visitor route.
- Visiting the child at boarding school: a standard visit, with no right to remain between terms.
- A parent working in the UK with children joining: the Skilled Worker route with dependants.
- An adopted child joining the family: see our page on bringing an adopted child to the UK.
The distinction that matters most is between accompanying and settling. This route accepts that you are here temporarily for the child's schooling. Where a family's plan is to live in the UK, a route that permits work and leads to settlement is the correct application, and using this one instead creates problems at every later stage.
Sources: Appendix Parent of a Child Student on GOV UK, the Child Student appendix, the Home Office caseworker guidance, and the GOV.UK route and health surcharge pages. Figures verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Parent of a Child Student Questions
How old must my child be?
Between 4 and 11 years on the date of application, and attending an independent fee-paying school. A state school or academy does not qualify.
Can both parents come?
No. Only one parent can be in the UK on this route, and the other parent must not be in the UK or seeking to come here.
How much money do I need to show?
£1,560 for each month of your intended stay, up to nine months — £14,040 at the maximum. Add £625 a month, capped at nine months, for each other child you bring.
What does the visa cost?
£637 from outside the UK, plus the health surcharge where payable. Your child's Child Student application is a separate £558.
Can I work while I am here?
No. The route carries conditions of no work, no study and no access to public funds. That includes self-employment and starting a business.
What happens when my child turns 12?
Your permission ends on that date, or when the child's permission ends, whichever is sooner. Arrange boarding or another route before then.
Can I bring my other children?
Not as dependants on this application. Where another child travels with you, you must show an extra £625 a month, up to nine months, and their own immigration position must be sorted separately.
Can I switch to a work visa from this route?
No. Switching to a different type of visa is not permitted from this route. You would apply from outside the UK.
Does time on this route count towards settlement?
No. Neither this route nor the Child Student route leads to settlement, and the rules require that you do not make the UK your main home.
How long does a decision take?
Usually about three weeks from your appointment. Priority costs £500 for a five working day target and super priority £1,000 for the next working day.