Applying for the new Child Student Visa
Dear Mr Bassie,
IAM thinking of sending my child, who is 15 years old, to a private school in England. I would like to know if he would need a student visa.
– V.K.
Dear V.K.,
Persons can apply for a Child Student Visa if they are between the ages of four and 17 years old and if they want to study at an independent school in the United Kingdom (UK).
Those applicants must have an unconditional offer of a place on a course at an independent school, and be able to show that they will have access to enough money to support themselves in the UK and pay for their course. They will also need to have the consent of their parent or guardian to study in the United Kingdom, and they will need to prove this when applying.
Please note that persons who are 18 years old or over should apply for a student visa instead. This visa has replaced the Tier 4 (Child) Student Visa.
When persons can apply depends on whether they are applying from inside or outside the United Kingdom.
When applying from outside the United Kingdom, the earliest persons can apply for a visa is six months before starting the course. Please note that persons will usually get a decision within three weeks of applying.
When applying from inside the United Kingdom, the earliest persons can apply is three months before the course starts. Those persons must apply before their current visa expires, and the new course must begin within 28 days of their current visa expiring. Those persons will usually get a decision within eight weeks.
HOW LONG PERSONS CAN STAY
How long persons can stay will depend on their age on the date they apply and the length of the course.
Under 16 has a course length up to six years, plus four months afterwards and 16 or 17 has course length (up to three years) plus four months afterwards.
If successful, persons can arrive in the United Kingdom up to one month before the course starts. With respect to extending their stay in the United Kingdom, persons may be able to:
• Extend their visa if they are eligible; for example, to continue their studies in the UK;
• Switch to a Child Student Visa from another visa if they are already in the UK.
FEES
It costs £348 to apply for a Child Student Visa from outside the UK, and £475 to extend or switch to a Child Student Visa from inside the UK.
Persons will also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of their application. How much the applicant pays will depend on how long their visa lasts. Persons should check how much they will have to pay before applying.
WHAT PERSONS CAN DO
Persons can study at an independent school. If they are 16 years old or over, they can work:
• Part-time during term for up to 10 hours per week;
• Full-time during vacations;
• On a work placement as part of their course, but not for more than 50 per cent of their course.
PERSONS CANNOT:
• Study at an academy or a local authority-funded school, also known as a maintained school, or further or higher-education institution:
• Get public funds (benefits);
• Take a full-time, permanent job or be self-employed;
• Work as a professional sportsperson; for example, a sports coach or entertainer;
• Apply for settlement;
• Take family members (‘dependents’) – if a parent wants to accompany their child, he/ she will need to apply for a Parent of a Child Student Visa.
Please note that if the application is successful, the applicant will get a full list of what they can and cannot do with a Child Student Visa.
I hope this helps.
John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, global vicepresident of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com