UK Study Visas

Finally, there is the child student visa. For this student route visa, applicants must:

• Holds a valid acceptance letter and a confirmed spot at a private/ independent school that is fee-paying
• Be between 4-17 years of age
• The school must be recognized by the UK government and the school needs to provide a valid CAS number or Confirmation of Acceptance for studies
• Parents/guardians must provide written consent
• There must be no immigration issues such as breaching immigration laws/rules
• English language skills must be proven
•  Evidence of any required qualifications to attend specific courses
• Evidence that the children(s) will return to their home country after completing their studies
• Have 70 points towards the immigration points system.

The list of acceptable educational institutions can be found here on the UK government immigration website, including further information about visa and tuition information.

With your offer letter, the education instruction can provide a Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS). You must apply for the visa within 6 months of receiving your CAS.

This will vary slightly, depending on which visa you wish to apply for. However, the process is generally as follows for each:

1. To start the application, international students require an acceptance letter from the UK educational institution they wish to attend before making a study visa application. International students may start the application 6 months before starting to study in England.
2. Applications are all done online, via the UK government website.
3. Students can arrive in the UK up to 1 week before their course starts, if the length of your course is 6 months or less, or can arrive in the UK up to 1 month before the course starts if it lasts more than 6 months.

Normally, the student visa process does not involve an interview for many international students, unless your case is considered complex.

To apply for a student visa, supporting documents are required. These will vary again depending on which student route the applicant is applying for. In general, these are:

• A current passport or other valid travel documentation – with at least one blank page
• Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your UK course provider or university
• Proof you have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course
• A valid ATAS certificate (if your course and home country require it)
• Proof of parental/guardian/carer consent if you’re under 18 and proof of your relationship (such as a birth certificate with their names) to your parent or guardian if you’re under 18. They must provide consent for your application, your living in the United Kingdom, and your travel.
• Tuberculosis test results (if applicable)
• Written consent for your application from your financial sponsor if you’ve received sponsorship for your course fees and living costs in the last 12 months.

For each visa, you will need to prove your identity. How you do this depends on where you’re from and what type of passport you have. You will either, provide fingerprints and a photograph (biometric information) to a visa application centre or Use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document – you’ll also create or sign in to your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account

Certain Student visas will allow dependent family members to come to the UK with you. Short term student visa does not permit you to bring any family members, whatsoever.

For the general student visa, if you have family and wish for them to come with you while you study in the UK, you’ll need immigration permission but its possible if you are either:

• A government-sponsored student starting a course that lasts 6 months or longer
• Enrolled in a postgraduate course designated as a research programme that lasts 9 months or longer

Eligible postgraduate programmes include PhDs and other doctoral qualifications or masters programmes with a research component, including a requirement to produce original work.

International students who do not fit either one of these categories will not be eligible to bring their dependents with them to the UK.

This restriction will apply for all international students starting courses from 1 January 2024.

The UK government defines a dependent as a legal spouse, civil partner, or common-law partner, children under the age of 18. Families will need to prove relationships with the dependents by marriage/civil partnership paperwork and/or birth certificates for children.

If your child/ren does live with you, you’ll need to provide 2 of the following documents:

• A bank account statement
• Credit card bills
• Driving license
• NHS (health insurance) registration document
• An official letter from their university degree program or college

They will not have a visitor visa, but all dependent visas will be valid for as long as the Student’s visa is valid.
It is possible for the Parent and/or legal guardian of children on the child visa to be permitted to go to the UK so long they hold a separate visa of their own. Other family members are not permitted to come to the UK unless they have a separate visa that is in no way connected to the child’s student visa.

Parents who wish to join the child, have to apply for a Parent of a Child Visa. They must meet the following requirements:

• Your child is should be between four and eleven years old
• Your child is attending an independent school in the UK
• You are the only (1) parent of your child accompanying them in the UK
• You continue to maintain your primary residence in your country of residence
• You can provide concrete plans that you intend to leave the UK when your visa expires
• You are permitted to stay in the UK until the expiration of your child’s visa, or until they turn 12 years old (whichever happens first).

It may be possible to extend the visa if you meet the criteria. If your child wishes to continue to study in the UK after 12 years old, parents must make sure that arrangements are in place to facilitate their ongoing care.

While in the UK on a Parent of a Child visa, parents can not obtain a full-time permanent job, study, start a business, apply for benefits, bring any other family member to the UK or make the UK your primary residence.

If you have enjoyed your time in the UK, most international students want to explore another immigration route to stay in the UK.

Students living in the UK with a short-term student visa can stay in the UK strictly only for the length of your course plus an extra 30 days, but they can not extend the visa as the stay can not be longer than 11 months.

Holders of the general student visa are permitted to apply to extend their visa before the end date of their current student visa, up to 3 months early. To do this, you must:

• Be in the United Kingdom on a UK Student visa
• Have an unconditional offer to a study in the UK from a course that is licensed to sponsor student visa holders by the United Kingdom’s government
• Prove that your studies are at a higher academic level than your current course (called the ‘academic progress requirement’)

Your new course must be one of the following:

• A higher academic level than your current course
• At the same level and related to your previous course, educational opportunities, or career aspirations
• Related or a continuation to medicine, dentistry, or medical science course you started studying under your Student visa

It is also possible to switch to a Graduate Student Visa, another student route to stay in the UK for at least 2 years after completing your course.

If your dependents came with you to the United Kingdom, they will need to apply separately to extend their visa. They do their new visa applications at the same time as you, or before their current visa expires.

The application fee to extend the visa is £475 per person. It typically takes 8 weeks.

• For the short-term visa, the fee is £186, plus the immigration healthcare surcharge which usually costs £470.
• The student visa fee is £348, plus the immigration health surcharge which costs around £470.
• For the child visa, it costs £348, plus the immigration healthcare surcharge which costs around £470.

You will also need sufficient finances to pay for travel, accommodation, and your course(s).

Studying in the UK is a sought-after experience. Not only does the UK offer excellent educational institutions but it permits holders to experience a new culture and way of life. It can be challenging to determine which of the three UK study visas is most appropriate for you. Let the pristine team at Total Law help!

We can support you throughout the application process and help ensure you get the visa approved. We are available to support you seven days a week, either by phone or through our online chat function.