Tier 4 Child Student Visa

1. Overview of Tier 4 | Child Student Visa

You can apply for the Tier 4 (Child) student visa if

You are aged between 4 and 17 Years
You have a place on a course
You have the consent of your parent or guardian
You have enough money to cover your course fees and living costs
You are from a country that’s not in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland

1.2 Processing Time

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to the UK.
You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

1.3 Fees for Tier 4 | Child Student Visa

It costs £310 to apply for a Tier 4 (Child) student visa from outside the UK.

2. Eligibility for Tier 4 | Child Student

You must have:

An unconditional offer from qualified education provider
Enough Money to support yourself and pay for your course

Your course

You can do a course that’s taught in line with:

The National Curriculum
The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF)
Independent school education inspection standards
You can do pre-sessional study, ie a short course to prepare you for your main course.

You can also do a course that’s accepted as being at the same academic level as the:

Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
HM Inspectorate of Education (in Scotland)
Estyn (in Wales)
Education and Training Inspectorate (in Northern Ireland)
Independent Schools Inspectorate

2.2 Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies

Your education provider will send you a reference number called a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) once they’ve offered you a place on a course. You’ll need to enter this on your application.
Your CAS can cover both the Pre-sessional course and your main course of study.
You must apply for your visa no later than 6 months after you’re sent the CAS.

3. Documents Required for Child Student Visa

When you apply you will need to Provide

Current Valid Passport
2 passport size colour photographs for yourself and for each parent or Guardian applying with you, with names written on the reverse side
Proof that you can support yourself and pay for your course
Proof of parental or other legal guardian consent
Your tuberculosis (TB) test results if you’re from a country where you have to take the test

Note: Your documents will usually be sent back within 14 days.

4. Stay Duration on Tier 4 | Child Student Visa

Your age and the length of your course of study will affect how long you can stay.

Category How long you can stay
Under 16 Course length (up to 6 years) Plus 4 months afterwards
16 or 17 Course length (up to 3 years) Plus 4 months afterwards

You can arrive in the UK:

Up to 1 week before your course starts if your course lasts 6 months or less
Up to 1 month before your course starts if your course lasts more than 6 months

5. What you can and can’t do

You can:

Study at an independent fee-paying school (if you are aged between 4 and 15)
study at a publicly-funded further education college (if you are 16 or 17 and you’re a fee-paying student)
Apply from inside or outside the UK
Apply to extend your stay

You can also work, if you are 16 or over:

Part-time during term for up to 10 hours per week
Full-time during vacations
On a work placement as part of your course, (but not for more than 50% of your course time)
As a student union sabbatical officer for up to 2 years

You can’t:

Study at a publicly-funded school
Get public funds
Take a full-time permanent job or be self-employed
Work as a doctor or dentist in training
Work as a professional sportsperson (Example: A Sports Coach) or entertainer
Settle in the UK on this visa
Bring in family members (‘dependents’) – if your parents want to accompany you, they’ll need to apply for a Parent of a Child At School Visa.

5. Extending Tier 4 | Child Student Visa:

You may be able to apply to extend your stay in the UK under a Tier 4 (Child) visa.

You must:

Meet the eligibility requirements of this visa
Already be in the UK

Note: You should apply before your current visa expires.

Fees

It costs £422 to extend your visa.