Citizenship Areas
Immigration support for an eligible parent accompanying a young child studying at an independent school in the UK.
For a parent accompanying a child aged four to eleven who has, or is applying for, Child Student permission. The child must be attending an independent school.
Only one parent can accompany the child under this route. The parent must retain their main home overseas and be able to support the proposed stay.
We review the child’s school plans and permission alongside the parent’s circumstances, family arrangements and proposed stay. This route is separate from a family visa based on a child’s British or settled status.
For the child’s own application, see our Student and Child Student Visas service.
We help align the parent’s immigration application with the child’s schooling and care plans, with advice tailored to the family.
Review the parent’s circumstances, child’s education plans and existing immigration permissions.
Advise on the relevant supporting information and coordinate the parent and child applications where appropriate.
Assist with the application and required identity process, with attention to travel and school timing.
Review the grant and conditions, expected duration and the next steps for the family’s arrangements.
Initial applications are made from overseas. We can also assess an eligible extension for a parent already holding this permission in the UK.
We advise on application costs and the available service as part of the assessment. School dates and travel bookings do not guarantee a decision by a particular date.
This route does not allow the other parent to join as a dependant. We review each adult’s proposed travel and immigration position separately.
Other children can accompany the parent where they also hold or are applying for Child Student permission. There is no general dependant entitlement for the wider family.
We can review the immigration implications of proposed boarding, guardianship and family care arrangements alongside the school timetable.
If the parent leaves while the child continues studying, suitable ongoing care must be arranged. Immigration permission and a school’s care arrangements are distinct matters that need to fit together.
This route does not permit paid employment, study or running a business, and it cannot be used to make the UK the parent’s main home. Access to public funds is restricted.
Switching from this category into a different visa category within the UK is not permitted under the route’s normal rules. Future applications need to be planned with that restriction in mind.
An extension may be possible while the parent and child continue to qualify. Permission is limited by the child’s visa expiry or twelfth birthday, whichever comes first.
We review continued eligibility, existing permission and the proposed care arrangements before advising on an extension. Earlier Tier 4 (Child) permission may also be relevant to the assessment.
We can help prepare a further application before the current permission expires and advise on travel while an application is pending. Travel can affect a pending in-country application, so plans should be reviewed in advance.
A new child visa or change of school does not automatically update the parent’s immigration permission.
As the child grows older or the schooling arrangements change, we can assess the family’s next immigration steps and the implications for the parent’s departure.
If the parent wishes to work, study or remain on another basis, a separate route assessment is needed. This permission does not provide an automatic transition to another immigration category.
This is a temporary route and does not lead directly to settlement. We can review the full immigration history and longer-term plans when advising on any separate options.
British citizenship has its own status, residence, absence, language, good-character and other conditions. Accompanying a child at school does not confer settlement or citizenship.