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 when you apply from outside the UK.

This visa usually lasts for either 6 or 12 months. After that, you can get extensions for 12 months at a time until your child reaches 12 years of age.
You’ll be given a shorter visa and will not be able to extend that visa if your child is going to:
• have their 12th birthday in the next 12 months
• finish their final year at school in the next 12 months
You must leave the UK when your visa expires in either case, and cannot switch to a different visa category. If your child is staying in education in the UK without you, you must make arrangements for their ongoing care.

You can:
• extend your visa for 12 months at a time, as long as you continue to meet the eligibility requirements
You cannot:
• switch into a different immigration category from a ‘Parent of a Tier 4 child visa’ when it expires
• get public funds
• make your main home in the UK
• take paid work
• study
• bring other family members (‘dependants’) with you on your application – they must apply separately

To be eligible for a Parent of a Tier 4 child visa you must:
• have enough money to support yourself and any dependants while in the UK
• maintain a second home outside the UK
• plan to leave the UK at the end of your visit
• be able to meet the cost of the return or onward journey
Your child must:
• be under 12
• be studying at or about to start studying at an independent fee-paying day school in the UK
• have a Tier 4 (Child) visa or be in the category ‘students in the UK under the immigration rules in place before 31 March 2009’

When you apply you’ll need to provide:
• a current passport or other valid travel identification
• your tuberculosis (TB) test results if you’re from a country where you have to take the test
You’ll need to have a blank page in your passport on which to put the visa.
You’ll also have to provide documents that prove you:
• have a permanent home outside the UK
• have money to support you and your children or have relatives or friends that will support you in the UK
• have booked (or can afford) travel to leave the UK at the end of your stay
• were not last admitted to the UK under the Approved Destination Status Agreement with China
You’ll need to provide a certified translation of any documents that are not in English or Welsh.
You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances.

You can apply to extend your stay for as long as you and your child continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
You must apply while you’re still in the UK and at least 4 weeks before your original visa expires.

You can apply to extend your stay for 12 months at a time.