Child Student visa update - Updated guardianship and living arrangement rules from 11 November 2025
From 11 November, UKVI will bring into the Immigration Rules a number of safeguards that have been operating as concessions since May. The focus is on clarity and consistency around guardianship, living arrangements and the documentation schools should see before issuing a CAS. Independent schools should review templates, processes and record keeping to ensure visa applications made from 11 November are compliant.
What is changing from 11 November 2025
One of the biggest issues with the current Immigration Rules is that the 'letter of undertaking' which needs to be provided where a sponsored boarder will be cared for by an educational guardian (or nominated guardian, as they are referred to in the Rules) relate to information which might easily be provided by an individual guardian or carer, but will be less readily available if the child's parents have appointed a guardianship organisation to act as the child's carer while in the UK but not staying at the school. The updated rules rectify this anomaly and set out the information which a guardianship organisation must provide in a 'letter of undertaking' if the details of the individual carer isn’t known at the time the child makes their visa application. In that situation the guardianship organisation’s letter must name a UK-based member of staff who is a British citizen or settled in the UK as contact. The letter must confirm the organisation’s name and address, its establishment date, and confirm that that all guardians (homestay families) which it uses hold a current enhanced DBS check (or the equivalent for homestays in Scotland or Northern Ireland).
The new rules will also require additional information to be provided in the letter of undertaking which needs to be provided where a sponsored pupil will be cared for by a nominated guardian where the details of the carer are known at the time the visa application is submitted. Currently, educational guardians are required to provide the "name, registered address and contact details of anyone regularly living with the nominated guardian". Under the new rules the letter of undertaking will need to include "the name, date of birth, registered address, contact details and, if they have one national insurance number, of any adult regularly living with the nominated guardian".
Where schools hold letters of undertaking from educational guardians which comply with the current rules, we do not see any requirement to obtain new letters of undertaking containing the above additional information. The Student Sponsor Guidance requires schools to retain copies of the letter of undertaking which was used in the Child Student's visa application, and to obtain updated letters of undertaking where there has been a change in their care arrangements. Accordingly, if the letter of undertaking complied with the rules in force when the visa application was submitted, and there has not been a change in the pupil's care arrangements since, there is no need to obtain an updated letter.
The Rules now consolidate the permitted living arrangements for boarders. Under the current rules a distinction was made between full, weekly and flexi boarders, but from 11 November these will be grouped together and the rules will confirm that when not boarding a pupil is permitted to live with a British/settled nominated guardian (for less than 28 days), private foster carer or a close relative, or with a parent who holds a visa as a 'Parent of a Child Student'. Day pupils continue to be permitted to live full time with a British/settled private foster carer or close relative, with a parent who holds permission as a 'Parent of a Child Student' permission, or independently with their parents' consent if they are aged 16 or 17.
A minor clarification is being made to the rules which provide for refusal of a Child Student visa application where there are concerns about the background of a proposed carer or those with whom they live. The rules currently refer to the criminality of anyone regularly living with the proposed carer - from 11 November the rules will be amended to only refer to adults who regularly live with the proposed carer.
What Independent Schools should do now
To prepare for these changes we suggest that you review your template Letters of Undertaking used by the pupils you sponsor. You may also wish to review your template parental consent letters to ensure that they continue to reflect the rules and Student Sponsor Guidance. Given the importance of the consent letter and the letter of undertaking, we suggest that you ensure that your sponsorship processes require families to provide you with those documents before you assign a CAS to the pupil, to improve collection rates for these mandatory documents.
If you regularly work with guardianship organisations we suggest that you liaise with them to ensure that they are able to provide the information required from them in the letter of undertaking.
Additionally, now may also be an appropriate time to review your educational guardianship policy in particular, and sponsorship policies and processes in general.