Study Abroad UK blog
How old do you have to be to an exchange student in the uk
Monday 1st October 2018
We get asked this question quite a lot so we thought we would put it in our blog. Most exchange students are aged between 16 and 18 but occasionally we get requests from 15 year olds and 18+
If you have not reached your 19th birthday by the time you land we can offer you a place.
What if you are under 16? Everything will proceed as normal if you are 15 years and 11 months when you land. If you are younger it becomes a little more tricky.
If you are aged under 15 and 11 months when you land your host family status must change. In the UK if you are 15 you are considered to be a child. Therefore the UK must treat you like a child living away from their parents. This means that as well as the host family being carefully screened by us they will also have to be screen by local government. This can be a wholly intrusive process for the host family as local govenment requires much more information and medical tests. Pets also have to be screened.
As well this you will have to be monitored by local government. A person called a social worker will visit you very six weeks to see that you are OK and doing well.
What if you are under 15
We can accept you but the longest time you can stay in host is 28 days.