Student visa financial document checklist

To apply for a Student visa, you must meet the financial requirement.

This means you need to have enough money to pay your course fees and your living costs. If your partner or child are applying to accompany you as your dependant, you will also need to show additional money for their living costs too.

The money can come from one or more of the following sources:

Cash funds held in a bank or building society account. This includes savings accounts, current accounts, deposit accounts, investment accounts and pensions savings, if the funds are immediately accessible (able to be withdrawn as cash immediately). Company accounts are not acceptable.
Official financial sponsorship or scholarship.
A student loan from a government, government-sponsored loan company, or a regulated student loans scheme.

Other accounts or financial instruments such as stocks and shares, bonds, overdrafts, credit cards, bitcoin savings and pension funds are not acceptable, regardless of notice period.

Your documents must show that you meet the financial requirement and had enough funds as of the date you submit your online visa application form.

Calculate how much money you need

You need to have enough money to pay your outstanding course fees for the first academic (or, if you are a continuing student, the next) year and your living expenses (also known as maintenance funds).

The amount you need to show for your living expenses is £1,136 per month, up to a maximum of nine months (£10,224 in total).

If you are studying for less than nine months, you only need to show the amount for the number of months you are studying. For example, if you are studying a six-month course you only need to show £1,136 six times (£6,816 in total).

Please note that these figures are set by UKVI and do not reflect the true cost of living in the UK, and so you must not rely on these figures as an estimate of how much you will need to spend per month. Before travelling to the UK you should research the cost of your accommodation, travel, and other expenses, and plan your budget accordingly. Find more information about living costs and budgeting.

If you have already paid some or all of your course fees, you can deduct this from the overall amount. For example, for a course longer than months:

If your course fees are £22,500 and you have paid £3,000 you will need to show £29,724 in total (£19,500 for course fees, plus £10,224 for living costs).
If you have paid all your course fees then you only need to show your living expenses of £10,224.

You can also deduct from the amount you need to show for your living expenses up to £1,483 that you have already paid to the 映客直播 for your accommodation fees, if you will be living in university accommodation. You cannot deduct more than this, and you cannot deduct any advance payments for any other type of accommodation.

If your CAS does not confirm the course or accommodation fees that you have already paid, then you must submit a copy of the payment receipt from the University with your visa application.

If your money is in a foreign currency, UKVI will convert it to British pounds using the as of the date the visa application form was submitted (the date that you submitted the online form and paid the visa application fee). However, if your money is in Iranian Rials (IRR), Syrian Pounds (SYP) or Mongolian Tugrik (MNT), UKVI will not use the OANDA rate and will instead use the .

Evidence you can provide

Cash funds held in a bank or building society account

If you are paying your costs through cash funds in the bank, you can provide either a bank statement or letter from the bank as evidence. It must show the following information:

Your name your parent’s/legal guardian’s name, or your partner’s name if your partner is present in the UK or applying for their visa at the same time as you
Bank name and logo
Full account number
The money you have in your account. This amount must be enough to cover your course fees and living expenses. The document must show that the full amount of money that you need has been in the account for 28 consecutive days up to the date of the closing balance. The money in the account must not have dropped below the amount you need at any time during the 28 day period
The date of the bank letter or statement must be no older than 31 days before the date you pay online for your visa
If you are using a bank letter, the letter must confirm that these funds have been held for a consecutive 28 day period
If you are using your parent’s/legal guardian’s account, you must also submit:
- Proof of your relationship (eg birth certificate, certificate of adoption, government-issued household register, court document naming your legal guardian)
- A letter from your parent/legal guardian confirming that they are funding your studies in the UK and that you have their permission to use their funds
Official translations will be required if your documents are not in English

You can provide downloads of electronic bank statements as long as they contain the information listed previously. You do not need to have these stamped by the bank.

If the origin of the funds in your bank statement is not clear (for example if there are recent single and/or large deposits), or if UKVI have concerns that the money isn’t genuinely held by you to be used in the UK, you may be asked to provide additional information or evidence explaining where the money in the account came from. This may delay the processing of your visa application; hence, although not mandatory, it may be beneficial to include a cover letter with your application that explains the source of your funds.

Only personal bank statements in your name or in the name of your parent/legal guardian can be submitted. You can not use company statements, even if the company is owned by you or your parent. You can not use a bank statement from another relative such as a grandparent, sibling, aunt or uncle.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have confirmed they will accept funds that are in a certificate of deposit. The certificate must be dated with 31 days of the date you submit the visa application form and must confirm that the funds have been held for a 28-day period and that the funds can be accessed at any time.

Official financial sponsorship

The following providers are recognised by UKVI as official financial sponsors:

UK Government sponsored programmes (eg Marshall Scholarship, Chevening Scholars, Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme)
your national government
the British Council
an international organisation
an international company
a University

If you are paying your costs through official financial sponsorship, you must provide a letter from the sponsor including:

Your name
The name and contact details of your official financial sponsor
The date of the letter
The length of your sponsorship
The amount of money the sponsor is giving to you or a statement that your official financial sponsor will cover all of your fees and living costs.

Your CAS will not always include details of scholarships or course fee discounts you have received from the 映客直播. If you have received a scholarship from the 映客直播 and the details are not stated on your CAS, then you must submit separate evidence containing the scholarship details with your application.

Please note that if you are recipient of the 映客直播 Masters Regional Scholarship, details of this scholarship will not appear on your CAS and this particular scholarship cannot be used to help you meet the financial requirement.

A student loan

If you are paying your costs through a loan, you must provide a letter from a regulated financial institution confirming:

Your name
Date of the letter (which must be no more than six months old before the date of application)
The amount of money available as a loan
That the loan is provided by either the relevant government, a government-sponsored student loan company or an academic or educational loans scheme
There are no conditions on release of the loan funds other than a successful application to study
The funds will be available to you, or paid directly to the sponsor, before you begin your course

The loan must be for you. Loans provided to your parent/legal guardian cannot be used.

Costs for dependants

If you have any family members that are applying to come with you to the UK, you will also need to show that you have enough money for their living costs as well (even if you are applying separately).

For each dependant that will live with you in the UK you must show a minimum of £680 per month for the duration of the visa, up to a maximum of 9 months. This is in addition to the amount you need for your own living expenses.

Find more information about visas for dependants.

Verification checks

UKVI may contact your bank, financial institution or official financial sponsor to do verification checks on your evidence. If UKVI cannot verify that your evidence and funds are genuine (for example, because your bank does not respond to UKVI’s verification request), your application may be refused.

You could inform your bank that you are applying for a UK Student visa and that UKVI may contact them to verify the bank documents you are going to submit.

You can also provide a letter confirming the contact details for your bank to assist UKVI with their verifications, but please be aware that UKVI may not be able to use personal or local branch contact details as they will typically verify documents with the bank’s main office.

Applications submitted inside the UK

If you are applying for permission to stay as a Student from inside the UK, and you have been living in the UK with valid immigration permission for 12 months or longer on the date of application, you will automatically meet the financial requirement and you will not need to submit any proof of funds.

Applicants will automatically meet the financial requirement where they are applying for permission to stay in the UK, having been in the UK for at least 12 months with valid permission on the date of application.

Holidays and short absences from the UK will not break this 12-month period. However, if you have not been in the UK for a significant part of the 12 months, for example for at least 3 months, then you may not meet the requirement and you may be required to provide evidence showing that you meet the financial requirement.

‘Low risk’ applicants

Nationals of certain countries can apply for a Student visa under the differential evidence requirement, which means they will be exempt from submitting their financial documents with their application. Check if your nationality is exempt using the list below. You must also be applying from your country of nationality, the country you are living in, or in the UK.

If your dependant is applying at the same time as you and their nationality is also listed under the differential evidence requirement, then they will also be exempt from needing to provide their financial evidence. However, if your dependant is applying for their visa separately they must submit their financial evidence even if their nationality is considered ‘low risk’.

However, even if you are an exempt nationality, you must still make sure that you have enough money to meet the requirements explained previously, and you should still prepare your proof of funds evidence, as UKVI reserve the right to ask you to provide proof of funds when processing your application.

If UKVI contact you with a request to see your financial evidence, this must show that you met the requirement as of the date you submitted your visa application form. If your evidence does not meet the requirements your application will be refused.

Therefore, you should still prepare your financial evidence before you apply even if you are exempt from submitting it because of your nationality.

Nationalities that do not need to provide financial evidence at the point of application

If you are a national of one of these countries, and if you are applying from the UK or the country you are living in, you do not need to provide evidence you have enough money upfront unless the decision maker requests it:

Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Barbados
Belgium
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Canada
Chile
China
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Oman
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates
USA

You also do not need to provide financial evidence unless the decision maker requests it if you have any of these passports:

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