Dubai student visa financial requirement

At a glance

The requirement, as published

No fixed proof-of-funds or maintenance amount is published by ICP, GDRFA-Dubai or u.ae for the university-sponsored student residence permit — unlike the UK or Australia, the UAE does not set a published bank-balance figure for students. What is officially published is (a) valid UAE health insurance as a condition of the residence permit (mandatory in Dubai under Dubai Health Insurance Law No. 11 of 2013) and (b) for the GDRFA study/training visit visa route, a security deposit of AED 1,000 plus AED 20 deposit service fee and AED 40 deposit collection/reimbursement. In practice the university sets the financial evidence it wants (tuition payment or deposit, and bank statements), so treat any "minimum balance" quoted by a consultant as a university rule, not a UAE government rule.

The form of the money matters as much as the amount

Applicants concentrate on reaching the figure and are refused on how the money is held. Across every major student visa route the same four questions decide it.

• Whose account is it in? Routes differ on whether a parent's account is acceptable and what proof of relationship is needed.
• How long has it been there? Many routes require the funds to have been held for a continuous period, and a deposit made last week usually fails.
• What kind of account? Some routes exclude accounts you cannot access immediately.
• Can you evidence the source? A large recent credit without an explanation invites a refusal even when the balance is correct.

Education loans as proof of funds

A sanctioned education loan is accepted as evidence of funds by several routes, which is why the loan timeline and the visa timeline are the same timeline. A sanction letter is usually needed, not an in-principle approval.

1. Confirm your route accepts a loan sanction letter, and from which kind of lender.
2. Allow for the loan taking longer than the lender indicates — collateral valuation is the usual delay.
3. Keep the sanction letter, the disbursement schedule and the lender's letterhead details together.

Our lender pages at /education-loan carry each lender's processing indication and how recently we read it. Work backwards from the visa date, not from the course start.