UK student visa financial requirement

At a glance

The requirement, as published

Two parts, as published at gov.uk/student-visa/money. (1) Course fees: enough to cover your course for 1 academic year (up to 9 months) — the exact amount is the figure stated on your CAS, minus any deposit already paid or scholarship shown on the CAS. (2) Living costs (maintenance): £1,529 per month for up to 9 months if studying in London (up to £13,761), or £1,171 per month for up to 9 months if studying outside London (up to £10,539). The money must have been held for "at least 28 days in a row", and the end date of that 28-day period must be within 31 days of the date you apply. IMPORTANT FOR INDIAN STUDENTS: India is NOT on the GOV.UK list of countries exempt from proving funds (that list includes Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, USA and others, but not India), so Indian applicants must submit financial evidence with the application. Boarding-school students pay published boarding fees instead of the standard living-cost figure. These amounts were increased by the Home Office and are reviewed periodically — verify at the source before showing bank balances.

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.