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Financial Requirement

To apply for a Student visa, you need to prepare enough money to support yourself while you are studying in the UK. This is in addition to the cost of applying for a Student visa.

If you are applying with your family, please also read our information for Dependants.

Who needs to show financial evidence

If you are applying for a Student visa outside the UK, you must prepare financial evidence for your visa application.

If you are applying for a Student visa in the UK and you have been in the UK with immigration permission for less than 12 months on the date of your Student visa application, you must prepare financial evidence for your visa application.

If you are applying for a Student visa in the UK and you have been living in the UK with immigration permission for 12 months or more on the date of your Student visa application, you will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show financial evidence.

If you are applying for a Student visa as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer, you will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show financial evidence.

Amount of money

Your first year's tuition fees as shown on your CAS

Living costs

£1023 per month of the length of your course, up to a maximum of 9 months. If your course lasts 9 months or longer, you will need to prepare £9207.

= The total amount of money you need to prepare

Deductions for fees paid to the University

You can deduct money already paid to the University towards tuition fees from the total fees due, as long as the amount paid is shown on your CAS.

If you the amount you paid does not appear on your CAS statement or you paid tuition fees after receiving your CAS statement but before you pay online for your visa, contact us.

Financial evidence

You can show evidence of your money in a number of ways:

Money in the bank

You must hold the required amount of money in the account for 28 days. The 28 days will be counted backwards from the closing balance of your bank statement or letter. The date of your evidence may be up to 31 days before the date of your visa application.

You can use your bank account during the 28 days but the balance must not fall below the required amount.

Account holder

The bank account can be held (either alone or as a joint account holder) by:

You, the Student visa applicant; or
Your partner who is applying for entry clearance or permission to stay at the same time as you, the Student visa applicant, or has already been granted immigration permission; or
Your parent or legal guardian.

Financial evidence from a parent or legal guardian

If you use financial evidence from your parent or legal guardian’s account, you must also provide:

Proof of your relationship to them, for example, your birth certificate or court adoption document; and
a letter of permission from your parent or legal guardian for you to use their money.

Account type

Accounts which can be used are personal bank or building society accounts including:

Current
Deposit
Savings
Pension from which funds can be withdrawn immediately
Investment account from which funds can be withdrawn immediately

Account types and financial instruments which cannot be used include:

Overdraft facility
Shares
Bonds
Credit cards
Pension from which funds cannot be withdrawn immediately

Source of funds

If the money used as financial evidence was earned or acquired while you were in the UK, it must have been earned or acquired lawfully, while you had immigration permission and not in breach of any conditions attached to that permission.

Official financial sponsorship

You are officially financially sponsored if any of the following are providing money to pay for your studies:

the UK government
your national government
the British Council
an international organisation
an international company
University or Independent School.

If your official financial sponsor is University of Southampton, your CAS must state that the University are providing financial sponsorship.

If your official financial sponsor is another of the organisations listed above, you must prepare a letter of confirmation from your official financial sponsor.

Student loan

Your student loan can be provided by:

a government; or
a government sponsored student loan company; or
an academic or educational loans scheme which is provided by a financial institution regulated for the purpose of issuing student loans by either the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or, in the case of overseas accounts, the official regulatory body for the country the institution is in and where the money is held.

Your loan letter must:

be dated no more than 6 months before the date of application; and
confirm the loan is a student loan provided by either the relevant government or a government sponsored student loan company or an
academic or educational loans scheme; and
confirm there are no conditions on release of the loan funds other than a successful application to study in the UK as a Student; and
confirm the amount of the loan; and
confirm the loan is to the applicant; and
confirm the funds will be:
- available to the applicant before they travel to the UK; or
- paid directly to the student sponsor before they travel to the UK, with the living cost portion of the loan being made available to the applicant by the time they arrive in the UK; or
- available before the applicant begins their course if the loan is provided by the applicant’s national government; and
if provided by an academic or educational loans scheme, confirm that the scheme is provided by a financial institution regulated for the purpose of issuing student loans by the official regulatory body for the country the institution is in and where the money is held.

Other considerations

Currency

If the currency is not British Pounds (GBP), the balance will be converted using the exchange rate on www.oanda.com for the date of your visa application.

Differential evidence requirement

If your nationality is listed in paragraph ST 22.1 of Immigration Rules Appendix ST: Student, you must prepare financial evidence but do not need to provide it when you submit your Student visa application.

The decision maker for your visa application may request your financial evidence when considering your Student visa application.

Translations

If your financial evidence is not in English or Welsh, you must provide the version in the original language and a full translation that can be independently verified.

The translation must include all of the following:

date of translation; and
confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original document; and
the full name and signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company; and
the translator or translation company’s contact details; and
if you are applying inside the UK, details of the translator or translation company’s credentials.