You will need enough money to pay for your course fees and your living costs while you are studying in the UK. The Home Office refers to this as the maintenance requirements which must be in the form of cash funds. The amount of money that you need to have for your maintenance will depend on the duration of your course and where you will be studying in the UK.
For living costs you must show that you have:
- £1,015 per month if you are studying outside London or anywhere else in the UK or £9,135 for courses 9 months in duration or more
- £1,265 per month if you are studying in London or £11,385 for courses 9 months in duration or more
You must add your required maintenance amount to the outstanding tuitions fees you have yet to pay. These total funds must be clear in the maintenance evidence you include in your visa application.
If you pay or some of your accommodation fees to your Student visa sponsor before submitting your visa application, this amount up to a maximum of £1,265 will be deducted from the total amount of maintenance funds you will need to show for living costs. Please note that amount taken away cannot exceed a maximum of £1,265, even if your accommodation payment was more than £1,265.
If you are using overseas currency the Home Office use the official exchange rate currency converter on the OANDA website. You can provide either:
- Personal bank or building society statements covering a consecutive 28 period ending no more than 31 days before you submit your visa application
- Building society pass book covering a consecutive 28 period ending no more than 31 days before you submit your visa application
- A letter from your bank confirming your funds have been maintained for consecutive 28 day period ending no more than 31 days before you submit your visa application
- A letter from a regulated financial institution confirming that you have a loan that is provided by the national government, the state or regional government or a government sponsored student loan company, or
- A letter from a regulated financial institution confirming that you have a loan that is part of an academic or educational loans scheme
- A certificate of deposit covering a consecutive 28 day period ending no more than 31 days before you submit your visa application
If you use money in your parent(s) or guardian(s) bank account to cover your maintenance requirement, documents that you will need to provide are:
- A bank statement in their name(s)
- An original signed and dated letter of consent from your parents proving that they will support you financially during your studies
- Your original full birth certificate, your original certificate of adoption or an original or notarised copy of a legal document confirming your legal parent(s)/guardian(s)
Each document must show your parent(s) or guardian(s) full name.
All documents should be in English or officially translated into English. Please ensure that all documents from banks include the account holder(s)’ full name, the account number, the financial institution’s name and logo and the amount of fund available. Electronic copies will require the institution’s official stamp on each page. You cannot show money in the account of other relatives (including your spouse) or friends. You cannot use evidence of other types of finances, such as shares, bonds, overdrafts or a pension fund.
Be sure to verify if your financial institution is approved by the Home Office.
For more details please refer to the Tier 4 Policy Guidance.
Published: 26 November 2020