Maintenance (Funds)

Maintenance (funds) refers to the amount of money you must have available to you or any family members that may be accompanying you. You must show that you have access to a certain level of funds to meet your living costs in the UK and outstanding course fees. The amount of money you need depends on how long your course is and how much of your course fees you have paid.

Please make sure you read and understand the information here. Not properly meeting the Maintenance requirement is a common reason why Student visa applications are refused.

How much money do I need to show I have?

You need to show that you have enough money to support your living costs and your outstanding course fees. Your outstanding course fees will be listed on your CAS and this figure with the figure for living costs will need to be available. The amount you need to show for living costs is calculated as follows:

You need to show that you have £1,023 for each month of your course up to a maximum of nine months (£9,207).

Examples:

You will be studying English for Academic Purposes for 10 weeks (two and a half months) and have paid the course fees in full. You will need to show that you have £3,069 (£1,023 x 3 months) available to you.
You will be studying a three-year undergraduate degree programme and have paid £8,000 towards the £15,000 course fee. You will need to show £9,207 (£1,023 x 9 months) for living costs and £7,000 for outstanding fees, for a total of £21,207.

You will need to show that this total figure has been available to you for at least 28 consecutive days prior to the submission of your application.

What if I have paid some money towards University of Derby accommodation?

A maximum of £1,334 can be deducted from the amount you need to show for living costs if you have paid any money to the University of Derby for accommodation. Even if you have paid more than £1,334, this is the maximum figure that can be deducted. This does not apply to private (non-University) accommodation.

What documents do I need to provide?

If you are self-funded you can provide one of the following documents:

A personal bank statement (current, deposit or savings accounts), no more than 31 days old at the time of your Student visa application, showing that you have held the required funds for 28 consecutive days, and a letter from your bank, no more than 31 days old, confirming the amount of funds in the account and that they have been there for 28 consecutive days; or
A letter confirming a loan that is no more than six months old. The loan must be provided by your national government, your state or regional government, a government sponsored student loan company or is part of an academic or educational loans scheme.

Any of the above documents must contain:

Your name
The account number
The date
The name and logo of the bank
The amount of money available

All documents must be original and not photocopies, showing all pages and high-quality scanned, not creased or crumpled. Bank statements printed at the bank will be acceptable as long as you also provide a letter from the bank confirming that they are genuine, or get the bank to stamp each statement with their official stamp.

You could also provide a certificate of deposit as evidence as long as it meets the following criteria:

The certificate must have been issued within 31 days of the visa application
At least 28 days must have elapsed between the date of the deposit and the date of issue of the certificate
There must be no wording on the document that indicates the funds are frozen or otherwise inaccessible

You cannot use shares, bonds, investments or credit cards as evidence of funds.

Financial documents should contain the contact details of the financial institution, such as phone numbers or email, as this may be needed during the assessment of your documents.

Can I use more than one account?

You can use more than one account to meet the requirement. UKVI will look at the total figure on each day across all bank documents provided. Please note that the most recent date on any documents provided will be used when calculating the 28 day period.

Accounts can be based in the UK or overseas. If the account is in a currency other than British Sterling (£), use oanda.com to check the currency conversion and ensure that you have the correct amount. This is the website that UKVI will use.

Financial evidence that is not accepted

Bank statements from relatives other than your parents/legal guardian.
Bank statements in a company’s name.
Sponsorship letters written by a local (not international) company or organisation.
Sponsorship letters written by a family member.

Are there any banks that are not accepted by UKVI?

Funds from an overseas account will not be accepted if the following apply:

The Home Office is unable to make satisfactory verification checks of the overseas bank; or
The overseas bank is not regulated by the appropriate regulatory body in the respective overseas country; or
The overseas bank does not use electronic record keeping

You must make sure that the financial documents you provide will not face such issues.

Can I use a family member’s bank statements?

The only family members that can support you financially and use their documents are parents or legal guardians. You cannot use the account information of any other relative or friend.

In addition to your parent's/legal guardian’s bank documents you will also need to provide:

Your birth certificate showing the name(s) of your parent(s),
Your certificate of adoption showing the name(s) of your legal guardian(s), or
An original or notarised copy of a court document naming your legal guardian(s)

Your parent/legal guardian must also provide a letter that confirms their relationship to you and that they consent to you using their funds for your stay in the UK. All documents must be original.

What if I am government sponsored?

An official financial sponsor is classified by UKVI has Her Majesty’s Government, your home government, the British Council or any international organisation, international company, university or Independent School. If a sponsor is covering your course fees and living costs you will need to provide a letter that contains:

Your name
Your sponsor’s name and contact details
The date of the letter
The length of the sponsorship
The amount of money the sponsor is giving to you or a statement that they are covering all course fees and living costs

If your sponsor is only covering part of your fees or living costs, you must show that you have the rest of the money needed.

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