What financial evidence do I need? | University of Sunderland in London

If you are not from one of the below countries*, you will need to prove that you have enough money in your account to pay for your first year’s tuition fees and your living expenses to get your Student visa. You must give the documents to the UK Home Office to show that you meet these requirements.

You will find information on your course fees and how much they are in your offer letter. All students must show they have the following funds available as a minimum:

Course length as per your CAS	Amount you need to show
less than 9 months	Full course fees + £1,334 for each month of course length
more than 9 months	First year course fees + £12,006 (£1,334 per month for a maximum of 9 months)

Please see below an ‘example’ of fees needed with one dependent:

Tuition fees	£15,500
Fees paid to date	£4,298
Unpaid fees total	£11,202
Home Office Maintenance (for applicant)	£12,006
Total of unpaid fees and Maintenance	£23,208

Please see below an ‘example’ of fees needed without dependents:

Tuition fees	£15,500
Fees paid to date	£4,298
Unpaid fees total	£11,202
Home Office Maintenance (for applicant)	£12,006
Home Office Maintenance (for one dependent)	£7,605
Total of unpaid fees and Maintenance	£30,813

Please be aware that if you wish to bring more than one dependent, you must show £7605 per person for studies inside of London.

Proving you have enough money

The UK Home Office is very strict when it comes to financial evidence that you must provide to show you have enough money for your studies in the UK. They will typically accept the following documents:

Funds in your, or a parent's bank account for a 28-day consecutive period
An educational loan in your name
A letter from an official government sponsor in your home country or from the UK Government

Evidence you will need to provide:

Cash in your own bank account: The money in your bank account must show that you have held these for at least 28 consecutive days prior to the date of application. Shares, bonds, overdrafts, credit cards, pension funds and similar savings accounts will not be accepted. Funds must not be held in a bank or a financial institution where the UK Home Office is unable to make the required verification checks. The UK Home Office website lists these institutions.

You must provide one of the following specified types of documents:

Original personal bank statement

This must cover a consecutive 28 day period. The closing balance shown on this statement must not be more than 31 days old before the date of your visa application. Statements must show:

Your name
Account number
Date of statement
Name and logo of bank/building society
That the funds in this account have not fallen below the minimum amount required for the full 28 day period
That the funds in this account must be present until the closing balance of the statement or the production date of the statement.

Electronic bank statements will not be accepted.

Original joint account statements

Joint bank statements must show all of the above information. These statements must also show names of both the account holders. If this is your parents then your name will not need to be shown. See section on cash in parent’s account for more information.

If this is a joint account with your spouse, both your name and your spouse’s names must appear on the statement.

Letter from your bank

If you don’t have a bank statement, you can provide a letter from your bank which has been stamped and signed by a staff member in your local branch. This can also be printed on letterhead paper from the bank. This letter must also include the following information:

Your name
Your account number
Production date (date letter was written)
Name and logo of bank/building society
Confirmation of amount held in the account
That the funds in this account have not fallen below the minimum amount required for the full 28 day period
That the funds in this account must be present until the closing balance of the statement or the production date of the statement

Cash in parent's account

You can use money in a bank account held by one, or both of your parents instead of your own personal account. If you are relying on funds provided by your parents, you must also show evidence of your relationship to them and that they have given you their permission to use/have access to this money for your studies. If using a parent’s bank statement, you must also provide the below as additional evidence:

An original copy of your birth certificate. If needed, this must also be translated into English and this must be done by an official translator (Affidavits cannot be used as these are not accepted by the UK Home Office or the University of Sunderland)
A letter from your parents, signed by them, that confirms they are happy for you to use/have access to funds in their account

You must also submit your parent’s original bank statement which outlines all the same information as mentioned under the personal bank statement section.

You cannot use bank statements belonging to friends or a family member except those of parents.

How long the money must be held

If you are using a bank account that is either from your own personal account, or your parents, the money must be held in cash and you must show that you have held the funds in the account for at least 28 consecutive days prior to the date of your visa application.

Property, shared, bonds, pension funds, life insurance, credit cards or similar savings accounts will not be accepted.

During the 28 day period (up to and including) the closing balance on the date the bank statement is produced, the balance must not have dropped below the minimum amount required. If it has dropped below this amount, even just for one day, you will not meet your financial requirements and your student visa application will be rejected on these grounds.

Funds must not be held in a bank or financial institution where the UK Home Office is unable to make satisfactory verification checks on. The UK Home Office lists these institutions online.

Educational loans

If you wish to use an educational loan for your financial evidence, this must be:

In your name, not in the name of your parents or legal guardian
From a bank that is regulated by an official regulatory body for providing educational loans in your country
Dated no more than 6 months before the date of your student visa application.

As additional evidence for your educational loan, you must provide a supporting letter from the bank confirming the loan has been approved. The letter must be an original and must show:

Your name
The date the letter was produced
The financial institutions name and logo
The money available as an educational loan is provided by your national, state government, a government sponsored student loan company, or is part of an academic or educational loan scheme.
The start date of the loan

The funds for the loan must be available to you before you travel to the UK, unless the loan is an educational or student loan from your country’s national government and will be given to you, or the University directly, when you arrive in the UK.

There must be no conditions placed on the release of the loan funds to you, other that your Student visa application being successful.

US Federal Loans

If you are an American student who is applying for a US Federal loan, you will need to submit a ‘Notification of Student Loan’ letter with your visa application.

Finacial or Government Sponsorship

The UK Visas and Immigration defines an official sponsor as one of the below:

The UK Government or your government in your home country
The British Council
An international organisation
An international company

If your official financial sponsor is paying your tuition fees and living expenses, you do not have to provide separate evidence of your savings. However, you must provide a letter from your official financial sponsor confirming that your sponsor will pay all your tuition fees and living expenses.

This letter must be on official letterhead paper showing the below information:

Your name
The names of your dependents (if applicable)
The name and contact details of the official sponsor
The date of the letter (this should not be more than six months old)
The length of the sponsorship – start and end date
The amount of money the sponsor is giving you, or confirmation that they will pay your tuition fees and living expenses
The official stamp of the organisation

If your sponsor only pays some of the costs, you will need a letter from them, and proof that you have enough money yourself to meet the rest of the maintenance requirements (such as personal bank statements).

All financial evidence can be submitted for the Immigration Compliance team to assess via the ‘MyApplication’ portal.

Please also be aware that we may ask you to supply us with additional financial evidence at any point to carry out further verification checks on your financial evidence.

*Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United States of America.

**Home country currency.