Understanding the UK Student Visa Financial Requirement

If you have an offer from a UK university and a CAS in hand, congratulations — that is the hard part done. But there is a second hurdle that quietly refuses more applications than most people expect: the financial requirement. Every year, students with genuine admissions watch their visa get refused not because of grades, interviews or documents, but because the money in their bank account did not quite satisfy UKVI’s maintenance rules.

The rule itself is simple on paper. When you apply for a UK Student visa, you must prove you can support yourself — and any dependants joining you — without relying on public funds. That means showing a set amount of money held in an acceptable account for a set period of time. Two figures make up the total: your outstanding first-year tuition fees (as stated on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, or CAS) plus your maintenance funds, which cover your living costs. The calculator above works out the maintenance side for you.

What makes this tricky is that UKVI applies the rules mechanically. The caseworker does not weigh your overall wealth, your family’s property, or a promise that money is on the way. They check one thing: did the required amount sit in an approved account for 28 consecutive days, and does the statement confirm it? Miss the total by a few pounds on one day, submit a statement that is two days too old, or use an account type UKVI does not accept, and the application fails. This is why understanding the exact figure — not an estimate, not a rounded guess — matters so much.

2026 Maintenance Rates: London vs Outside London

UKVI sets two monthly maintenance rates, and which one applies to you depends on where the majority of your study takes place — not where you choose to live. If your campus, lectures and supervised study are mainly in the London boroughs or the City of London, the higher rate applies. Everyone else uses the lower rate.

A quick note on trust: these are the published UKVI maintenance figures, and the calculator above uses them directly. Immigration rules do change — sometimes mid-year — so before you move money, confirm the current rates on gov.uk/student-visa. Visaora’s figures are checked against official sources, but the official page is always the final authority.

The London premium exists because the Home Office recognises that rent, transport and food cost materially more in the capital. In practice, the gap is significant: over the full 9-month counting period, a London student must show £13,347 while a student outside London must show £10,224 — a difference of £3,123 before dependants or tuition are even considered. If your university has both a London and a regional campus, the location of your course — not the address on your accommodation contract — decides which rate you use.

Course Length and the 9-Month Cap

Here is the detail that saves many students from over-saving: UKVI only counts maintenance for a maximum of 9 months, no matter how long your course runs. A 12-month master’s, a 3-year bachelor’s degree, a 4-year PhD — the maintenance requirement caps at 9 months in every case.

For courses shorter than 9 months, you simply multiply the monthly rate by the actual course length (plus any extra months UKVI adds for courses under 6 months, which are treated with a small buffer — check the official guidance for your course type). A 6-month pre-sessional English course outside London, for example, needs 6 × £1,136 = £6,816.

For courses of 9 months or longer, the math is fixed. Enter any course length above 9 into the calculator and you will see the “months counted” field lock at 9 while the total stays the same. That is not a bug — it is the rule working in your favour. A 3-year undergraduate degree outside London requires £10,224 in maintenance for the visa, not three years of living costs. The Home Office assumes you will fund later years through the same combination of savings, family support and permitted part-time work.

Tuition Fees Already Paid: The CAS Credit Rule

Most universities ask for a deposit before they issue your CAS — and that deposit is not dead money. UKVI deducts any tuition you have already paid from the total funds you must show. If your first-year tuition is £19,500 and you have paid £5,000, the caseworker only needs to see the remaining £14,500 in your account, alongside your maintenance total.

The mechanics are straightforward: your sponsor records the amount paid on your CAS, and UKVI reads it from there. This means two things for you. First, the paid amount does not need to sit in your bank account on top of everything else — it is already credited. Second, you should double-check that the CAS figure is correct before you apply, because the caseworker will use the CAS number, not your receipts. If the university recorded £4,000 but you actually paid £5,000, get the CAS corrected or carry the discrepancy in your funds.

The calculator treats tuition credit exactly this way: your entered payment shows up as a credit note in the breakdown, reducing the balance you need to demonstrate. If you are budgeting for the full cost of studying in the UK — not just the visa figure — our UK IHS Surcharge Estimator is worth running next, because the Immigration Health Surcharge is a separate payment that catches many students by surprise.

Dependants: Extra Funds You Must Show

Postgraduate students (and government-sponsored undergraduates) can bring a partner and children on dependant visas, and each one adds a separate maintenance requirement. The dependant rates are lower than the main applicant’s but they stack up fast: £1,015 per month in London and £845 per month outside London, each counted up to 9 months.

Run the numbers and the scale becomes clear. A student in London with a partner and one child must show: £13,347 (own maintenance) + £9,135 (partner) + £9,135 (child) = £31,617 in maintenance alone, before any unpaid tuition. Outside London, the same family needs £10,224 + £7,605 + £7,605 = £25,434. Every dependant also pays their own visa fee and IHS surcharge.

Two practical points. First, dependant funds must be shown in addition to yours — you cannot count the same pot twice. If you are the one holding the money for everyone, the account must contain the combined total for the full 28 days. Second, if your partner has been living in the UK with permission for 12 months or more, they may qualify for reduced or zero additional maintenance — this is one of the few genuine exemptions, and it is worth checking against your own situation rather than assuming it applies. Planning a family move? Our UK Spouse Visa Income Checker covers the separate financial rules that apply to partner routes.

The 28-Day Rule Explained

The 28-day rule is the single most misunderstood part of the UK student visa, so let us be precise about what it actually demands.

• The money must be held for 28 consecutive days. The full required total must be present in the account on every single one of those 28 days. A dip below the total — even by £1, even for one day — restarts the clock.
• The evidence must be recent. Your bank statement or letter must be dated no more than 31 days before the date you submit your visa application.
• The account must be acceptable. Personal current or savings accounts in your name (or a parent’s, with the right supporting documents) are fine. Most stocks, shares, pensions, business accounts and accounts in a financial institution UKVI does not recognise are not.

Timing is where people get caught. The smart move is to place the full amount in the account at least 35 days before you plan to apply, giving yourself a buffer, then request the statement a day or two before submitting. Never schedule large withdrawals — rent deposits, flight bookings, tuition transfers — inside the 28-day window from the same account. Use a second account for spending.

Currency matters too. If your funds are held in another currency, UKVI converts using the exchange rate on the date of your application. Exchange rates move, so keep a 5–10% buffer above the required total if you are holding rupees, naira, dirhams or any volatile currency. A buffer that looked generous in July can evaporate by September.

Common Reasons UKVI Rejects Financial Evidence

Caseworkers do not have discretion here — if the evidence fails the checklist, the visa fails. These are the refusals we see repeated every intake season:

• Balance dipped during the 28 days. The classic. A standing order, an automatic payment, a family member “borrowing” briefly — any of these can push the balance a few pounds under the line. Freeze the account’s outgoings for the full period.
• Statement too old. A statement printed 40 days before the application date is useless, even if the funds were perfect. The 31-day freshness rule is absolute.
• Wrong account holder, no proof of relationship. Using a parent’s account is allowed, but without a birth certificate and a signed consent letter, it counts for nothing.
• Unrecognised bank or account type. UKVI publishes a list of financial institutions it does not accept evidence from, and it changes. Check it for your country before you rely on a local bank.
• Sudden large deposits with no explanation. The rules do not technically require you to explain the source, but a deposit of the full amount on day one followed by silence looks like a loan. Seasoned applicants keep a simple paper trail — salary slips, sale receipts, transfer records — in case of an interview.
• Forgetting the tuition balance. Students calculate maintenance perfectly, then forget that the unpaid portion of first-year tuition must also sit in the account. Always add it.
• Using the wrong location rate. Studying in London but budgeting at the outside-London rate — or vice versa — is an instant shortfall. Check where the majority of your study takes place.

If a previous application was refused on financial grounds, do not simply reapply with the same evidence. Fix the root cause, restart the 28-day clock cleanly, and consider a professional review of your full profile — our Visa Approval Predictor can flag weak points across your whole application, and the Document Checklist Generator will make sure your evidence bundle is complete before you submit.

How the Calculator Works

The calculator applies the official UKVI maintenance logic step by step — no estimates, no outdated blog figures:

1. Study location sets the monthly rate: £1,483 for London, £1,136 for outside London.
2. Course length is capped at 9 months. Enter 12, 24 or 36 — the counted months lock at 9, exactly as UKVI does it.
3. Your maintenance = monthly rate × counted months. This is the hero figure you must hold for 28 days.
4. Dependants add £1,015 or £845 per person per month (same 9-month cap), on top of your own funds.
5. Tuition already paid appears as a credit note — it reduces what you must demonstrate and is confirmed on your CAS.
6. The per-day figure divides your grand total by 28, giving you the daily equivalent over the holding window — useful for sanity-checking your savings plan.
7. The grand total = your maintenance + dependants’ maintenance. Any unpaid first-year tuition sits on top of this, added by UKVI from your CAS.

And a few strategic tips from years of watching these applications succeed and fail:

• Open a dedicated “visa account.” One account, one job: holding the required total. Do all your spending from a different account so nothing can accidentally dip the balance.
• Start the 28 days early. Aim for 35+ days of holding before you apply. Delays happen — a buffer means you are never racing the calendar.
• Keep a currency buffer. If your money is not in pounds, hold 5–10% above the required figure.
• Match the CAS. Before applying, confirm the tuition-paid figure on your CAS matches what you entered here. Discrepancies are the caseworker’s easiest refusal.
• Print statements correctly. Online printouts are accepted, but they must show your name, the account number, the bank’s name and logo, and the balance on each date — or be accompanied by a supporting letter from the bank.

Still deciding between universities or countries? Our Global Visa Finder compares study routes across 19 countries, and the UK Visitor Visa Guide is handy if your family plans to visit you after you arrive. Get the funds figure right, respect the 28 days, and the financial requirement becomes the easiest part of your application.