Outside UK

You need to have:

• Your full tuition fee for the first or next year of your course (or for the full course if studying a 1- year Masters degree) PLUS
• A minimum of £12,006 (£ 1334 p/m x 9 months) to cover your living costs
• Please note that for visa applications submitted on or after 2 January 2025 the monthly living cost is rising to £ 1483 p/m. So the new calculation for living costs will be £ 13,347 (£ 1483 p/m x 9 months)

This money needs to be cash funds that have been held in a bank account for AT LEAST 28 days before the date you make your visa application. The date of the application is the date you submit the online form and pay the visa application fee.

Please note that the living costs amount mentioned on this page relate to the visa requirements, for a more accurate estimate of the costs of living in the UK please refer to the Living Cost page.

Nationals of certain countries (e.g China) are considered to be low-risk for immigration purposes, and therefore although you are required to have enough money to meet the Student Route rules you do not need to include any documentation with your application demonstrating you meet this requirement. Please bear in mind, however, that the UK Visa and Immigration Service can request evidence as part of the visa process if they want to. Therefore, you must wait until you have maintained the required amount of money for 28 days before you make your Student visa application, and you should read the rest of this guidance to ensure you could produce documents in the required format if they are requested. 

Click here for the full list of Low Risk national countries. 

UKVI is very specific about the financial documents they will accept. The following are acceptable:

• an official financial or government sponsorship or grant
• a student loan from a government, government sponsored loan company, or a regulated student loans scheme
• your own money
• your parent’s money (if they provide a letter confirming they agree to you using it this way)
• birth certificate or family register if you are relying on your parent's bank statements
• your partner’s money if your partner is present in the UK or applying at the same time

You, or the account holder (such as your parents or partner), must have control of the funds you are relying on.

You must show the funds have been held for 28 days, unless you are relying on a student loan or official financial sponsorship.

The bank statement(s) or evidence you use to show the funds have been held for 28 days must be from the 31 days before you submit your application. The 28 days is calculated from the date of the last transaction in the last dated bank statement.

The following are not accepted as evidence to show you have the required amount of money:

• overdrafts
• bitcoin savings
• stocks and shares
• pensions
• the financial institution is not regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating
• bank accounts that don’t use electronic record keeping

If you have 'official financial sponsorship'

'Official financial sponsor' is defined by the UK government as being fully funded by the UK Government, an overseas government, the British Council , an international organisation, an international company, a university or an independent school.

If your official financial sponsorship is not recorded on your CAS you’ll need to show a letter of confirmation from the official financial sponsor. If you are not sure ask your sponsor. The letter must show:

• the date
• the name of the financial sponsor
• contact details of the financial sponsor
• how long the sponsorship will last
• the amount of money that is being given or confirmation that all of your fees and living costs will be covered

If you have a student loan

For student loans you need to show a student loan letter which:

• is dated no more than 6 months before the date of application
• confirms 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
• confirms there are no conditions on release of the loan funds other than a successful application to study
• confirms the amount of the loan
• confirms the loan is for you
• is on official stationery
• confirms the funds will be available to you, or paid directly to the sponsor, before you begin your course

If you’re using your own money

If you’re not being financially sponsored or relying on a student loan your funds must be in a cash. Cash can be held in a:

• current account
• deposit account
• savings account
• pension savings
• investment account

Cash must be in an account that allows you immediate access.

Funds must have been acquired legally and if you were in the UK you must not have earned them when working illegally.

If you’re using your own money, or that of a parent or partner you’ll need to show you have the required amount of money in an account. You can provide:

• bank statements
• building society passbooks
• certificates of deposit
• a letter from your bank or building society

Your bank statement should show information like:

• the date it was issued
• your name (or the account holders name if it is your parent or partner)
• the name of the bank or building society
• balance on the account

You can provide a download of electronic bank statements as long as it has this information. You do not need to have these stamped by the bank.

Any documents not in English must be translated in line with the UKVI requirements, please refer to our Translations

Money in other currencies

If your money is held in a foreign currency this will be converted into pound sterling (£) using the spot exchange rate on OANDA for the date of the application.

If you have already paid some or all of your course fees against a fee invoice you have received, this should automatically be updated against your CAS once the payment has cleared against your account with the College. Please bear in mind this can take up to 3 working days for credit / debit card payments and up to 8 working days for bank transfers. Please ensure you quote your CID number against any payment you make to the College for tuition fees. Any money showing as paid in your CAS can be deducted from the total amount you need to demonstrate held in a bank account for 28 days. A CAS will only be updated to reflect additional fees paid if you have not already submitted a visa application. If your application has been submitted, then the CAS will not update so you should make sure that you meet the financial requirements fully before the date you submit your visa application online.

The UKVI may do verification checks with your bank. If they are unable to verify the funds your application may be refused. We strongly recommend that if you are required to include financial statements with your visa application you should complete this bank verification form with specific details of a contact at your bank who will be able to verify any statements you are providing.

Attach this form, together with your other financial documents, under the request for financial evidence in the Documents section at the end of the visa application form.

Please ensure you read the UKVI Guidance on the Student Route carefully. This contains all the information about the Route, the eligibility requirements and the supporting documents.

The International Student Support Team offers specialist immigration advice to international students applying to study at Imperial College or who are already studying here. Please email our team if you have any queries.