FINANCIAL EVIDENCE

FOR YOUR TIER 4 VISA APPLICATION


Applying for a Tier 4 visa
As part of the Tier 4 visa application process,
you must have financial evidence that shows
you have sufficient funds to cover your course
fees and living costs.
The UK Home Office has a list of requirements
for financial evidence and your documents must
meet all of them in order to make a successful
Tier 4 application.
At the University of Law, we ask that you send
us your financial evidence to be checked as part
of the process to request a Confirmation of
Acceptance of Studies (CAS). You must send
us these documents before we can issue you a
CAS.
We cannot issue you a CAS until we can
confirm that your financial evidence fully
meets the Tier 4 requirements.
What type of funds can I use?
You can only use cash funds which are held in a
current (checking) or ordinary savings account. You
cannot use bonds, investments, lines of credit,
overdrafts, pension funds or shares.
You can only use financial evidence in your name, or
a parent or guardian’s name. It cannot be in the name
of another relative or friend.
If you are using financial evidence in your parent or
guardian’s name, you will also need:
 Your original birth certificate / certificate of adoption /
court document of guardianship; and
 A letter of consent from your parent(s) or guardian, to
confirm you can use their funds for your studies in
the UK.
You cannot use business or corporate accounts,
even if you or your parent or guardian are the sole
account holder.
You can use funds held in a joint account, but you cannot
use a parent or guardian’s joint account if third parties are
also named on the account. This includes other family
members.
Acceptable financial evidence
You can use one or more of the following documents as
financial evidence:
 Bank statement(s) in your name, or a parent or
guardian’s name
 Bank letter in your name, or a parent or guardian’s name
 Official financial sponsorship (from a government, an
international company, an international organisation or
a university).
 A student loan provided by your government or part of
an academic or education loans scheme. For example,
a US Federal Loan.
Please remember that you must submit the originals of
any financial evidence with your visa application. You
cannot use copies or scans of the originals.

Differentiation arrangements for certain nationals

The Home Office has set out differentiation arrangements for applicants from certain countries. Those who qualify do not have to provide evidence of their finances
or qualifications with their visa application. To qualify for these arrangements you must meet be a national (passport holder) of one of the following countries:
Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Macau
SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, United Arab Emirates, the United
States of America or a British National Overseas.
Remember that these arrangements only exempt you from submitting financial evidence with your visa application. You must still have the required funds (see
below) available to you. Even if you qualify for these arrangements, the Home Office may ask you to submit financial evidence after receiving your visa application.
Failure to comply with this request will mean your visa application will be rejected.
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How much money do I need
to show?
You will need to show that you have enough
money to pay for the first year of your tuition fees
and your living costs while you are studying in the
UK.
Tuition fees
You will need to show sufficient funds for your
tuition fees minus any advance payments made to
the University of Law.
For example, if your tuition fees are £15,685 in
total and you made an advance payment of £3,250,
you would need to show £12,435 for your tuition
fees when you apply for your visa.
N.B. The University of Law will record on your CAS
any advance payments you have made. The
Home Office will see this when they process your
visa application.
Living costs
The amount of living costs you will need to
show depends on the location where you
will be studying.
You cannot deduct any money you have
paid for accommodation from the amount
of living costs you need to show.
London Bloomsbury & Moorgate
students
You will need £1,265 GBP per month, for
each month of your course, up to a
maximum of 9 months.
For example, if your course lasts for 12
months then you would need to show
£1,265 x 9 months, in total £11,385 GBP
Students at other campuses
You will need £1,015 GBP per month, for
each month of your course, up to a
maximum of 9 months.
For example, if your course lasts for 12
months then you would need to show
£1,015 x 9 months, in total £9,135 GBP
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How long do I need to have this money
for?
Bank letters or statements
You must have the total amount of money for your unpaid
tuition fees + living costs for a consecutive 28 day period
leading up to your visa application.
Other documents
If your financial evidence is a student loan, the document
which confirms the loan must be dated within the last 6
months.
We recommend that if your financial evidence is a letter of
official financial sponsorship that it is also dated within the last
6 months.
Do my documents need to be in
English?
Yes, the UK Home Office will only accept documents in
English. Documents which are not in English must be
accompanied by an official translation, which includes:
 The date of the translation
 Original signature of the translator
 The name and contact details of the translator or translation
company
 Confirmation that it is an ‘accurate translation of the original
document’
 Bank statements
Remember, you can only use bank statements in Includes the logo and
your name, or in the name of a parent or guardian. name of the bank

You can use a joint account, in your name and the

name of another person. Includes the name of
the account holder,
You cannot use funds held in a business or account number and
date of issue
corporate account, even if you or your parent or
guardian are the only person named on the Includes a full
account. transaction history over
a full 28 day period and
Bank statement requirements shows the balance on
each day
The bank statement must have:

 The account holder’s name

 The account number
 The name and official logo of the bank
 The date of issue

It must also:

 Show the balance on each day over the 28 day

period
 Have a closing balance / last transaction no more Has a closing balance
than 31 days before you plan to make your visa which is within the last
31 days
application
 Have the bank’s official stamp on each page if
it’s an electronic statement

Please see the example on the right

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 Bank letters
If you cannot get a bank statement that meets all Includes the name of
of the Home Office’s requirements, you should the account holder,
ask your bank to issue you a letter instead. account number and
date of issue

Bank letters must also be from an account in

Includes the logo and
your name, or a parent or guardian’s name.
name of the bank

The account can be a joint one in your name and

the name of another person. However, it cannot
be a business or corporate account.

Bank letter requirements

The bank letter must have: Confirms the start and
 The account holder’s name end dates of the 28 day
period and the amount
 The account number of cash funds
 The name and logo of the bank
 The date of issue (and this must be within 31 days of
when you plan to apply for your visa)

It must also:
 Confirm the minimum balance over the previous 28
days
 Confirm the amount of cash funds (especially if it is
a mixed funds account)

Please see the example on the right

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 Official financial sponsorship
Remember, you can only receive official
sponsorship from a government, an international
Includes your
company, international organisation or university. sponsor’s name and
full contact details
Sponsorship from any other source is not permitted
by the Home Office.

If you have official financial sponsorship, you will

need a letter from your sponsor.

Official financial sponsorship

letter requirements
The letter of official financial sponsorship must
have:
Confirms your personal
 The name and full contact details of your details, the length of
sponsor your sponsorship and
 The date the letter was issued how much you will be
provided for your tuition
 The length of the sponsorship fees and living costs
 The amount of money being provided towards your
tuition fees and/or livings costs; or a statement
confirming that “all tuition fees and living costs will be
covered in full”
Endorsed with
The letter must also be on the headed paper of your sponsor’s
official stamp
your sponsor and have its official stamp.

Please see the example on the right

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 Student Loans
You can use evidence of a student loan, provided
the loan letter contains:
 Your name (the loan cannot be in a parent or
guardian’s name)
 The financial institution’s name and logo
 The date of issue (which must be in the last 6
months)
 The amount of money available as a loan
 Confirmation the loan is provided by your
government or is part of an academic or
educational loans scheme
 Confirmation the loan funds will be available to
you before you travel to the UK
Unfortunately, most private loans are not accepted
by the Home Office for Tier 4 visa applications, even
if they are from an approved financial institution.
If you are unsure whether your student loan will be
accepted, please contact us for further guidance.
Term Deposits
If you want to use term deposits, you must request
a bank letter from your financial institution (see
page 5). The letter must confirm that the term
deposits can be withdrawn at any time without
giving notice.
Certificates of Deposit Any questions?
You can use a Certificate of Deposit, but it must If you have any questions about your financial
contain: evidence or the visa requirements, you can
contact the International Visa Office:
 The name and logo of the bank
 The account holder’s name and account number Email: visaoffice@law.ac.uk
 The date of issue (which must be within 31 days
Website:
of when you plan to apply for your visa) http://www.law.ac.uk/international/visa-
 A date of deposit that is at least 28 days before requirements/
the date the certificate was issued
Certificates of Deposit without a date of deposit
need to be accompanied with a full transaction
history for the account, showing the balance over the
28 days before the certificate was issued.
Prohibited financial institutions
The Home Office has a list of financial institutions
whose documents cannot be used in support of a Tier
4 Student visa application.
Please refer to the UK Visas and Immigration
webpage if your financial institution is located in
Bangladesh, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Iran, Pakistan,
the Philippines or Sri Lanka.