Financial requirements

Financial requirements - how much money do I need to have?

As well as having a Certificate of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) you need to show that you have a certain amount of money in order to obtain a Tier 4 visa.  You must have enough money to pay your tuition fees, (or the fees for the first year if your course is more than one year long), plus money to cover your living costs while you are in the UK, this is known as ‘maintenance’.

a) Tuition fees

If you have paid some, (or all), of your tuition fees then this will be stated on your CAS and this amount will be deducted from the amount that you are required to have.

Examples

1) If you are an undergraduate student and your tuition fees are £16,000 for the first year of your course, and you have paid the 10 per cent deposit, then your CAS will state:

• Tuition fees: £16,000
• Fees paid: £1600

You will therefore need to show that you have £14,400 to pay your outstanding tuition fees, (as well as sufficient funds to cover your living costs, see below).

2) If you are an elective student you will be required to pay your placement fee of £200 before your CAS is issued.  Your CAS will state:

• Tuition fees: £200
• Fees paid: £200

You will therefore only need to show that you have sufficient funds to cover your living costs, see below.

Please note: when your CAS is issued you will be sent a CAS statement, which contains the information in your CAS.  Please check that the fee information is correct; if it is not, or if this information changes, (for example because you pay more of your tuition fees before you submit your visa application), then it is your responsibility to let us know as soon as possible so that we can update your CAS.

b) Maintenance

You will have to have £1,000 per month for the duration of your course, (or placement), up to a maximum of £9,000. (Please note that St George’s is considered to be in inner London; the rules about maintenance relate to where you will be studying, not where you will be living.)

If your course is longer than nine months long then you will need to have £9,000 to cover your living costs.

If your course is less than nine months long then you will need to have £1,000 for each calendar month of your course.  Please note that if your course length includes part of a month, the length of your course will be rounded up, so you will need to have £1,000 for this extra period of time, even if it is significantly less than a month.

If you will be staying in Horton Halls of residence then any rent that you have paid in advance (up to a maximum of £1000) can be deducted from the amount of maintenance you are required to have. The amount you have already paid towards your rent (up to a maximum of £1,000) will be indicated on your CAS; please check that the amounts stated on your CAS statement are correct and contact us as soon as possible if it is not or if this information changes, ( for example, because you pay more of your accommodation fees before you submit your Tier 4 application).

Please note that deposits for halls of residence cannot be deducted from the maintenance requirement as the deposit is separate from the rent that you are charged and is usually refunded at the end of your stay.  Any money that you have paid for accommodation that is not provided by St. George’s cannot be deducted from your maintenance requirements.

Examples
 

1.  If you are an undergraduate student you will need to have £9000 to cover your living costs – this is £1000 per month for the first academic year (nine months), of your course.
   If you will be staying in Horton halls of residence and you have already paid the £400 deposit plus £1542 rent for the first term then you will need to have £7458 (that is £9000 minus £1542), to cover your living costs, (plus money to pay any outstanding tuition fees, as above). 
2.  If you are an elective student and your placement is from 1st August to 3rd September you will have to have £2000 to cover your living costs – since your placement is between one and two months long you need to show that you have enough money for two month’s living costs.
   If you will be staying in Horton halls of residence and you have already paid £575 rent then you will need to have £1425 (that is £2000 minus £575), to cover your living costs.
   
   Students who already have a student/Tier 4 visa (or a visa as a post-graduate doctor or dentist)
   
   If you already have immigration permission as a student, a Tier 4 student, or as a post-graduate doctor or dentist then you might not need to have as much money to cover your living costs.

If you have current immigration permission in one of the above categories and one of the following applies to you:

• during your current immigration permission you completed a course of study that was at least six months long (note: you cannot combine more than one course of study to add up to six months);

or

• you are applying for a new visa in order to complete a course of study, of which you have already done at least six months

then you will be considered to have an established presence in the UK and as a result you will qualify for reduced maintenance levels.  

Please note: you can qualify for reduced maintenance levels whether you are applying for a visa from within the UK or from overseas, but you must still have current UK immigration permission when you apply.

If you qualify for the reduced maintenance levels then you only need to have £2,000 to cover your living costs.

Additional points to note

If you are receiving financial sponsorship from an official financial sponsor then you must provide evidence of this with your Tier 4 application; see the Financial documents section for more information, including the definition of an official financial sponsor.

The money you are required to have can be held in either your name or your parents’ name(s).  If you use money held in your parents’ name(s) then you must submit additional documents with your application; see the Financial documents section for more information.  Please note that you cannot use money held in anyone else’s name as evidence of your funds, (unless it is a joint account and you are one of the named account holders).

Additional rules from 4th July 2011

If you submit your Tier 4 visa application on or after 4 July 2011 then the following financial requirements will also apply to you:

• You (or parents) must continue to hold the required sum of money while you are waiting for your Tier 4 application to be decided.  The only exception to this is that you are allowed to use these funds to pay for your tuition fees and/or living costs as appropriate.
• The UKBA will not award any points for evidence of funds held in a financial institution with which they are unable to make satisfactory verification checks.  The UKBA are due to release a list of these financial institutions shortly; you should check their website for updates.
• Some Tier 4 students will qualify for special differentiation arrangements, meaning that they do not have to submit any financial documents with their Tier 4 application; see the Differentiation arrangements section for more information.

Further information about the financial requirements, and in particular which documents you will need to submit with your Tier 4 application can be found in the Financial documents section.

Full details of the financial requirements for making a successful Tier 4 application can be found in the Tier 4 Policy Guidance.  It is essential that you read this document carefully, and in full, before you submit your Tier 4 application.

We understand that the Tier 4 financial requirements are quite complicated; we hope that the above information has helped you to understand them.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Tier 4 financial requirements having read the above information and the Tier 4 Policy Guidance then please contact us.

email: visaadvice@sgul.ac.uk

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Please note that the above information is subject to change; please check the UK Border Agency’s website for updates.  The information herein provided is given in good faith for information only purposes. The information herewith provided is not intended to nor does it constitute legal advice. St George’s, University of London does not warrant the accuracy of the information provided and accepts no liability whatsoever as any claims arising from reliance thereon.