Proof of funds
How much money must I show for a student visa, and how must it be held?
Every destination sets its own figure, published by its immigration authority, and it is usually tuition plus a defined living-cost amount. The balance is the part applicants focus on and the part that fails least often. What fails is everything around it: how long the money has been held, whose account it sits in, and whether you can show where it came from.
What proof of funds is
Proof of funds is the evidence that you can pay for your course and your living costs without relying on work you are not guaranteed to get.
It is assessed on four things, not one: the amount, the holding period, the account holder, and the source. Meeting the first and failing any of the others is the common outcome.
The figure is set by each destination's immigration authority and published in advance. It is not set by your university, your bank, or your consultancy.
Who needs it
- Every student visa applicant
- It is one of the three tests every destination applies, alongside a recognised institution and genuine intent.
- Families funding from property or a business
- Source of funds is assessed separately from the balance, and non-salary sources need documenting rather than simply appearing.
- Anyone funding through an education loan
- How a sanctioned loan is documented affects whether it satisfies the requirement at all, and that differs by destination.
- Applicants who have been refused before
- Financial capacity is among the most frequently recorded refusal grounds, and a second attempt on the same evidence usually fails the same way.
What it costs
The specific amounts differ by destination and change, so they live on each country guide rather than in one table here — a single consolidated figure would be wrong for most readers within a season.
| Item | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Required amountSet by each destination, and revised periodically. | Government | Published by each destination's immigration authority — usually tuition plus a defined living-cost figureSources: Department of Home Affairs (Australia), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, UK Home Office — Student visa, US Department of State — Student Visa, German Federal Foreign Office, Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice, Immigration New Zealand |
| What it is notA distinction worth stating plainly. | Other | Not a fee. The money is yours and is not paid to anyone — it must simply be shown to exist and to be availableSources: Department of Home Affairs (Australia), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, UK Home Office — Student visa, US Department of State — Student Visa, German Federal Foreign Office, Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice, Immigration New Zealand |
Today's exchange rates
Live rates from Byajdar, an independent rate-comparison site for the Nepali market. The rate on the day your funds are assessed is the one that counts — not the rate on the day you deposited.
Rates by Byajdar — third-party data, shown as published.
How long it takes
Work backwards from the course start date. The holding period is almost always the earliest binding date in the whole plan, and it is the one people discover last.
- The holding periodSeveral destinations require the funds to have been held for a minimum period before you applySources: Department of Home Affairs (Australia), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, UK Home Office — Student visa, US Department of State — Student Visa, German Federal Foreign Office, Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice, Immigration New ZealandThis is the constraint that cannot be compressed once you have started. It is the reason to plan finances first.
- Assembling the source evidenceStart alongside the holding period, not after itOur recommendation, not a rule. Our recommended sequence. Source documentation takes longer to assemble than people expect, and it can be gathered while the holding clock runs.
Documents you need
- RequiredBank statements covering the required periodThe period matters as much as the closing balance.
- RequiredBank certificate or balance confirmation
- RequiredEvidence of the source of fundsSalary records, sale deed, business accounts — whatever explains how the money arrived.
- If applicableLoan sanction letterWhere funding is through an education loan.
- If applicableRelationship evidenceWhere the account is in a parent's or sponsor's name.
- If applicableSponsor's affidavit or declarationRequired by several destinations where someone else is funding you.
Step by step
Find your destination's published figure and holding period
Both are published by the immigration authority. Start here, because the holding period sets the earliest date everything else can follow.
Get the money into the right account, early
Whose name the account is in matters. Several destinations restrict acceptable account holders to the applicant, a parent, or a declared sponsor.
Let the holding clock run
This is waiting, not doing. It is also the step that cannot be shortened later, which is why it goes first.
Document the source while you wait
Assemble the evidence of where the money came from during the holding period rather than after it.
Check the evidence against the destination's own checklist
Not against a generic list. Requirements differ in ways that generic checklists flatten out.
Apply
Only once the holding period is genuinely complete. Applying a week early wastes the fee and creates a refusal to declare.
Mistakes that cost money
Moving the money in shortly before applying
What it costs: The balance is correct and the application still fails, because the funds have not been held for the required period. The fee is not refunded and the refusal must be declared on every future application.
Instead: Establish the holding period first and start it before anything else in the plan.
Being unable to explain where the money came from
What it costs: Source of funds is assessed separately from the balance. An unexplained large deposit reads as money borrowed for the application, which is a recorded refusal ground.
Instead: Keep documentation of the source — sale, salary, business income, loan sanction — alongside the statements.
Using an account in the wrong person's name
What it costs: Funds held by a relative outside the accepted categories may not count at all, however genuine the arrangement.
Instead: Check which account holders your destination accepts before moving anything.
Showing exactly the minimum
What it costs: Exchange-rate movement between deposit and assessment can take you below the threshold on the day it is checked.
Instead: Hold a margin above the published figure rather than the figure itself.
Alternatives, and the trade-off
A cheaper destination
Better when: When the required amount is genuinely out of reach. Tuition-free public universities change the arithmetic more than any funding arrangement can.
Deferring an intake
Better when: When the holding period cannot be completed in time. A deferral is far cheaper than a refusal on your record.
An education loan
Better when: Where family funds exist but are not liquid. Weigh the repayment against the graduate salary honestly first.
In favour
- The requirement is published in advance by each authority, so it is checkable before you commit
- It is your money — nothing is paid to anyone
- Meeting it properly removes the most common refusal ground
Against
- The holding period cannot be compressed once you have started
- Source of funds is assessed separately and is harder to evidence than the balance
- Which account holders count is restricted, and differs by destination
- Exchange-rate movement can take a minimum balance below the threshold
Questions people ask
What bank statement do I need for a student visa from Nepal?
Statements covering the destination's required holding period — not just a closing-balance letter — in an account the destination accepts, which usually means yours, a parent's, or a declared sponsor's. Alongside them you need evidence of where the money came from, because an unexplained deposit fails even when the balance is right.
Ask your bank for the full statement period in one certified document, and check your destination's own checklist for who may hold the account. The requirements differ by country in ways generic checklists flatten out.
How much money do I need to show for a student visa?
It differs by destination and is set by each government, usually as tuition plus a defined living-cost figure for a specified period, so there is no single number that applies across countries.
The amounts are on each country guide rather than in one table here, because they are revised periodically and a consolidated figure would be wrong for most readers within a season.
How long does the money need to be in the account?
Several destinations require a minimum holding period before you apply, and this is the requirement applicants most often discover too late to satisfy.
The holding period is usually the earliest binding date in the entire plan — earlier than the application, the offer, or the test.
Can my parents' account be used?
Often yes, but which account holders are accepted is set by the destination, and funds held outside those categories may not count however genuine the arrangement.
Where a parent or sponsor funds you, relationship evidence and sometimes a declaration are required alongside the statements.
Does an education loan count as proof of funds?
It can, but how a sanctioned loan must be documented differs by destination, and a sanction letter alone is not always sufficient.
Check the destination's own wording on loans before assuming the sanction settles the requirement.
See our guide to education loans for what the loan itself will cost you.
Why was my visa refused when I had enough money?
Because the balance is only one of four tests — the holding period, the account holder and the source of funds are assessed separately, and an application can meet the amount and fail all three.
Financial capacity is among the most frequently recorded refusal grounds precisely because applicants optimise for the number alone.
Sources
Last reviewed .
That fund requirements, holding periods and acceptable account holders are set and published by each destination's immigration authority
Sources: Department of Home Affairs (Australia), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, UK Home Office — Student visa, US Department of State — Student Visa, German Federal Foreign Office, Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice, Immigration New Zealand
That remittance of fees from Nepal is governed by Nepal Rastra Bank's foreign exchange rules
Nepal Rastra Bank — Foreign Exchange Management Department(opens in a new tab)
That the per-destination amounts and holding periods are published on the individual country guides, where each is verified separately rather than as a consolidated table that would go stale as a unit
Sources: Department of Home Affairs (Australia), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, UK Home Office — Student visa, US Department of State — Student Visa, German Federal Foreign Office, Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice, Immigration New Zealand