Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026
UK Student Visa Financial Requirement: The Monthly Amounts, the 28-Day Rule and the Exemptions
NEW Published 30 October 2026
£1,529 a month in London, £1,171 outside it, your course fee on top — how GOV.UK builds the total, how long the money must sit, and who does not have to prove it.
You must show enough money to pay your course fee for one academic year (the amount is on your CAS) plus living costs of £1,529 per month for courses in London or £1,171 per month outside London, for up to 9 months — a maximum living-costs figure of £13,761 in London or £10,539 outside it. You must have held the money for at least 28 days in a row, and the end of that 28-day period must fall within 31 days of your application date. Each dependant adds £845 a month (London) or £680 a month (outside London), again up to 9 months.
SECTION 01The Two Parts of the Requirement
GOV.UK divides the money you need into the course fee and the money to support yourself. For the course fee: "You need enough money to pay for your course for 1 academic year (up to 9 months). The amount you need to pay will be on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)." The CAS is therefore the source document for part one — not the university's marketing pages, not an agent's estimate. For living costs, GOV.UK's figures are monthly and regional: £1,529 per month for courses in London, £1,171 per month for courses outside London, each "for up to 9 months". London is defined on the same page: the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. A course at a university with "London" in its name but a campus outside the boroughs is an outside-London case, and the reverse also holds — the definition is geographic, not branding.
One substitution exists: if you are boarding at a residential independent school, you pay boarding fees instead of the living-costs figure, and that amount is likewise on your CAS.
SECTION 02The Arithmetic, Worked in Full
Because the monthly figures run "for up to 9 months", the maximum living-costs amounts are simple multiplications of GOV.UK's own figures: £1,529 × 9 = £13,761 for a London course of 9 months or more, and £1,171 × 9 = £10,539 outside London. A shorter course needs fewer months: the same arithmetic at your course's length, up to the 9-month cap. To those figures you add the course fee for one academic year exactly as your CAS states it. Dependants add their own monthly figures — £845 (London) or £680 (outside London) per person, for up to 9 months each: a maximum of £7,605 or £6,120 per dependant.
These worked totals are arithmetic on GOV.UK's published figures, shown to make the requirement usable — they are not separate official thresholds, and your own total is the one your CAS and course length produce.
SECTION 03The 28-Day Rule and the 31-Day Window
Holding the money is not enough; it must have been held for long enough, and recently enough. GOV.UK: "You must have this money for at least 28 days in a row. The end date of the 28-day period must be within 31 days of the date you apply for your visa." Its own example fixes the meaning: "If you submit your application on 1 January, you'd have to show that the funds were in your bank account for at least the 28-day period ending on 1 December."
Read the example carefully, because it defeats the common plan of assembling the full amount a week before applying. The 28 days must be complete before you apply, and the evidence must end within the 31 days before the application date — old statements showing money that has since moved do not satisfy it, and neither does money that arrived 10 days ago. Sequence your application around the money, not the money around the application: the CAS gives you a 6-month window to apply in, and the 28-day clock should start early inside it.
SECTION 04Loans and Financial Sponsorship
Your own bank balance is not the only acceptable source. GOV.UK states: "If you have a student loan or financial sponsorship, you'll need to provide evidence of this from your loan or sponsorship company." The evidence comes from the company, not from your own summary of it. Sponsorship has a second footprint on this route: GOV.UK's documents list also asks for written consent for your application from your financial sponsor if you have received sponsorship for your course fees and living costs in the last 12 months. If a sponsor's money covers you but not your family, the dependants' money must be proven separately, as our dependants guide sets out.
SECTION 05Who Does Not Have to Prove the Money
GOV.UK names the cases where the financial requirement does not have to be proven at all: you have been living in the UK with a visa for at least 12 months prior to the date of your Student visa application, or you are applying as a student union sabbatical officer. A separate, softer relief is the differential evidence requirement: if you are a British national (overseas) or a national of one of the listed countries or territories — the list runs from Australia and Canada through Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the USA — you do not need to prove you have enough money to support yourself with the application. But GOV.UK keeps a string attached: "However, you might be asked to provide this evidence before you get a decision on your application. If you do need to provide it, you'll be contacted by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) after you've submitted your application." The money must therefore exist, and be held correctly, even for listed nationals — only the filing is deferred.
India is not on the differential evidence list. Indian applicants file the financial evidence with the application, and the 28-day rule applies in full.
FAQFrequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum living-costs amount I could need to show?
£13,761 for London (£1,529 × 9 months) or £10,539 outside London (£1,171 × 9 months), plus your course fee for one academic year as stated on your CAS, plus £7,605 or £6,120 per dependant at the same 9-month cap.
My parents transferred the money into my account last week. Can I apply now?
Not on that money. GOV.UK requires the money to have been held for at least 28 days in a row, with the end of the 28-day period within 31 days of your application date. Wait until the 28 days are complete, then apply promptly inside the freshness window.
Does a student loan count?
Yes — GOV.UK accepts a student loan or financial sponsorship, with evidence provided from the loan or sponsorship company. If you were sponsored for fees and living costs in the last 12 months, you also need your sponsor's written consent for the application.
I have lived in the UK on a visa for over a year. Must I show money?
No. GOV.UK states you do not need to prove the financial requirement if you have been living in the UK with a visa for at least 12 months before your application date.
Is the London figure about my university's name or its location?
Location. GOV.UK defines London as the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. A campus inside them uses £1,529; outside them, £1,171.
Planning your numbers? The Visa Funds Calculator adds up the costs and fees in your own figures.
Official references and verification status
These official references were accessed and checked on 30 October 2026, and this guide's claims were verified against them (see the accompanying sources file). Two honest limits apply. First, GOV.UK's Student pages state the amounts and the holding rule but summarise the evidence rules; the detailed finance guidance it links governs whose accounts and which documents count, and this guide asserts nothing beyond the pages fetched. Second, the monthly figures are set by the Immigration Rules and change over time — the figures here are those GOV.UK published on the check date, and the guide's standard advice applies: confirm them live before you rely on them.
General educational information, not individualized legal or immigration advice. Follow the official GOV.UK instructions for your own situation, and consult a qualified UK immigration adviser regulated in the UK for advice about an individual case.
General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.