Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026

UK Visitor Visa Financial Requirement: Sufficient Funds, Third-Party Support and What "Reasonable Costs" Means

NEW Published 30 October 2026

Illustration of a travel budget scene with coins, a plain statement sheet and a small suitcase on a desk

No fixed amount exists — the Rules ask whether your money covers your trip's reasonable costs. How the test is built, what counts, and the one total you can state with certainty: the fees.

Every UK visitor guide on the internet seems to quote a different "required bank balance". None of them can be right, because the Immigration Rules set no amount. What Appendix V actually requires — paragraph V 4.2(e) — is that you have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to your visit. This guide explains that test precisely: what the costs are, whose money can count, where the money must be held, and the trip-cost figure the application itself asks you to state.

Quick answer

There is no minimum balance and no fixed amount for a UK visitor visa — not on GOV.UK and not in the Immigration Rules. The test is whether you have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs of your visit without working or accessing public funds: the return or onward journey, your costs during the stay, any dependants' costs, and the cost of planned activities such as private medical treatment. The money must be held in a permitted financial institution. A third party (for example, the family member hosting you) can provide your travel, maintenance and accommodation if they have a genuine relationship with you, are not in breach of immigration laws, and can and will support you for the whole stay. The application form asks how much you think your trip will cost — the figure you state and the funds you show have to tell the same story. The visa itself costs £135, and there is no health surcharge for visitors.

SECTION 01The test, in the Rules' own words

Paragraph V 4.2(e) of Appendix V requires that the applicant "must have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to their visit without working or accessing public funds, including:

RULE — The cost of the return or onward journey.
RULE — Any costs relating to dependants travelling with you.
RULE — The cost of planned activities, such as private medical treatment.
RULE — Funds in a permitted institution. "The applicant must show that any funds they rely upon are held in a financial institution permitted under FIN 2.1 in Appendix Finance." Money held somewhere the Rules do not permit does not count, however large the balance.

GOV.UK's summary of the same point: you must be able to show you are able to support yourself and your dependants during your trip (or have funding from someone else to support you), and that you are able to pay for your return or onward journey (or have funding from someone else to pay for it).

SECTION 02What decides "reasonable" is your trip — not a table

Because the test is tied to your visit, the same balance can be sufficient for one trip and insufficient for another. The variables are all visible in the application itself:

The dates you plan to travel — a five-day visit and a five-month visit have different reasonable costs.
Where you will be staying — staying with family who are supporting you is a different cost profile from commercial accommodation, and the form records which it is.
How much you think your trip will cost — the figure the form explicitly asks for. The decision maker reads your stated cost against your shown funds.
Your income — the form asks how much you earn in a year (if you have an income), part of the picture of whether the trip's cost is reasonable for you.
Who is paying — the name and address of anyone paying for your trip is asked for, and third-party support is judged under V 4.3 (next section).

ADVICE — Consistency is the substance. Nothing in the Rules prescribes a formula, but the form's own questions define the assessment: stated cost, length of stay, where you stay, your income, your funds and your sponsor (if any) must form one coherent account of an affordable trip. This is an editorial observation about how the verified questions fit together, not a rule.

SECTION 03Third-party support: when someone else's money counts

Paragraph V 4.3: your travel, maintenance and accommodation may be provided by a third party only if that third party:

RULE — Has a genuine professional or personal relationship with you.
RULE — Is not, or will not be, in breach of immigration laws at the time of the decision or your entry to the UK.
RULE — Can and will provide support to you for the intended duration of your stay.

So a parent funding a student's holiday, or a sibling hosting and supporting a family visit, can be the financial basis of an application — the sponsor's ability and commitment are part of what is assessed, and the application collects the sponsor's name and address as standard.

SECTION 04The amounts that ARE fixed: the fees

RULE — Standard Visitor visa: £135. Medical and academic long-stay versions: £234. Long-term visas: £506 (2 years), £903 (5 years), £1,128 (10 years). Visitor in Transit: £74.50.
RULE — No immigration health surcharge. GOV.UK: "You do not need to pay if you're applying for a visitor visa." You pay for NHS care at the point you use it unless the service is free.
RULE — Each applicant pays separately. Every family member has their own application and pays the fee.
RULE — No refund if refused, and no refund of the difference if a long-term application results in a shorter visa. A refund of the fee is available if you cancel before the application has been processed.
RULE — Extensions cost £1,172 (plus £1,000 for the optional super priority service) — see the stay and extensions guide.

SECTION 05Claims about visitor money that official sources do not support

"You need £X per day in your account." No per-day or total figure appears in GOV.UK's visitor pages or Appendix V. The test is sufficiency for your trip's reasonable costs.
"The money must be held for 28 days." That is the Student route's rule (see our student money guide). Appendix V sets no holding period for visitors; do not import rules across routes.
"A sponsor's letter guarantees approval." Third-party support is assessed under V 4.3's three conditions; a letter is evidence toward them, not a substitute for them.

How much money should I show for a 10-day family visit?

Enough to cover that trip's reasonable costs — travel, your stay (or your host's support under V 4.3), your return journey and any dependants — as one consistent account. There is no official figure to aim at; the decision maker compares your stated trip cost with the funds available to you.

Can my brother in the UK pay for my trip?

Yes, if he meets V 4.3: a genuine relationship with you, not in breach of immigration laws, and able and willing to support you for the whole intended stay. His name and address go in the application.

Do I pay the NHS surcharge as a visitor?

No. GOV.UK states visitor visa applicants do not pay the immigration health surcharge; NHS care is paid for at the point of use unless the service is free.

Is the visa fee refunded if I am refused?

No — and if you applied for a long-term visa and received a shorter one, the difference is not refunded either.

Editorial note: The single most common false claim about this visa is a fixed money requirement. This guide's position is the Rules' position: sufficiency for your visit's reasonable costs. If an adviser quotes you a required balance, ask them to show you where it appears in Appendix V — it does not.

Official references and verification status

Every statement about funds, third-party support and fees in this guide was checked against Appendix V (V 4.2(e), V 4.3) and GOV.UK's Standard Visitor and healthcare pages on 30 October 2026. The list of permitted financial institutions is maintained in Appendix Finance of the Immigration Rules; whether a particular institution qualifies is a check against that appendix, not something this guide can decide for a specific bank.

If a detail here ever disagrees with GOV.UK, GOV.UK is right — and please tell us via the Contact page so we can correct the guide.

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.