You will need enough money to pay for your course fees and your living costs. The Home Office calls this the maintenance requirements.

Maintenance must be in the form of cash funds. You cannot use evidence of other types of finances, such as shares, bonds, a pension fund or an overdraft facility.

The amount of money that you need to have for your maintenance will depend on:

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• how long your courses lasts AND

• where in the UK you will be studying

Once you have read this section and you understand how much money you need, read the information about Evidence needed - your money which explains how you show this in your application. 

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You must have enough money to pay for the course fees for the first year of your course, or the entire course if it is less than one year long. If your CAS has been issued for further study on a course that you are already partway through, the 'first year of study' means the first year of this new period of study. The Home Office will use the details in your CAS to confirm how much money you need for your course fees. 

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If you do not need to pay any course fees to your Tier 4 sponsor, your CAS will state that there are no fees due. For example, if you are applying to come to the UK as part of a 'study abroad' programme, and you have paid all of your course fees to your home institution, this will be confirmed in your CAS.

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You must have a specific amount of money to cover your living costs.

If you will be studying in London* you will need £1,265 for each month of your course, up to a maximum of nine months. This means that if you will be studying in London for a course that lasts one month only, the amount that you will need is £1,265. If you will be studying in London for a course lasting nine months or more, the amount that you will need is £11,385.

If you will be studying elsewhere in the UK, the monthly amounts are lower: you need to have £1,015 for each month of your course, up to £9,135 for a course lasting nine months or more.

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*You are studying 'in London' if you are studying at the University of London, or at institutions wholly or partly within London, or within parts of Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey.  If you are not sure whether your institution is 'in London', check with your Tier 4 sponsor. 

You should use the course start and end dates on your CAS to calculate the length of your course and therefore how many months' maintenance you will need.  If the length of your course includes a part of a month, the number of months' maintenance that you need will be rounded up.  For example if your course dates are 30 May until 1 October, this is four months and two days so you would need to show five months' of funds.

When you apply in the UK for a new visa to complete a course that you have already started then the Home Office guidance states that your Tier 4 sponsor should use the day after your current leave expires as the course start date on your CAS. You should enter this date on your application form and use this date to calculate your maintenance requirements.

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You can deduct the following from the total amount of money that you need as part of your immigration application:

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• money that you have already paid to your Tier 4 sponsor towards your course fees, and

• up to £1,265 that you have already paid to your Tier 4 sponsor for your accommodation fees, if you will be living in university or college accommodation.

 

You cannot deduct any advance payment for any other type of housing, nor can you adjust the amounts if you will have no housing costs (for example if you will be living with a relative free of charge).

Your CAS may include details of any money paid to your institution. If not, you will need to provide an official receipt issued by your institution. It must be an original paper receipt confirming how much money you have paid towards your course fees and/or your accommodation fees.

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If you are a low-risk applicant, you should obtain the receipt, but you do not need to include it with your initial application.

If the total amount that you are required to show the Home Office is more than the amount that you have have paid to your institution for course fees and for accommodation fees (up to a maximum of £1,265) then you must have the rest of the money required.

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Anyone can pay money direct to your Tier 4 sponsor on your behalf, for example to pay your course fees or housing costs. However, any evidence of money that you submit in support of your Tier 4 application (for example bank statements) must be in your name or in your parent's / legal guardian's name (or names). 

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You cannot use evidence of money held in any other  person's name, even if you have their permission to do so. If someone who is not your parent or guardian is giving you money for your living costs, they will need to put the money in your own account (or in your parent or legal guardian's account), allowing enough time for you (or your parent or legal guardian) to hold the funds for at least 28 days and get evidence of this, before you apply for your Tier 4 visa.

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