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Student Visa Requirements: Proof of Funds in different countries
Study Abroad Visa | Updated
Every year, thousands of students choose to study abroad to pursue high-quality academic experiences and explore the vibrant cultures offered by the country. Thousands of students across India apply for various postgraduate and undergraduate courses in different countries. Some of the top countries students apply for their higher education are the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. However, a major chunk of students need to be made aware of the student visa requirements of these countries, especially when it comes to proof of funds. All the countries mentioned here have one thing in common i.e. students are required to submit proof of funds to be eligible for a student visa.
Although all of the other important factors of the student visa process are communicated to most students, more often than not, higher education aspirants tend to miss out on this one important aspect of the abroad education process. The topic of discussion of today’s article aims to clarify these student visa requirements in detail. Figuring out these requirements will play a crucial role when you decide where you want to study.
Let’s discover this together but for that, stay tuned with this article till the end to know more.
Different sources to fund higher education abroad
Before elaborating on the student visa requirements regarding the proof of funds, let's first acknowledge the most prominent sources of higher education funding which are commonly shown as proof of funds by the students to study abroad.
Students aiming to study abroad can look for multiple options to fund their education but generally, students aspiring to pursue higher education go through any of the three sources mentioned below:
- Fully funded or partially funded scholarships
- Self-funding
- Education loans
Out of these three options, students opt for education loans as this is one of the most practical options to fund their higher education. The main benefit of availing of an education loan is that it ensures a timely and continuous supply of funds.
In India, there are two types of education loans:
- Secured education loans that require collateral pledging for the loan.
- Unsecured education loans that do not require any collateral for the loan.
The money from education loans becomes extremely important to students because it will be useful in obtaining an unconditional admission letter, a Visa, and buying plane tickets before even paying the tuition fees. It is a well-known fact that a Visa is the deciding factor for flying abroad for your education and the Visa process only begins after you have obtained proof of funds. But, why would you need proof of funds after securing admission into the university and getting an approved education loan? Let us know why.
Why do we need to have proof of funds to obtain a visa?
- To ensure that we can fund our tuition, accommodation, and other expenses without any difficulty.
- So that the university you’re going to is sure that you will finish your course successfully without having to face financial problems and discontinuing the course midway.
- Proof of funds is a security that is asked by the country you are staying in for your education so you will not do part-time jobs in their country and take away the employment intended for the local people.
- Furthermore, it acts as a precautionary measure to prevent possible instances of illegal immigration or individuals exceeding their visa duration because of inadequate financial means.
An overview of top countries and their pre-visa funds disbursement:
Country | Tuition fee to be disbursed before Visa | Living expenses to be disbursed before the Visa |
Germany | None |
|
Canada | 1-year tuition fee |
|
New Zealand | None |
|
Australia | 1-year tuition fee |
|
Ireland | 1-year tuition fee |
|
The values given in the table are the amount of money you will be required to have in your bank account as a bank balance before you will get a Visa for those respective countries.
We shall now go into the details of each country's pre-visa disbursements and proof of funds requirements.
Proof of Funds for the USA Student Visa
Students who are willing to pursue their higher education in the USA are required to show proof of funds to be eligible for one. Students who are self-funding their higher education have to display the presence of sufficient funds that can cater to their living expenses, tuition fees, book expenses, food expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses, in their bank accounts. Students who are availing of an education loan to finance their education have to display proof of funds in the form of a sanction letter provided by their respective banks.
The funds to be displayed are mentioned in the I-20 form which is provided to the students along with their admission letter from their respective universities only after they show proof of their funding source to the university.
To know more, listen directly from Ms Damini Mahajan in the 17th Episode of the Loanflix web series. This is a must-watch for students who have decided to study in the USA.
Also, to know the complete process read this article: US Education Loan Process - Everything you need to know.
Proof of Funds for the UK student Visa
For study in the UK, students are not required to deposit/disburse any money as the UK government does not ask aspirants to submit proof of funds in any account as such but they may need to display the presence of funds(sanction letter) covering expenses for the duration of their studies to be granted a student Visa by the government.
Students are mandated to submit a CAS/ATAS for a UK student visa. CAS means Certificate of Acceptance for studies. The funds to be displayed depend on your course fees which are provided on your Certificate of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), the duration of your course, your study program, etc.
As students should have enough money to pay for their courses and support their living in the UK, it is estimated that for living in London, it will be around £1250 per year, and for courses outside London, it will be around £1015 per year.
As soon as students receive their university admits, they should immediately request a CAS certificate from their respective universities. To obtain this certificate, students are supposed to deposit a certain amount as token money which is usually between 1 to 3 lakhs INR. This token money amount varies from one university to the other. If you feel that the token money quoted by your university is too high and that you may need to include this as an expense in your education loan application, then you need to be aware of the time (1 month before your visa process) required to obtain the CAS certificate from your respective university and then apply for a UK education loan accordingly.
Proof of Funds for German Student Visa
Students willing to study in Germany must deposit their one year’s living expenses into an account before applying for a German student visa. For this purpose, students are liable to open a Sperrkonto or blocked account with Kotak-Mahindra Bank as it is tied up with Deutsche Bank in Germany to deposit their living expenses for a year. Other banks to choose from are- Expatrio, Fintiba, and Coracle.
According to the estimations made by the official education loans and scholarships regulator in Germany, students will need €11,208 per year which equals 10 lakhs INR minimum to be able to live in a country like Germany.
Even though the students do not have to pay over the odds to live in Germany, authorities still want to ensure that a student has sufficient financial resources to live and study in Germany. Because of this, students have to submit proof of funds to avail of a student visa at the embassy.
The documents indicating the opening of this blocked account have to be submitted as proof of funds for a German student visa. To know how you can fulfill this German student visa requirement when you are funding your studies with the help of an education loan, do get in touch with the financial team of WeMakeScholars.
Also, read this article: Study in Germany: How to Open a Blocked Account & Other Details
Proof of Funds for Australian Student Visa
Students who are willing to study in Australia have to first submit proof of funds to their respective institutions before getting a confirmation letter. Students need to arrange funds once they receive their admission letter from their respective universities before they apply for a student visa to study in Australia. Students have to show the presence of funds to the Immigration Department.
On receiving the admission letter from their respective university, students need to deposit at least one semester’s tuition fees to the university account along with the health insurance charges. They are also responsible for depositing their one year’s living expenses into a savings account.
Once the university receives the confirmation of payment of the above funds, they issue COE (Confirmation of Enrollment). The Australian embassy requires students to deposit their funds in a certain way. Students need to provide the university account details to which the tuition fees and health insurance funds are transferred by their respective banks.
On the successful transfer of funds by the bank to the university, students are required to send the payment receipt to their university. The receipt of this payment is the accepted proof of funds according to the Australian student visa requirements, on receiving these documents, the university issues the COE, which is required for a student visa to study in Australia.
Proof of Funds For Canadian Student Visa
Every year, a large number of students from India enroll for higher education in Canada as they offer high-quality education and due to the myriad work opportunities provided by the country.
To be eligible for study in Canada, students must meet the requirements laid down by Canadian legislation. The Canada student visa requirements state that higher education aspirants from India need to deposit their one year’s living expenses into a GIC account and submit documents as proof of funds to the embassy while applying for a Canada student visa. GIC accounts can be opened with Nova Scotia Bank, CIBC, SBI Canada, and ICICI Bank Canada.
These expenses include approximately CAD20,635 per year for living expenses which include food, housing, clothing, and medical insurance, and from CAD 6,000 to CAD75,000 per year for tuition. Therefore, a student must have at least CAD 22,000 available for their first year of study at the university. One should also be able to show that they will have an equivalent amount for the subsequent years.
To know more, you can check out the 18th Episode of the Loanflix web series. This is a must-watch for students who have decided to study in Canada and learn about Canada GIC, payment of tuition fees, how to decide on the disbursement amount while applying for an education loan for Canada, etc.
Proof of Funds New Zealand student Visa
The New Zealand student visa requirements state that applicants are required to deposit their one year’s living expenses into a savings account. This process is called an FTS (Funds Transfer Scheme). This FTS can be done with Australia-New Zealand Bank(ANZ Bank). In the New Zealand student visa process, candidates need to fulfill certain financial pre-conditions before they can qualify for one.
Deposit their living expenses for at least a year of their course duration with a bank based in New Zealand.
Pay their annual tuition fees before their visa process.
The New Zealand embassy has estimated NZ $15,000 as the cost of living in New Zealand for Indian students. These living expenses do not include their tuition/course fees. All international students studying in New Zealand are eligible to withdraw the following amounts from their FTS accounts every month.
On depositing NZ $15,000 which is the minimum estimated cost of study for Indian students in New Zealand, a monthly sum of NZ $1,250 can be withdrawn by students every month for 12 months of their stay in New Zealand.
Once students have opened their FTS account, they are required to submit the documents indicating the purchase of the same as proof of funds for New Zealand, thus fulfilling the New Zealand student visa requirements.
Pearson Test of English (PTE) score and Visa application
Pearson Test of English is an English proficiency test and its scores are accepted for Visa applications in the Australian, Canadian, UK, and New Zealand governments for visa applications.
Here is a table of what scores of PTE are required to apply for a Visa application.
Country | PTE score required |
Australia | 50 for Bachelors and 58 for Masters |
New Zealand | 64 |
Canada | 65 |
UK | 64 |
Here we have come to the end of the article.
Our team at WeMakeScholars works very closely with notable banks and NBFCs and ensures that candidates who have applied for abroad education loans through us do not face the problem of getting their pre-visa disbursements. When you apply for an education loan abroad through our team, about 80% of the process is cut short. Our team has been at the core of a lot of education loan policy decisions taken by major public banks in India. So what are you waiting for? Request a callback from our team today and avail of our team’s assistance for an uninterrupted education loan process and pre-visa processes too.
Shruthi G
Hritik Jain Scholarship Expert
Bethel Appah
Paravesh Saireddy Scholarship Expert
Sumit Sharma
Paravesh Saireddy Scholarship Expert