Every year, thousands of students choose to study abroad to pursue high-quality academic experiences and to explore 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. But a major chunk of students are not aware about 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 in order to be eligible for a student visa.
Although all of the other important factors of the student visa process are clearly 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 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 an education loan is that they ensure timely and continuous supply of funds.
In India, there are two types of education loans:
Secured education loans
Unsecured education loans
Secured education loans are granted on the basis of collateral security by government banks whereas unsecured education loans do not include collateral security and are mainly granted by private banks or NBFCs.
Secured education loans are offered at lower interest rates as they are granted only when the borrowers pledge some form of collateral with the lenders. The overall processing fees and other expenses of secured education loans are lesser as compared to unsecured loans. This is why government bank education loans are a more popular choice of higher education funding in India. There are two sides to every coin, likewise, the secured education loan process has its own share of cons which every higher education aspirant should be aware of.
Now, let's understand the proof of funds for Canada student visa or Canada student permit.
Proof of Funds For Canada 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.
In order to be eligible for study in Canada, students must meet the requirements laid down by the 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 which indicate the purchase of the same as proof of funds to the embassy while applying for a Canada student visa.
These expenses include approximately CAD $12,000 per year for living expenses which includes food, housing, clothing and medical insurance and from CAD $10,000 to CAD $15,000 per year for tuition. Therefore, a student must have at least around CAD $22,000 available for their first year of study at university. He/she should also be able to show that they will have an equivalent amount for the subsequent years.
Proof of Funds USA
Students who are willing to pursue their higher education in the USA are required to show proof of funds in order to be eligible for one. Students who are self-funding their higher education have to display the presence of sufficient funds which can cater to their living expenses, tuition fees, book expenses, food expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses, in their bank accounts. Students who are availing an education loan to finance their education have to display proof of funds in the form of 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.
Proof of Funds UK
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 in order 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 depends on your course fees which are provided on your Certificate of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), the duration of your course, study program, etc.
As students should have enough money to pay for their course and support their living in the UK, it is estimated that for courses in London it will be around £1,334 per month for upto 9 months and for courses outside London it will be around £1,023 per month.
As soon as students receive their university admits, they should immediately request for a CAS certificate from their respective university. In order to obtain this certificate, students are supposed to deposit a certain amount as token money. 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 prior to 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 Australia
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 university before they apply for a student visa to study in Australia. Students have to show the presence of funds to the Immigration Department.
Refer to the image below to know the breakdown of the amounts:
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 to deposit 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 Australia 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 New Zealand
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). In the New Zealand student visa process, candidates need to fulfil 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.
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