Bank Statement for a Student Visa from Bangladesh

Updated August 2026 · 10 min read

More student visa applications fail on money than on grades or English. Not because families do not have the funds - usually they do - but because the money was in the wrong account, arrived too late, or sat there four days short of the requirement. The financial rules are unforgiving in a way the rest of the application is not, and almost every mistake is avoidable if you start early enough.

How much money do I need to show?

The calculation has two parts: your unpaid tuition for the first year, plus living costs for a fixed number of months. For the UK, living costs are set at a monthly rate, capped at nine months regardless of how long your course runs.

As the rules stand for the 2025-26 academic year onwards, the UK monthly maintenance rate is £1,529 for a course in London and £1,171 for a course outside it. Over the nine-month cap that is £13,761 and £10,539 respectively. Add whatever tuition you still owe after any deposit shown on your CAS, and that total is the amount that must sit in the account.

Two deductions are worth knowing. Tuition already paid and recorded on your CAS comes off the tuition side. Money paid to the university for its own accommodation can be deducted from living costs, up to one month's maintenance. Rent paid to a private landlord cannot.

How long does the money have to sit there?

For the UK, 28 consecutive days. The balance must stay at or above the required total for every one of those days, and the statement you submit must be dated no more than 31 days before you apply.

Read that as three separate traps:

• Consecutive. If the balance drops below the total on day 19, the count starts again from zero. Not from day 19 - from zero.
• At or above. Exchange rate movement can put you under without a single transaction. Keep a margin above the minimum rather than matching it exactly.
• Dated within 31 days. A statement that satisfied the rule six weeks ago is no longer evidence. Time the statement to the application, not the other way round.

Other countries set their own periods and their own instruments - some use a blocked account, some a guaranteed investment certificate, some a plain bank balance. The principle is the same everywhere: money that is genuinely there, genuinely yours, and held long enough to show it was not borrowed for the photograph.

Whose account can the money be in?

Your own account is simplest. A parent's account is accepted for the UK, provided you attach your birth certificate to prove the relationship and a signed letter in which they consent to funding your studies.

An uncle, a cousin, an elder brother or a family friend generally will not do, however genuine the offer. If someone outside the accepted relationships is funding you, the money usually needs to be transferred into your account or a parent's, and then held for the full period from the date it lands. That is the step families discover too late - the transfer itself does not start the clock retroactively.

What documents are accepted, and what is refused?

Accepted, broadly:

• Bank statements from a regulated institution, showing your name, the account number, the bank's details and the balance across the full period.
• A letter from the bank confirming the same.
• A loan letter from a government body or a regulated financial institution, unconditional and in your name.
• An official sponsorship letter from a government, the British Council, a university or a recognised international organisation.

Not accepted:

• Property documents, land papers or valuations.
• Salary certificates or income tax returns on their own - these show income, not available funds.
• Credit card limits or overdraft facilities.
• Shares, bonds or investments that would have to be sold.
• A fixed deposit locked until a maturity date after your application.

A document that is unreadable, unstamped, missing the account holder's name or missing the bank's letterhead is treated as no document at all. Photocopied statements without a bank stamp cause more refusals than they should.

What does the timeline look like in practice?

Working backwards from the day you intend to apply:

• Around 60 days before. Work out your exact total. Decide which account will hold it and gather any relationship documents.
• Around 45 days before. Consolidate the money into that one account. Multiple part-filled accounts complicate the evidence for no benefit.
• Day 0 to day 28. Leave it alone. No withdrawals, no transfers between accounts, no using it as a temporary parking place for anything else.
• After day 28. Request the statement, check the balance never dipped, and apply within 31 days of the statement date.

Consolidating early is the step most families skip. Moving money between accounts during the holding period is one of the most common reasons an otherwise well-funded application is refused.

Does the same money work for a spouse or dependant?

No. Where dependants are permitted at all, each one carries an additional maintenance amount on top of yours, and eligibility to bring dependants on a student route is restricted. Both the rules and the amounts differ by country and course level, so this needs checking for your specific case rather than assuming - our spouse and dependant visa page is the place to start.

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