Student Visa Proof of Funds Explained

Proof of funds is the evidence that shows an immigration authority you (or your sponsor) genuinely have enough money to cover tuition and living costs for your course, held in a form they consider reliable. It's not a single document, it's a small collection of records that, read together, tell a consistent financial story.

What counts as proof of funds

Most destinations accept a similar core set of evidence, though the exact combination and holding periods differ by country:

• Personal or sponsor bank statements, usually covering a recent period of several months
• A balance confirmation letter from the bank, issued close to the date you submit your application
• Fixed deposit certificates, where the funds are locked in rather than sitting in a current account
• A GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) for Canada specifically
• Education loan sanction letters, where part of the cost is being financed by a bank

How the requirement differs by destination

Australia's Department of Home Affairs sets a combined tuition-and-living-cost figure that's reviewed periodically. The UK sets a fixed maintenance amount, split by whether you're studying in London, that has to be held for a minimum number of consecutive days before you apply, a detail that trips up more applicants than the amount itself. Canada leans heavily on the GIC as the standard proof mechanism alongside your first year's tuition. New Zealand and Malta both expect a broadly similar living-cost figure to Australia's, reviewed on their own schedules.

Because every one of these figures is reviewed and adjusted periodically, we don't publish a specific amount here that could go out of date. We confirm the current figure for your destination directly with you as part of your document review.

Personal savings vs. a lump sum

There's a real difference in how immigration officers read a large sum that's been sitting in an account for years versus one that appeared two weeks before the application. Regular income and long-held savings are taken at face value more readily. A lump sum, on the other hand, usually needs to be paired with source-of-funds evidence, documents that trace the money back to where it actually came from, whether that's a property sale, a business, or an inheritance.

We cover that side of things in detail in our source-of-funds guide, since it's the part of a financial file most Sri Lankan families need the most help with.