For parents and guardians
You are the one moving the money.Here is exactly what has to be where, and when.
Most guidance written for families is published by someone selling transfers, guarantees or accommodation. This is not. Every figure below comes from the UK Immigration Rules or from official statistics, each one shown with the source it came from and the date it was last checked.
Nothing here is behind an email address
How much money has to be shown, and by when?
Outstanding first-year fees plus a fixed monthly living-cost figure set by the Immigration Rules — not an estimate of what your child will actually spend. The amount has to sit in the account for 28 consecutive days without dipping once, and the evidence must be recent when the application is made. The calculator works out both dates from the course start date.
Can the money sit in my account rather than my child’s?
Yes — a parent or legal guardian’s account is allowed, which is the usual arrangement. It comes with conditions: proof of the relationship and written consent from you. The exception does not stretch to grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles or family friends, and applications are refused over exactly this.
What will it actually cost them to live there?
A different question from the visa figure, and usually a larger one. The visa amount is a minimum to be evidenced, not a budget. The estimator builds a monthly figure from published rent data for the town they are moving to, plus the bills a student actually pays.
Can they work to support themselves?
Less than most families assume, and the limit depends on the course and the sponsor rather than on effort. Some students may not work at all. Self-employment and freelance work are barred outright, which catches people who think of it as harmless. The hourly rate also depends on age, so an 18-year-old earns materially less than the headline figure.
Why is a UK guarantor being demanded?
Private landlords usually want someone UK-based to guarantee the rent, and a parent abroad cannot normally qualify however comfortable their finances. The common alternative is paying several months, or the whole year, upfront — so it becomes a cash-flow question arriving at the same time as tuition. There are limits on what can be charged as a deposit.
What will the university tell me once they are there?
Day to day, nothing — not results, not attendance, not welfare — without your child’s consent, and paying the fees does not change it. In an emergency the position reverses entirely, and the regulator has told universities plainly not to hide behind data protection when someone is at risk. There is one thing worth arranging at registration.
The mistake that costs families the most
It is almost never the amount. It is the balance dipping below the required figure for a single day inside the 28-day period, which resets the clock entirely — or evidence dated a few days too early by the time the application is submitted. Both are arithmetic, both are avoidable, and both are why this site exists.
Read how the dates work