bank letter details should have

if account holder is the visa applicant

account holder name
account number
account holder's I/C
account holder's funds in account
funds in the a/c as at date hereof have been maintained in the a/c for at least 28 days
funds are readily available and can be withdrawn anytime
letterhead (bank logo)
signature by bank officer

if account holder is not the visa applicant ~ account holder is visa applicant's parents

everything in the above list AND
relationship to account holder
account holder willing to undertake financial responsibilities for visa applicant's studies in the UK
visa applicant's I/C & passport number (either one should do, but both is OK)

YAY TS should edit this into first post cos I'm quite sure a lot of people would be wondering what a bank letter needs and honestly, the one provided in the UKBA website is quite vague compared to what is really needed by the BHC.

Other posters should add what they think is needed in the bank letter.

owh, mine is a joint account, so I can follow the first one? anyway, thank you SO much, cherriedpie!

Yes. However, even if you have joint account, do make sure you have a declaration letter by your parents (the one in the joint a/c with you) and also a translated copy of birth cert just in case.

Apparently there are some cases where the VFS officer still require your birth cert and the declaration letter by your parents if you have joint account. ;_;

So to avoid rejection, prepare everything you can for them.

You're welcome!

well said, i suggest u sticky this to the 1st page! ...

i am now confused...........do they want the bank statement, or they want a letter from the bank?...........it would appear that for accounts with monthly bank statements (actual hard copy statements), that should provide all the information required?........

They want a bank approved letter with the bank's letterhead stating that you are financially sponsored by your parents, or you have access to the funds.

you should have


one bank letter


AND

corresponding* bank a/c statement (see attached for details)

OR

corresponding* fixed deposit certificate (certified true copy ^)


* corresponding means the account number in the letter must match the account number you provide
^ If you went to the UK pre-departure briefing organized by HSBC, the George guy from VFS recommended you to bring original FD cert. However, I think it's very risky to bring your original FD cert! The VFS officers will take ALL your documents (they took my original birth cert and original English qualification cert agh!!!!) ... in this case if they take your original FD cert you might as well say bye-bye to your FD cert ... The only way you can reclaim money from your FD account is by proof of your FD cert and if that is gone, well your money is gone so... try to get a certified true copy that is stamped by the bank and signed by a bank officer.



Attached File(s)
 Financial_Maintenance_Requirements_for_Tier_4_General_Student_Visa_Applicants_CT10710_v1_5.pdf ( 152.47k ) Number of downloads: 98

how can the bank the bank say that?..........that is supposed to be the purpose of the letter of undertaking by parents.........

the bank's role is purely to show that the student OR the sponsor, be it parents, or legal guardian indeed do have the necessary money.........which is perfectly unequivocally shown in an official bank statement...........

actually, reading the guidelines, supporting letters from the bank is only required if the statement is an online based one printed out, or a non-itemised one like a FD certificate...........

so that differs from what some officers say.........

I apologise for not explaining further.

Hey balaclava I think I read some of your posts saying that you were an underachiever and finally managed to enter top 10 law school in UK.

What's your story? Just interested.

Curious as to how you got into a top school with mediocre track record.

just read my previous 2 posts, prepare them and you're done with your 10 points!
(of course you need to get translated birth cert and declaration letter from your parents if the account is not under your name)

This post has been edited by cherriedpie: Aug 31 2010, 11:58 PM

Guys,

How's the cost of living near Imperial College, London? I checked their website and their suggestion is up to GBP 10000 per year for 'reasonable comfort'. What does that mean? Does that include accommodation? Anyone here has any experience on this?

Thanks!

Well I passed my dad's original FD cert to VFS and it came back in one sheet

Prior to giving the original FD cert to VFS, go to the bank, get them to make a photocopy and certify that it's a true copy. At least you'll have that as an insurance. From my experience, if you need a bank letter or the bank to certify any statements, best to do it a the smaller branches, if that is possible.

Think it's best to just hand over the original FD cert to VFS, why would you want to get your visa application rejected?

O.O I already got my visa... and I had a joint account... all I did was give the entire passbook to VFS... and yeah nothing more to prove I had the funds...

I'm going to UK to study this next week and I'm planning to work part time there. There is one question that I want to ask. Is there any law stating that the minimum wage per hour one can earn while working part time?

totally different for my application, i submitted my FD certificate and others in original + photocopies .... they took my photocopies and gave me back all the originals one, even the bank letter ... but mistakes do happen, thats y u r required to fill up the given document checklist before submitting ur application ..

Fully agreed , its better to be safe then sorry ...


@c-note, ICL is located in London itself. Cost of living there is much much higher compared to other county. if i am not wrong the GBP10k from the uni website includes everything of ur maintenance (eg, play,accommodation,eat,study,etc)

---

Added on September 1, 2010, 3:05 amif my memory serves me right, minimum wage for an adult is 5.4pounds ... lazy to check now, but u can try ask mr. google ...

This post has been edited by alvinz: Sep 1 2010, 03:05 AM

Hmm, I don't know where to start. I was a mediorce student dating back when I'm still in high school. I did my A-levels in TARC albeit I regretted it later on. I somehow lost my focus in trying to score well. If you actually know what kind of distractions there are in Taman Bunga Raya or TBR for short; you'll understand where I come from. Life was fairly easy back then because I still do not have the maturity to handle my studies. I ended up with A, B, C, D grades for my A-levels studies. This is where the guilt seeps it. I was so worried that I couldn't further my studies at this stage in time but thank god I managed to barely pull it through.

I then set my way to UK Transfer Programme in HELP. I took up Law. Right, it was firstly for glamour and then everything else was a bonus back then. Even after telling myself that I need to buck up and not playing a fool, I did the same mistake again. I barely pass my quizzes. When I say barely, it means I either flunk one or two and only pass the others. I kept procrastinating despite I know I'm in dire help but hell I'm taking life easy. Come to think of it, I did Arts stream subjects in A-levels which includes Economics, Business Studies, General Paper, and Math. It is only recently that I found out TARC offered Law in their pre-University programme. But let's just leave the bygones be bygones. When my first year finals came, I somehow got enlightened and I managed to pull off some crazy grades despite my previous track records. I got like an average of a high 2-1. I applied for some random universities without doing much homework previously and I got accepted into all of them. My plans were to do a 1+2 program because 2+1 usually means more strict requirements and there's barely anyone who can make it(I know an exceptional few who happens to be my close friends; talk about contrast ). I wrote four appeal letters to convince them that my A-levels result should be partially ignored compared to my better off first year results. They finally gave me the green light

Soon after I landed in UK, my procrastination almost got the best of me again. I skipped tutorials and classes, party all day every night( well, almost ). Again I flunked 2 subjects out of 3. Then, the nightmare of my enlightenment begins. I stopped all social activities. I studied like a donkey day and night, picking back up what was lost; truth be told it ain't easy especially when some modules like Property Law requires constant revision. I did almost 25 hours of required studies per week and doing tutorial works for 4 modules including those I did terribly in. Thank god I got some awesome friends by my side. I can almost rely on them for the much accurate advices I need. My tutor was quite surprised I kept calling in to make an appointment but I know it has to be done. Finally, the summer examination (D Day) arrived. Perhaps I was still in a paranoid mood that I took too much time to study to not even notice time flies. I panicked all around but I managed to pull through everything at the end of the day with a borderline 2-2 and passed my winter re-sits. It was bad ass lol. Let me tell you; procrastination is a very very bad habit. It's not easy to ditch off and once you feel complacent that's where you fall the hardest. You'll only have yourself to blame when that happens. Usually, this comes in a package with external pressure from parents, peers, and etc.

I hope this story could serve as a good reminder to those who thinks they can party freely in UK; especially those whom are given scholarship. Your responsibility is to study. It is the first and the last thing you'll do. Party only when you know you have everything well under control.


p/s: Did I mention 10? I think it was 20(a typo lol)

Make very sure the bank also wrote down the DATE it was certified. If they do not write down the date, that FD could be many years ago and VFS may reject them.

LOL your final statement explains it all. Was kinda scratching my head how you managed to pull it off.

But anyhow, still a great story. I share with you an almost-similar story. After you've managed to achieve all these, don't you sometimes have regrets? Regret knowing that you could have done so much better and enter a top 10 instead of just being mediocre. Same feeling I have man. Time to work hard in Year 2 and 3 to make a comeback and at least get into the last ranks of "top", and not remain stuck at mediocre. Luckily first year doesn't count into the CGPA.

Not cheap. a year for them is defined as 9 months.

That quoted figure is the average expenditure for students i.e. normal lodging, adequate food and reasonable amount for entertainment. If you're looking for an ensuite studio in south kensington, or you only eat out and club a lot, you will definitely need more money.


Yup. Go check it out.