The maintenance requirement is the single most mechanical part of a student visa application, and one of the most common reasons a strong application fails. Pick your destination and enter your details, and this gives you the exact balance to show, with the government page it came from and the date it was checked.

Showing the money is only half the test

Every system here tests three things about your funds, and applicants routinely prepare for only the first. How much is the published figure. How long is the holding period — the UK requires the balance to sit for 28 consecutive days ending within 31 days of your application date, and dipping below the total on any single day restarts the clock from zero. Where it came from is the one that catches people out: IRCC asks for bank statements covering the past four months, so a sum that appeared last week is visible, and an unexplained deposit invites the officer to decide the money is not genuinely yours to spend.

If you are moving money for this, move it early and keep the paperwork that explains it — payslips, business accounts, a property sale, an approved loan. A documented deposit is fine. An undocumented one is a refusal waiting to happen.

Which governments publish a figure, and which do not

Three of the five destinations in this tool do not publish a single national amount, for three different reasons, and this matters because it explains why you see contradictory numbers everywhere.

The United States genuinely has no figure: your number is the cost of attendance your school calculates and prints on your I-20, minus any funding already listed there. Anyone quoting a fixed US proof-of-funds amount is guessing. Australia sets the amount in a legislative instrument rather than on the visa page, so the structure of the test is stable but the dollar figure has to be read from the current instrument. Germany tells you outright that the blocked-account amount “varies depending on the purpose of your stay” and directs you to your own competent mission or the Consular Services Portal — which is precisely why the figure quoted on blogs is so often wrong for the applicant reading it.

Rather than fill those gaps with a plausible-looking number, this tool says so and links you to the source that governs your case. See the full comparison on our proof-of-funds requirements by country page.

Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need for a UK student visa?

£1,529 a month if your course is in London and £1,171 a month outside London, counted for a maximum of 9 months however long your course runs, plus any first-year tuition you have not already paid. That gives a maximum living-cost requirement of £13,761 in London and £10,539 elsewhere. The money must have been held for 28 consecutive days ending within 31 days of your application.

How much money do I need for a Canadian study permit?

For applications on or after 1 September 2025, a single applicant must show CA$22,895 for living costs, on top of first-year tuition and return transport. A family of four needs CA$42,543. Many sites still quote CA$20,635 — that tier only applied to applications lodged between 1 January 2024 and 31 August 2025. Quebec sets its own requirement through the CAQ.

How much money do I need for a US student visa?

There is no government figure. Your requirement is the cost of attendance printed on your I-20 by your school, less any scholarship or assistantship funding already recorded on that form. The consular officer is also assessing whether you intend to return home under INA 214(b), so the balance alone does not settle it.

Can I use my parents’ or a sponsor’s bank account?

Usually yes, with documentation. The requirements differ by country: the UK accepts a parent’s funds with a birth certificate and a signed letter of consent, Canada accepts a letter from the person giving you money provided it comes with other proof of funds, and Australia allows an income-based route where a parent or partner not travelling with you evidences annual income above a specified amount. A verbal promise with nothing in writing counts for nothing anywhere.

How often do these amounts change?

Without much warning, and not on a fixed schedule. Canada now adjusts annually against Statistics Canada cost-of-living measures, and the UK and Australia revise by rule change and legislative instrument respectively. Confirm on the official page linked above before you move money.

Next steps

Compare all five destinations side by side on our proof-of-funds by country page, separate the locked figures from your own estimates in the budget breakdown template, test the rest of your application with the refusal risk self-assessment, and see the published refusal rates for your consulate.