A Sponsored Place, Money Held for 28 Days, and Since 2024 Almost Nobody May Bring a Family
Studying in the United Kingdom runs on a sponsorship licence rather than on an enrolment letter. The route is Appendix Student, and the document that starts it is a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies issued by a licensed student sponsor. On top of that the applicant must hold money: outstanding course fees plus a monthly living figure for up to nine months, which Appendix Student sets at 1,529 pounds a month in London and 1,171 pounds a month outside it, held for 28 continuous days and evidenced to the standard in Appendix Finance, where an overdraft does not count. English is required at CEFR B2 in all four components for a degree-level course and B1 below it. Permission is granted for the length of the course plus a margin set by a table, and it carries work conditions rather than a work prohibition: 20 hours a week in term time for a degree-level student at a provider with a track record of compliance, 10 hours below degree level, and no employment at all for every other kind of study including all part-time study. The sharpest rule is about families. Since 1 January 2024 a dependent partner or child may generally only join a student whose course is a PhD, another doctoral qualification or a research-based higher degree, or a student on a government scholarship.
At a glance
- Monthly maintenance, studying in London
- 1,529 pounds for each month of the course, up to a maximum of 9 months, on top of outstanding course fees
ST 12.3(a) of Appendix Student, which prints the figure as a sum in pounds sterling inside the table of funds required.
- Monthly maintenance, studying outside London
- 1,171 pounds for each month of the course, up to a maximum of 9 months, on top of outstanding course fees
ST 12.3(b) of Appendix Student, which prints the figure as a sum in pounds sterling inside the table of funds required.
- How long the money must be held
- A 28-day period
ST 12.6 of Appendix Student, read with Appendix Finance.
- Age of the financial evidence
- The most recently dated piece of financial evidence must be dated within 31 days before the date of application
FIN 7.1 of Appendix Finance.
- Overdrafts
- Not counted towards meeting financial requirements, under FIN 3.1 of Appendix Finance
FIN 3.1 says so in terms, and the rule is easy to fall foul of because the account balance can appear sufficient.
- Applicants who need show no funds at all
- Someone applying for permission to stay who has been living in the UK with permission for 12 months or more, and a Student Union Sabbatical Officer
ST 12.1 and ST 12.2 of Appendix Student.
- English language standard
- CEFR B2 in all 4 components at UK bachelor's degree level or above, and B1 for a pre-sessional or below-degree course
ST 13.1(a) of Appendix Student. A GCSE or above in Welsh, Scots Gaelic or Irish is an alternative under ST 13.1(b).
- Work permitted in term time
- 20 hours per week at degree level or above with a track-record sponsor, 10 hours below degree level, and no employment for all other study including all part-time study
The table at ST 26.1 of Appendix Student. Full-time work is permitted outside term time in the first two cases.
- Self-employment
- Not allowed, under ST 26.5(a) of Appendix Student, except where ST 26.8 applies
ST 26.5 also prohibits working as a professional sportsperson in the words immediately following.
- Maximum study below degree level
- Two years of permission as a Student for courses below degree level from the age of 18
ST 19.1 of Appendix Student. ST 19.2 raises it to three years for a course with a Maritime and Coastguard Agency sea-time requirement.
- Maximum study at degree level
- Five years of permission as a Student at degree level from the age of 18, with named subjects excepted
ST 19.3 of Appendix Student. ST 19.4 lists the exceptions, which include architecture, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and science, music at a Conservatoires UK member college, and law in defined circumstances.
- Who may bring a partner or child
- A student on a government scholarship, or a full-time postgraduate student whose course beginning on or after 1 January 2024 is a PhD, another doctoral qualification or a research-based higher degree
ST 31.1(a) and (b) of Appendix Student. Continuing dependants of a continuing student are preserved by ST 31.1(d).
- Funds a dependent partner must show
- 845 pounds a month in London and 680 pounds a month outside London, for 9 months or the period applied for if shorter
The table at ST 33.2 of Appendix Student, which prints both figures as sums in pounds sterling. ST 33.3 requires these to be on top of the student's own funds and of any dependent child's.
Requirements
- A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies from a licensed student sponsor
- Funds for outstanding course fees plus the monthly living amount for up to 9 months, held for a continuous 28-day period
- English at CEFR B2 in all four components for a degree-level course, or B1 for a pre-sessional or sub-degree course
- For a course below degree level, that the grant will not take you past two years of sub-degree study from the age of 18
- For a dependent partner or child, that the student's course is a doctoral or research degree or that the student holds a government scholarship
In detail
The sponsor decides more than the university does
Two of the conditions on this route are not about the applicant at all. Whether a student may work 20 hours a week or none turns on whether the sponsor is a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, a status the Home Office grants and withdraws. Whether a partner may come turns on whether the sponsor has confirmed the course is a doctoral or research-based higher degree. And under ST 13.3 the sponsor may itself assess English and state the method on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, which removes the need for a test. A reader choosing between two offers is, among other things, choosing between two sponsor statuses, and that is not usually what an offer letter is understood to be.
What changed on 1 January 2024
ST 31.1(b) carries its own date. A full-time postgraduate student may be joined by a partner or child where the course is nine months or longer at a provider with a track record of compliance, but where the course start date is on or after 1 January 2024 the provider must also have confirmed that the course is a PhD, another doctoral qualification or a research-based higher degree. A taught master's that would have admitted a family in 2023 does not in 2026. The rule keeps two openings: a student on a government scholarship under (a), and under (d) a family already holding dependant permission who are continuing alongside a continuing student.
Where the money rules bite hardest
The amounts are published per month of the course and capped at nine months, so the nine-month cap is doing a lot of work: a three-year degree in London needs nine months of living costs, not thirty-six. But the money must be in an immediately accessible personal account, held for 28 unbroken days, with the most recent statement no more than 31 days old at the date of application, and an overdraft facility does not count however large. ST 12.7 adds a rule most readers will never have heard of: if the balance has fallen substantially below the required level by the date of decision, the decision maker must be satisfied the money went on course fees, an accommodation deposit or study-related costs.
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«ST 12.1. If the applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been living in the UK with permission for 12 months or more on the date of application, they will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds. ST 12.2. If the applicant is applying for entry clearance or permission to stay and is applying as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer they will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds. ST 12.3. If ST 12.2. does not apply, and the applicant is applying for entry clearance, or is applying for permission to stay and has been in the UK with permission for less than 12 months, the applicant must have the following funds: (a) Studying in London | Type of Study | Funds required | | --- | --- | | Residential Independent School | Sufficient funds to pay outstanding fees (course fees and boarding fees) for one academic year | | All other cases | Sufficient funds to pay any outstanding course fees as stated on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, and £1529 for each month of the course (up to a maximum of 9 months) | (b) Studying outside London | Type of Study | Funds required | | --- | --- | | Residential Independent School | Sufficient funds to pay outstanding fees (course fees and boarding fees) for one academic year | | All other cases | Sufficient funds to pay any outstanding course fees as stated on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, and £1171 for each month of the course»The whole financial requirement, including the two cases where nothing need be shown. Quoted as the page publishes the tables, pipes included.
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The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«ST 12.4. If the applicant has paid a deposit to the student sponsor for accommodation arranged by the sponsor, this deposit (up to a maximum of £1529) can be offset against the funds required in ST 12.3. ST 12.5. If the applicant has paid all or part of their course fees to their student sponsor this must be confirmed on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, or the applicant must provide a receipt issued by the student sponsor confirming the amount of fees paid. ST 12.6. The applicant must show that they have held the required level of funds for a 28-day period and as specified in Appendix Finance unless the applicant is relying on a student loan or official financial sponsorship which meets the requirements of FIN 8.3. in Appendix Finance»The accommodation deposit offset is capped at the same figure as one month's London maintenance, and the 28-day holding period is waived where a student loan or official sponsorship is relied on.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«ST 13.1. An applicant must either: 1. (a) show English language ability on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in all 4 components (reading, writing, speaking and listening) of at least: 1. (i) level B2, where the applicant is studying a course at UK bachelor’s degree level or above; or 2. (ii) level B1, where the applicant is studying a pre-sessional course or a course below UK bachelor’s degree level; or 2. (b) have a GCSE level qualification or above in Welsh, Scots Gaelic, or Irish language.»Four components, not two: unlike the settlement standard, which tests speaking and listening only, the student standard tests reading and writing as well. The numbering inside the quotation is the list markup of the published page.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«ST 19.1. If the course is below degree level, the grant of permission must not lead to the applicant being granted more than two years’ permission as a Student to study courses below degree level from the age of 18 unless ST 19.2. applies. ST 19.2. If the course is below degree level but is subject to a regulatory requirement by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that the applicant must spend at least 12 months at sea as a part of that course, the grant of permission must not lead to the applicant being granted more than 3 years’ permission as a Student from the age of 18 to study courses below degree level. ST 19.3. If the course is at degree level, the grant of permission must not lead to the applicant being granted more than five years’ permission as a Student from the age of 18 to study courses at degree level unless the course of study is one of those listed at ST 19.4.»A cap on the route rather than on a single grant. It counts permission already held from the age of 18, so a person who has studied here before carries that history into the next application.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«ST 25.1. The grant of permission will be subject to the following conditions: 1. (a) no access to public funds; and 2. (b) no work, except as specified in ST 26; and 3. (c) no study, except as specified in ST 27. 4. (d) DELETED ST 25.2. The applicant will be granted permission for the duration of the course as specified on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies plus the relevant periods specified in ST 25.3.»No access to public funds is a condition of the grant, not a consequence of the status.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«ST26.1. The applicant will be granted permission with the following employment conditions: | | | | --- | --- | | **Type of study** | **Employment conditions** | | Student following a full-time course of degree level or above study: <br> • sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance; or <br> • sponsored by an overseas higher education institution to undertake a short-term study abroad programme in the UK | 20 hours per week during term-time (full- time employment permitted outside of term-time) | | Student undertaking a full-time course below degree level study sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance | 10 hours per week during term-time (full- time employment permitted outside of term-time) | | All other study, including all part-time study | No employment permitted |»Quoted as the page publishes the table. The right to work follows the level of the course and the compliance record of the sponsor, not the student.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«ST 26.5. A Student is not allowed to do any of the following: 1. (a) be self-employed or engage in business activity unless ST 26.8 applies; or»Students are outside self-employment, which rules out freelancing alongside study even within the permitted hours.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«ST 31.1. Unless they are a child who meets the requirements in ST 31.2., the applicant must be the partner or child of a person who is: 1. (a) a Student who has received a scholarship or sponsorship from a Government for study in the UK and has, or is applying for, permission to study on a full-time course of 6 months or longer; or 2. (b) a full-time Student who has, or is applying for, permission to study a postgraduate level course of 9 months or longer at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance and, if the course start date is on or after 1 January 2024, the provider has confirmed the course is a PhD or other doctoral qualification, or a research-based higher degree; or 3. (c) DELETED 4. (d) a Student who has, or had within the last 3 months before the date of application, permission to study on a full-time course of 6 months or longer, and is now applying for permission to study a full-time course of 6 months or longer where either: 1. (i) the partner or child already has, or had within the last 3 months before the date of application, permission as a dependent partner or dependent child of the Student; or 2. (ii) the child was born since the last grant of permission to the Student, where the Student and partner or child are applying at the same time.»The 2024 restriction, in its actual form. It is not a ban on dependants but a narrowing to doctoral and research degrees and to government-sponsored students, with a saving at (d) for families already here.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
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«ST 33.2. If the applicant is applying for entry clearance or permission to stay, where they have been in the UK less than 12 months, the applicant or their partner (who must be a Student or applying at the same time as a Student) must have the funds specified in the table below, for a total of 9 months, or for the period of permission applied for by the applicant, whichever is the shorter. | Place of Student’s study | Funds required by a dependent partner | | --- | --- | | Studying in London | £845 per month | | Studying outside London | £680 per month | ST 33.3. The funds must be in addition to the funds required for the Student to meet the financial requirement»Dependant funds are additive, so a student with a partner and a child in London is showing three separate monthly amounts on top of course fees.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«FIN 3.1. Overdraft facilities will not be counted towards meeting financial requirements.»One sentence, and the commonest reason a financially comfortable applicant fails the money test.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«FIN 7.1. The most recently dated piece of financial evidence must be dated within 31 days before the date of application. 1. FIN 7.2. The length of time for which funds are held will be calculated by counting back from the date of the closing balance on the most recently dated piece of financial evidence. 1. FIN 7.3. The financial evidence provided must cover the whole period of time for which the funds must be held.»The 28 days are counted backwards from the closing balance on the most recent statement, not forwards from any date the applicant chooses.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
«FIN 8.1. Funds may be held in any form of personal bank or building society account (including current, deposit, savings, pension from which the funds can be withdrawn or investment account) provided the account allows the funds to be accessed immediately.»Immediate access is the test. FIN 8.2 excludes shares, bonds, credit cards and pensions that cannot be drawn immediately.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Every figure here is from Appendix Student as published by the Home Office on gov.uk and read on 10 October 2026. The Appendix carries no version date on the page; the most recent statement of changes on the department's own collection page when it was read is HC 584 of 3 September 2026.
Appendix Finance sets how funds are evidenced and Appendix Student sets how much. No maintenance figure appears anywhere in Appendix Finance, so a reader looking for the amounts in the appendix named after money will not find them.
Appendix English Language, Appendix Continuous Residence and the Student sponsor guidance have not been read for this record. Where a rule here refers to another appendix, that appendix has not been checked.
The Student route does not lead to settlement: no part of Appendix Student grants it, and time as a Student is excluded from the long residence qualifying period only for the Short-term Student (English language) variant. Where a Student later settles it is by switching to another route, which this record does not cover.
- issuesImmigration Rules Appendix Student
Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)
About this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source
- issuesImmigration Rules Appendix Finance
Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)
About this source
The department that lays the Immigration Rules before Parliament under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 and publishes them on gov.uk. The Rules - HC 395 as amended - are the operative law of almost every immigration route: the Acts set the framework and delegate, and what a person must actually satisfy is in an appendix. The consolidated appendices are served one per page under gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules, with an index page listing every Part and Appendix with a one-line description of each, which is the only published closed list of the routes that exist. Changes are made by a statement of changes laid before Parliament, and those are collected at gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: No appendix page carries a version date or an in-force date on its face. The only way to date the text is the statement of changes collection, which gives the most recent statement laid but not which appendix it touched, so a citation to an appendix can be dated only to "the consolidation current at or after HC <n> of <date>". The Rules are not enacted: Parliament may disapprove a statement but does not pass it, so this is a department publishing its own rules and the site is both the issuer and the only publisher of the consolidated text - there is no independent consolidation to check it against. A closed route is hollowed rather than removed: the headings for Tier 1 (Investor), Tier 1 (General) and retired persons of independent means still stand above paragraphs reading DELETED, so the presence of a heading proves nothing. It is not a source for departmental guidance, for fees, for sponsor licensing decisions or for the lists of endorsing bodies, approved tests and designated institutions that the Rules make load-bearing and publish elsewhere.
We re-read it every 45 days. More about this source