Bank Balance Required for Entry on Student Visa

Hi there,

I can't seem to find the answer to this question anywhere.  I'm planning to move over and go to school in London in April.  I'm applying for my student visa and see that one of the requirements is to show them a bank statement.  Can someone tell me how much money they want you to have in your account?  The purpose is to show that you can support yourself, but how much do they think that should be?  Maybe someone has some personal experiences they can share?  Maybe someone can direct me to some guidelines for this?

Thanks!

Cindy

When i got my student visa i did NOT require prior entry clearance as an American.  I flew over and at the immigration park of heathrow I gave them my passport and said I was there for a year as a student, gave them my confirmation of my place at the Uni i would be studying at and a copy of my notice of my student loan.  My loan happened to be for $25,000 to cover all of my fees, housing and some extra expenses.  I had no problems and they stamped my passport with a leave to remain for 1 year.

I had a few thousand dollars in savings, but didn't bother showing any bank statements because I had the notice of my student loan.

Hope that helps some.  What Uni in London are you planning to go to?  Have you gotten a confirmation of your acceptance yet?

Only thing was that the immigration guy accidently put the stamp in my passport upsidedown, so he had to cross it out and restamp it on another page.

check this site: http://www.britainusa.com/visas/visas.asp

I just put through my details and I guess that i was going for the same visa I got a year ago, i WOULD NOW need prior entry clearance.  I guess that detail changed, which is a drag, because it was so easy before.

I guess some questions for your case would be - How long is the course you intend to study?
How much are the fees and what to you anticipate housing costs to be?
Add on to that an estimate of transportation costs (as a student in London you can get discount transportation tickets - I think its like 8 pounds a week for a bus pass) and give yourself a bit leftover for food and other expenses.  They add up quickly, especially in London.  I fully exhausted my loan and my savings in that year!
They just want to make sure you are able to cover your bases financially.
The big expenses are student fees, housing, transport, and food.  If you are getting help from your family, you can probably provide the Consulate with details of your family's finances, such as a few months of bank statements.