The 28-day funds rule with Indian bank accounts

Student: unpaid first-year tuition on the CAS plus £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 outside London for up to 9 months, rising to £1,570 and £1,203 from 30 November 2026. India Young Professionals Scheme: £2,530. Innovator Founder and High Potential Individual: £1,270. Convert at the exchange rate on the day you apply and add a margin of 3 to 5 percent for rupee movement.

Acceptable: savings or current accounts in your name, a parent's name, or your spouse's name, at a bank regulated by the Reserve Bank of India; fixed deposits that can be withdrawn immediately, with a bank letter saying so. Not acceptable: shares, mutual funds, PPF, NSC, property, gold, cryptocurrency, an overdraft facility, or money in a friend's or uncle's account.

If the money is in a parent's account you add your birth certificate or Class 10 certificate showing the parent's name, and a signed letter from the parent confirming the relationship and that the money is available for your study. A grandparent, sibling or in-law's account is not accepted for the Student route.

The 28 days are counted back from the closing balance date of the statement. The balance must not fall below the required amount on any day. Put the money in once, leave it, and do not sweep it into an FD part-way unless the FD itself qualifies and the statement shows continuity.

Printed statement on bank letterhead or an online statement stamped by the branch, showing account holder name, account number, bank name and logo, and every transaction for the period. Many Indian banks also issue a balance certificate for the day; that alone does not prove 28 days, so attach the full statement.

A loan sanction letter from a bank regulated by the Reserve Bank of India replaces the 28-day statement for the loan amount. It must state the applicant's name, the loan amount, the course or institution, that the loan is sanctioned and that funds will be released on visa grant or before the course starts. A pre-approval or eligibility letter does not count. Where the lender is an NBFC the Home Office must recognise it as regulated; ask before relying on it.

The statement closing date must be no more than 31 days before the date you submit the online form. If your CAS is delayed, get a fresh statement rather than submitting with an old one.

A large deposit inside the 28 days from an unexplained source; moving money between accounts without statements for both; an FD broken and re-booked; a loan disbursed into the account after the period started; a joint account with someone other than a parent or spouse; and a statement that stops short of the submission date by more than 31 days.

If money arrived from a property sale, an FD maturity or a gift, add the sale deed, the FD receipt or a gift deed with the giver's ID and bank statement. The officer does not need a source for every rupee, but a sudden lump sum without papers reads as borrowed.