28-Day Rule Uk Visa Calculator

Use this premium calculator to check whether your bank statement period appears to satisfy the UK visa 28-day funds rule and the 31-day statement age rule. This tool is designed for applicants who need to confirm whether their closing balance stayed at or above the required amount for a full qualifying period before submitting an application.

Check Your 28-Day Funds Requirement

Enter your figures below. The calculator reviews the minimum balance held during the period, the number of consecutive days between the first and closing statement dates, and the number of days between the closing statement date and your application date.

Important: This calculator is an informational aid, not legal advice. UK visa rules vary by route and document type, and decision-makers assess evidence in context.

Expert Guide to the 28-Day Rule UK Visa Calculator

The phrase 28-day rule UK visa calculator is usually searched by applicants who need to prove they held enough money for a UK visa application over a qualifying period. In practical terms, the rule is most familiar in Student and Child Student maintenance cases, but the broader issue also appears whenever a route requires an applicant to show money has been held consistently rather than appearing in the account at the last minute. A calculator helps because the risk is not only the amount itself. Applicants also need to check timing, especially the length of the holding period and the age of the financial evidence by the time the online application is submitted.

This page is designed to help you understand those mechanics clearly. The calculator above focuses on three core tests that often matter: whether your lowest balance stayed at or above the required threshold, whether the funds were held for at least 28 consecutive days, and whether your statement closing date is within the common 31-day evidence window before the application date. Those are simple rules on paper, but many refusals happen because one date is counted incorrectly, one debit briefly pushes the account below the threshold, or the statement is already too old when the applicant clicks submit.

Quick principle: It is usually not enough to show that you have the money today. You may need to show that the required level of funds existed continuously for the relevant period and that your evidence is recent enough on the date of application.

What the UK visa 28-day rule normally means

Where the rule applies, the key idea is continuity. You must usually show that your cash funds did not dip below the required amount during a full run of 28 consecutive days. Applicants often misunderstand this point and assume the closing balance is all that matters. In reality, the decision-maker may look at the lowest point in the period. If the balance falls below the required figure even briefly, the 28-day count may effectively restart from the next day on which the balance is restored.

The second timing issue is the age of the evidence. For many cases, the closing balance shown on the bank statement must not be older than 31 days on the date of the application. That means you must count carefully from the statement end date to the date the application is submitted, not to the biometric appointment unless the route guidance says otherwise. A strong calculator therefore needs to test both windows, because applicants can satisfy the 28-day holding requirement and still fail the evidence-age requirement.

How this calculator works

The calculator on this page uses a practical decision model:

1. It identifies your required funds amount, either from a student maintenance preset or a custom figure.
2. It compares that amount with the lowest balance held during your chosen period.
3. It counts the number of consecutive days from the start date to the closing statement date, inclusive.
4. It counts the number of days between the closing statement date and the application date.
5. It returns a pass-style or fail-style result, together with a chart showing the threshold against your balances.

This approach mirrors the way many applicants and advisers do a first-pass compliance check before a formal review of the statement itself. It is especially useful if you are trying to decide whether you should wait a few more days before applying, request a fresher statement, or delay submission because a low balance interrupted the 28-day run.

Official student maintenance figures commonly linked to the 28-day rule

One of the most common uses of a 28-day rule calculator is for Student visa maintenance. Under current UK government guidance, students studying in London generally need to show £1,483 per month for living costs, while students studying outside London generally need to show £1,136 per month. The cap is typically up to 9 months. That means the maximum living-cost maintenance amount is usually £13,347 for London and £10,224 outside London.

Study location	Monthly maintenance	Maximum months counted	Total maximum living-cost funds
London	£1,483	9	£13,347
Outside London	£1,136	9	£10,224

These are not random examples. They are official living-cost figures widely used in UK Student route guidance. If you are applying under a student category, these numbers are often the first thing to verify before you even begin counting the 28-day period. Using the wrong threshold can invalidate the whole exercise.

Examples of how applicants calculate their totals

Because the government figures are monthly, many applicants want to know what the amount looks like over different course lengths or shorter evidence periods. The table below gives simple worked examples using the official monthly figures.

Scenario	Monthly rate	Months used	Funds required
London student, 3 months	£1,483	3	£4,449
London student, 9 months	£1,483	9	£13,347
Outside London student, 6 months	£1,136	6	£6,816
Outside London student, 9 months	£1,136	9	£10,224

Where applicants make mistakes

Most issues arise from one of five avoidable errors:

• Using the closing balance only. The rule may depend on the lowest balance during the entire period.
• Counting 28 days incorrectly. Applicants sometimes exclude one end date when the period should be counted inclusively.
• Applying too late. A compliant statement can become non-compliant if it is older than the permitted evidence window.
• Ignoring unpaid tuition or route-specific deductions. The total funds required may differ from a simple maintenance figure.
• Submitting unclear documents. Missing translations, missing account-holder names, or incomplete statements can still cause problems even if the amount and dates are correct.

How to use the calculator accurately

Best practice

• Take the lowest balance from the statement, not the average.
• Use the exact statement closing date.
• Use the date you submit the application form.
• Double-check whether your route has extra evidence rules.

Before you submit

• Confirm the account is acceptable under the route guidance.
• Make sure names, account numbers, and institution details are visible.
• Check whether money in a parent or guardian account needs extra documents.
• Keep a margin above the required amount to absorb small fluctuations.

What if your balance dropped below the threshold?

If your balance dropped below the required amount at any point during the qualifying period, many applicants should assume that the 28-day run has been interrupted. In practical terms, you may need to wait until you have accumulated a fresh full period of compliant balances. A calculator is very useful here because it lets you test alternative start dates quickly. For example, if your balance dipped on the 17th, but returned above the threshold on the 18th, the safe assumption is often that the next compliant sequence begins on the 18th.

What if your statement is older than 31 days?

This is another common trap. Some applicants collect their statement early, continue preparing other documents, and only later realise that the evidence is now stale. If your statement end date is too far from the application date, you may need a more recent statement or an updated bank letter, depending on route rules and document standards. The calculator above flags this risk immediately by comparing the two dates and telling you how many days apart they are.

Why a chart can help

Visual comparison matters more than many people expect. A chart showing the required amount, your lowest balance, and your closing balance makes borderline cases easier to understand. If your lowest balance sits just £10 or £20 above the threshold, you can immediately see that your case is technically compliant but operationally fragile. That may influence whether you wait for a more comfortable buffer before applying.

Authoritative sources you should read

If you are relying on this calculator, you should still read the official route guidance and fee pages directly. The most useful starting points are:

• UK Government Student visa financial requirements
• UK Government Student visa overview
• UK Government Student route caseworker and policy guidance

Where your circumstances are complex, such as combined tuition and maintenance calculations, third-party sponsorship, a parent account, overseas bank formats, or translated financial evidence, those official sources are essential. They explain route-specific exceptions and documentary standards that no simple calculator can fully replace.

Final practical advice

A 28-day rule calculator is best used as a screening tool. It helps you answer the immediate question: “Does my financial evidence appear numerically and chronologically safe?” If the answer is no, you can usually identify the problem quickly. If the answer is yes, you still need to ensure your bank evidence is valid in form, not just in maths. The strongest applications combine a correct threshold, a fully compliant 28-day holding period, a recent statement, and clean supporting documentation.

In short, the safest strategy is to maintain a buffer above the required amount, count dates conservatively, and avoid waiting until the very edge of the 31-day window. If you do that, the calculator becomes more than a convenience. It becomes a practical risk-control tool that can help you avoid one of the most preventable UK visa refusal reasons.

This guide is for general information only and does not replace immigration advice tailored to your case.