How much money you need in the bank for a visit visa

The Schengen calculation

Most Schengen states publish a daily amount an applicant should have available. It sits in the region of EUR 60 to 70 per person per day for the countries Pakistani applicants most often apply to, though each mission sets its own and some are higher.

The working figure:

• Daily amount, times the number of nights
• Times the number of travellers on the application
• Plus the cost of flights, if not already paid
• Plus a margin, because the exchange rate moves between application and travel

A ten-night trip for two people at EUR 65 a day is EUR 1,300, plus flights. In rupees that is a substantially larger number than most first-time applicants expect, and it needs to have been sitting in the account, not deposited last week.

The UK is different

UKVI publishes no threshold. The Standard Visitor rules ask whether you can meet the cost of the trip without working or accessing public funds, and that is assessed against your whole situation.

In practice this means a modest balance backed by six months of steady salary credits performs better than a large balance with no visible income behind it. The officer is testing whether the money is yours and repeatable, not whether it is big.

What counts

• Current account balance, held over six months
• Salary credits arriving on a regular date
• Fixed deposits and savings certificates, as supporting evidence
• A sponsor's funds, where the sponsorship is formally documented

What does not count

• Cash you hold at home
• A relative's account you are not named on, without sponsorship paperwork
• Money deposited in the weeks before applying, unless the source is evidenced
• Property value, which supports ties to Pakistan rather than affordability

Questions