It is three questions, not one
How much, held by whom, and for how long. Applicants prepare for the first and are caught by the second and third. The amount is set by the Home Office and depends on your course and where you will study; the holding conditions are set out in the same guidance and are just as binding.
- The amount — course fees for the year plus living costs for a set number of months
- The holder — you, or a parent or legal guardian who provides evidence of the relationship
- The period — a continuous window ending shortly before you apply
- The evidence — statements or a letter that show the balance across that whole window
The consecutive-days rule is the one that catches people
The money must have been held for a continuous period, and the balance must not have dropped below the required amount at any point in it. A transfer in the week before applying does not satisfy this, however large. Neither does an account that dipped below the threshold on one day in the middle of the window.
The practical consequence: the money needs to be in the right account, untouched, well before you intend to apply. Plan the timing backwards from your application date rather than assembling funds when the CAS arrives.
Where students lose time
Documents in the wrong name. Statements that do not show the account holder, the account number, the currency and the full date range. Fixed deposits that cannot be accessed. A sponsor relationship that is real but undocumented. Each of these is fixable, and each of them costs weeks if it is discovered at submission rather than at preparation.
Check it against the source
The amounts, the qualifying period and the accepted document formats are all set by the Home Office and change. Nothing on this page — or any advice site — is a substitute for the current guidance on gov.uk. Read it, and if a document is borderline, get it checked before you submit rather than after.