Check Your Financial Institution Meets the UKBA Requirement

July 10, 2012


It is important that when submitting evidence of maintenance funds, Points Based System applicants ensure that these funds are verified by an approved financial institution. 

The UKBA maintains a list of financial institutions in some countries which do not satisfactorily verify financial statements.  The full list for each country can be found here. 

If you are at all concerned that this may affect you, you should review the list before applying because it will be updated and additions or deletions made as the UKBA deems appropriate.

Institutions are included on the list if the UKBA considers that they do not verify financial statements satisfactorily in more than 50% of a sample of cases.  Institutions may also be included on the list if they do not participate in specified schemes or arrangements in the country of origin, where the verification checks provided by banks that do participate in those schemes, are trusted.

The following criteria are provided by as an example of the minimum standard required for banks in order for the UKBA to satisfactorily verify documentation:

  • international banks; or
  • national banks with a UK private banking presence; or
  • regulated national/state banks that provide a core banking service.

According to the UKBA; “an unsatisfactory verification check means that the institution does not respond to or provide a reliable response to our request for information, or we are unable to contact the institution.  When a bank frequently provides unsatisfactory responses to verification requests, it is proportionate to include it on a list from which we will not accept documents, rather than verifying applications individually.”

PBS applicants should be aware that they will score no points for maintenance if the supporting documents submitted show that their funds are held in a financial institution which falls on the list.

Lists of financial institutions from which the UKBA will accept financial statements can be found alongside those from which statements will not be accepted.