Moving money to Australia and showing genuine funds
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The proving funds guide covers how much you need to show for the student visa. This one is about the part people get wrong: making the money look genuine, and moving it without creating problems.
The rule that matters most
A case officer is not just checking a balance. They are checking whether the money is genuinely available to you and did not appear only to pass the test. The strongest evidence is a savings history that started before you decided to study abroad. The weakest is a large deposit that lands days before you lodge, with nothing behind it.
So the timing rule is simple: build the balance months ahead, not the week before. Three to six months of visible history is far more convincing than the right number on the right day.
Sources of funds, strong to weak
| Source | How to make it hold up |
|---|---|
| Your own savings | Statements showing the balance building over months, not a single recent figure |
| Education loan | Actually sanctioned and disbursed, or ready to disburse, by a recognised bank or financial institution. A loan approved in principle is not evidence |
| Parent or close-relative income and savings | Their statements and income proof, plus a document proving the relationship |
| Sale of property or land | The sale deed, the buyer's payment, and the money arriving on a traceable path |
| Fixed deposits | The certificate, plus where the original money came from |
Weak or risky:
- Money sitting in a distant relative's or a family friend's account. It is not clearly yours.
- A large deposit with no explanation of where it came from.
- A loan secured against an asset that cannot quickly be turned into cash.
- Exactly the minimum, with no margin.
Every significant sum needs an origin story the paperwork supports.
Australia has no blocked account
Unlike Germany's blocked account or Canada's Guaranteed Investment Certificate, Australia does not make you park money in a designated account or deposit it with the government. You show the funds through evidence. Nobody freezes them. That also means there is no official account to transfer into before you apply, and anyone telling you to send money to a student account to get a visa is running a scam.
What to pay before you lodge
- The tuition deposit, usually one semester, paid to the university, which triggers your Confirmation of Enrolment. Keep the receipt.
- OSHC health cover for the full length of the visa. Keep the policy document.
Both reduce the tuition and living-cost money you still need to evidence, because you can show them as already paid. Use the cost calculator and the real cost guide to size the total.
Actually moving the money
Pay tuition through the channel your university nominates. Most use a specialist provider such as Convera, Flywire, or PayMyTuition rather than a plain bank wire. These give a better rate than a card, a reference number the university can match to your account, and a receipt built for a visa file. Your offer letter or student portal names the provider.
Keep every transfer receipt, bank voucher, and remittance form. You need them for the visa application and again for later visa steps.
From India
The Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme lets a resident individual send up to USD 250,000 per financial year. A year of tuition and living costs in Australia sits well within that, and a parent can remit under their own separate limit.
Tax collected at source (TCS) applies to money sent abroad for education. As of the 2025-26 financial year, remittances funded by an education loan from a specified financial institution attract no TCS, and remittances from your own funds attract 5 percent on the amount above 10 lakh rupees in a financial year. TCS is not a cost as such, it is credited against your income tax, but it ties up cash for months. These rules have changed repeatedly, so confirm the current position with your bank before you remit.
From Nepal
You need a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Education, applied for online at noc.moest.gov.np. Nepali banks cannot remit tuition or living expenses abroad without it. Nepal Rastra Bank caps how much foreign currency you can buy for study and revises the caps from time to time, so confirm the current fee and living-expense limits with your remitting bank rather than an older figure. Route your payments through one bank and keep every exchange voucher, because later payments generally have to go through the same bank with the original NOC attached.
Worked example timeline
Targeting a February intake, applying the previous September.
| When | Money step |
|---|---|
| 12 months out | Start moving savings into one account in your name and leave them there |
| 6 months out | Loan sanctioned and documented if you are using one, or property sale completed if that is your source |
| 4 months out | Offer received. Pay the tuition deposit and buy OSHC. Keep the receipts |
| 3 months out | Gather six months of statements, sponsor income proof, relationship documents, and the loan disbursement letter |
| At lodgement | Financial evidence matches your Genuine Student answers exactly |
Does the money have to be in my name?
Not entirely. Parents and close relatives can be sponsors, and their savings and income count if you document the relationship and their consent. What matters is that the funds are genuinely available to you. Money held by a cousin, an uncle, or a family friend is treated as not clearly available and is a common reason for refusal.
Can I use money that arrived recently if it is genuine?
You can, but you have to prove it. A recent large deposit is not automatically fatal. If it came from a documented property sale, a matured fixed deposit, or a disbursed loan, show that trail in full. What sinks applications is a recent deposit with no explanation, because a case officer cannot tell genuine funds from money borrowed to pass the assessment.
Common questions
Does the money have to be in my name?
Not entirely. Parents and close relatives can be sponsors, and their savings and income count if you document the relationship and their consent. What matters is that the funds are genuinely available to you. Money held by a cousin, an uncle, or a family friend is treated as not clearly available and is a common reason for refusal.
Can I use money that arrived recently if it is genuine?
You can, but you have to prove it. A recent large deposit is not automatically fatal. If it came from a documented property sale, a matured fixed deposit, or a disbursed loan, show that trail in full. What sinks applications is a recent deposit with no explanation, because a case officer cannot tell genuine funds from money borrowed to pass the assessment.