What should international students in the UK pay attention to when spending money?

Things to note when spending money as an international student in the UK

1. Deposit as early as possible

After receiving the admission notice from the school, enter the stage of applying for a visa. Proof of deposit is essential for visa approval. Under normal circumstances, international students need to provide bank deposit certificates for 6 months to 1 year, and deposit them in banks according to requirements, including time and demand savings deposits and certificated treasury bonds. Therefore, it is best to start your bankbook for studying abroad one year before applying for a visa, and it is best to have multiple records of deposits and expenditures, rather than a large one-time deposit of hundreds of thousands.

Secondly, are you committing fraud? Of course, if you are committing fraud, the methods of many study abroad agencies are much smarter than depositing large amounts of cash at once. In addition, when submitting the deposit certificate to the embassy or consulate, you can also submit some documents proving family income to explain the legality and source of the funds. If you can also provide additional proof of family property, such as real estate, cars, etc., it will naturally be more secure.

2. Make up for it with a study abroad loan

If you made a hasty decision to study abroad and do not have enough time to deposit or the amount of deposit is insufficient, you can make up for it by applying for a study abroad loan. Generally speaking, the amount of a study abroad loan cannot exceed the total RMB equivalent of the school's registration fee, tuition fees within one year, living expenses and other necessary expenses, up to a maximum of RMB 500,000, and the loan term cannot exceed 6 years.

3. Purchase foreign exchange in large quantities or in batches?

There is more preparation work after obtaining the visa. The first is to purchase foreign exchange. Affected by foreign currency exchange rates and policies for international students in different countries, the total cost of studying abroad is also constantly changing. How to reasonably purchase foreign exchange and reduce the cost of studying abroad based on changes in foreign exchange rates are also issues that must be considered. In fact, this problem is somewhat similar to fixed investment funds in investment, except that investment funds are for stable income, while fixed investment in foreign exchange is for stabilizing the cost of studying abroad.

If you want to purchase foreign exchange in a certain amount for a long time, this requires those studying abroad to continue to pay attention to the trend of foreign exchange and make a complete budget for their study abroad expenses. In recent years, the continued appreciation of the RMB has led to a relatively lower cost of studying abroad in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and other countries. This may also be one of the reasons why the number of students studying abroad continues to rise, because everyone thinks that "study abroad is very cost-effective now."

Although this statement seems somewhat utilitarian, the high cost of studying abroad forces people to use their brains on this issue. Regarding the method of purchasing foreign exchange, we can carry out installment operations according to the exchange rate trend, purchase foreign exchange in batches at low prices, and reduce the overall cost of purchasing. Before purchasing foreign exchange, try to make an appointment with the bank to confirm whether the business is available and whether there is enough foreign exchange, because sometimes you may have to wait for several days.

4. Use wire transfer to take "money" abroad

In addition to preparing foreign exchange before leaving the country, you also need to know how to take money out of the country safely. Wire transfer is the most common way to transfer funds out of the country. The biggest features of wire transfer are that it is fast, safe and has a large amount. The funds can reach the overseas account within a few working days. Now many schools require students to wire tuition fees directly to designated accounts.

Bill remittance has also become a commonly used remittance method for international students. It is suitable for international students who are going abroad for the first time and have not yet opened a bank account abroad. As long as they provide their name and the name of the city where they are located, international students can carry the money order abroad. And handle collection at foreign banks.

Money orders are easy to carry, relatively low cost, and the arrival time can be flexibly controlled, and some schools also require students to use money orders to pay tuition. Wire transfers and draft transfers are relatively safe and have low handling fees, so they can be the first choice for going abroad.

5. International credit cards, let parents supervise and "pay the bill"

Now many banks have launched dual-currency credit cards for international students.

Dual-currency credit cards are mostly settled in U.S. dollars, and the repayment method can be used to repay in the original currency to avoid currency exchange losses, or family members can repay in RMB at home.

Most of these credit cards have two primary and secondary cards. International students use the secondary card to make purchases abroad, and their parents can directly use the primary card to automatically purchase foreign exchange and repay in RMB at home. They can also set the consumption limit of the secondary card. , there is a text message reminder for every purchase.

In addition, the bank will send back your consumption bills abroad on time every month, so that your parents can understand your consumption abroad at home and help you establish rational consumption habits. Although international students may not be happy to be subject to this kind of "surveillance", if your spending abroad only involves some simple purchases, this method can save a lot of remittance fees and is more convenient to operate. It is still a method that most people will use. chosen.

It should be reminded that it is not cost-effective to use international credit cards to withdraw cash abroad. The bank will charge a certain handling fee based on the withdrawal amount. This fee is about 18% interest per year. For a family, if the child is usually not very controllable and has poor self-control ability, it is better to use this kind of dual-currency credit card for him cautiously.

Because out of concern for their children, parents are unlikely to refuse to pay off their credit debts abroad, and some children studying abroad will also take advantage of this. After all, it is a matter of overdrafting cash from the card. What an easy thing to do. In terms of interest, if a family has an international student who likes to spend money, it is equivalent to consuming three "houses".

6. Set up overseas accounts to solve the problem of foreign cash withdrawals

Although credit cards are convenient to use, they are not so cost-effective when it comes to cash withdrawals. Before going abroad, you can also pre-open an overseas account in China and remit the tuition, living expenses and other funds needed during your study abroad to this account in advance. You can activate it after you go abroad and use it directly. This agency business mainly involves cooperation between domestic banks and overseas branches to help international students open overseas bank accounts in advance.

You only need to submit the account opening application materials to the overseas branch through the domestic bank before leaving the country. After the overseas bank approves the application, it will help you open an account in the overseas bank in advance. This overseas student account has no minimum deposit requirements and no account management fees. This is the best way for students who are studying abroad for the first time to bring funds. It can avoid the trouble of finding a bank account when they first arrive in a foreign country.

7. Travelers’ checks, one of the options during the transitional period

Travelers’ checks have the characteristics of cash and money orders, with a variety of denominations to choose from, ranging from US$20 to US$500. Etc., the currency also covers all major foreign currencies, making it more convenient to use than wire transfers and draft remittances. You can pay tuition and daily consumption abroad, and you can also exchange cash at major banks around the world. In many countries, it is completely equivalent to cash and can even be used to buy newspapers. Travelers' checks are subject to a real-name system, and if lost, claims can be made free of charge.

When international students arrive in a country, it usually takes a period of time to settle housing, banking and other matters. During this period, if you don’t want to carry too much cash with you, then traveler’s checks are an option to consider. However, the handling fee for purchasing traveler's checks is relatively high, usually around 5, and during use, a 7.5 fee will be charged.

8. It is better to have foreign currency cash in moderation

If you have the habit of carrying large amounts of cash with you, you should be careful when leaving the country. The China Exit-Entry Administration stipulates that Chinese citizens can carry a maximum of US$10,000 in foreign currency equivalent when leaving the country, and as long as the amount exceeds US$5,000, they must apply for a foreign currency carrying permit. Bringing too much foreign currency cash will also lead to a greater risk of loss. The appropriate amount of cash should be about 10% of the total of tuition and living expenses. If you open an account after arriving abroad, you can bring an appropriate amount of cash to prepare for the transition period, because it often takes two to three weeks to open an account smoothly.

9. "10-minute remittance", emergency strategy

In addition to the above-mentioned remittance methods, there are also several instant remittance channels, such as "Western Union" and "MoneyGram" ” and “BTS.”

These remittance methods can arrive in the account within about 10 minutes. When remitting, the remitter designates a withdrawal point that acts as an agent for this business, and the withdrawal person can withdraw money at the designated withdrawal point according to the "password".

Although the transfer speed is fast, the handling fee is relatively high, and only USD remittances can be made, so their usage is not widespread. And once an emergency occurs that requires a large amount of funds urgently and there is no money around, using these businesses is a suitable choice.

10. Study abroad insurance is essential

After applying for relevant financial services, you should also consider purchasing study abroad insurance to provide additional protection for your health and property while studying abroad.

When applying for a visa, the embassy will identify the assets, risks, etc. of the students applying to study abroad based on the requirements of the destination country. If an insurance certificate is required, in order to increase the success rate of the visa, you can purchase it first Insurance that meets the requirements for applying for a visa.

The accident risks for international students abroad will increase, and medical expenses are expensive. Therefore, insurance is a necessity for studying abroad. Purchasing insurance in the country of study abroad is currently a basic requirement for international students in most developed countries. When buying insurance, be sure to ask clearly about the requirements of the country where you are studying.