Can You Use Statements from Multiple Banks for a Visa?

1. You don't have to show ALL of your money

Say a visa application requires you to show that you have at least $10,000.

You have 3 bank accounts, each containing $7,500.

You don't really have to submit bank statements from 3 of these bank accounts, only 2 would suffice as that would already show you have $15,000, which is more than what is required.

The exception is if the visa application explicitly asks you to show proof for your entire net worth, in which case you should show the statements from all your banks, and other proof of assets you may have as well.

2. Avoid sudden, large deposits

Say you need to show that you have at least $10,000.

The visa application asks you to submit your bank statements for the past 3 months.

By the end of Month 1, you have a closing balance of $10,000, but from the transaction history, in the middle of Month 1, you received a deposit of $7,000 from a business transaction.

Although this is a perfectly explainable transaction, a visa officer who is reviewing your application will not have the full context unless you provide them with an explanation.

But, depending on how you apply and the visa application portal, you might not always be able to provide that.

If a deposit in your bank statements appears too questionable, your visa may be rejected instead, which brings us to the next point...

3. All your bank statements over the past few months should show you have enough

Continuing on the previous example, it is usually much safer if you've already had $10,000 across your bank statement(s) in the full 3 months before the month you submit your application.

If you could only show you have a total of $8,000 in Month 1, $10,000 in Month 2, and $12,000 in Month 3 before you submit your application in Month 4, there is a chance your visa may be rejected because of insufficient or questionable proof of funds.

Compare this to a situation where you can show that you have $12,000 in from the start of Month 1, $13,000 in Month 2, and $14,000 in Month 3 before you submit your application in Month 4. This will be much more well-received by the visa officer reviewing your application.

Moral of the story: Get your finances in order, well in advance before you apply for a visa.

4. You might have to combine everything into one PDF file

Depending on the portal where you submit your visa application, you may only be allowed to upload 1 file that contains your bank statements.

This means that you have to combine all of your bank statements into one single PDF file. To combine several PDFs into one file, you can try using this free Adobe Acrobat tool online. There are many other online websites that do this as well.

If you are only allowed to submit one single file and you have bank statements from different financial institutions, make sure you check carefully that your file contains ALL of them.

Say you need to show a proof of $10,000 over 3 months. You have these funds spread across 3 bank accounts.

This means that you need to submit 9 sets of bank statements in total, and the officer will have to review 9 sets of bank statements as well.

If you have all the funds in one bank account, then 3 sets of bank statements over the past 3 months are all you need to submit.

This is why the fewer bank accounts you need to submit, the easier it will be for you to prepare, as well as for the visa officer to review.

Your Turn

Did you find this information helpful? What other tips do you have when submitting bank statements for a visa application?