Affidavit of Support for a Student Visa

Details on Affidavit of Support

What does ‘Affidavit’ mean?

Aaffidavit refers to a written promise. It is an official document where the sponsor (also known as an affiant states fact and swears them to be true and accurate. It is signed under oath and is usually witnessed by an official, for example a notary public.

For what purposes Affidavit of Support is generally used?

An affidavit of support is submitted to the university and visa office/consulates to assure the officers that the sponsors have enough funds to support the applicants.

A person filing a petition for a relative (Family-based Green Card), applicants need to submit an Affidavit of Support to the US Government. The specific form is known as I-134.
Some universities in the United States also require international students to submit this form for the I-20 purpose; however, majority of the universities have their own forms. Some still offer flexibility to the students submit the affidavit of support in their own ways. An affidavit of support is also known as a Letter of Sponsorship/Letter of Financial Guarantee/Certificate of Financial Responsibility.
You can submit an Affidavit of Support to any of the visa offices, for example, Canadian High Commission, Australian High Commissions, United Kingdom Home Office, etc.) as long as you have sponsors to support you financially.

What should you understand about an Affidavit of Support as a student?

An Affidavit of Support is a contract signed and declared by an individual to guarantee the minimum amount of financial support required by a student to pay for tuition fees, living expenses, insurance, books and supplies for the length of their studies.

An Affidavit of Support/ Sponsorship Letter is required to be documented with the supporting financial evidence such as bank savings, income sources, etc.

An individual who guarantees the financial support is termed as a sponsor and a student can have multiple sponsors. Sponsors are usually parents or family members or close relatives or others who will provide the financial support. They may provide you with complete or partial sponsorship, but your total financial support must be well above the estimated expenses.

Please note that parents of the students have the strongest hold on declaring the Affidavit of Support if supported with enough source of funds. Students can also submit the evidence of funds that are in their own names. In this case, they are not required to submit the Affidavit of Support signed by their sponsors.

What should an Affidavit of Support/ Sponsorship Letter include?

Name and address of a sponsor
Name and Address of the student to whom the funds are provided
Relationship between a sponsor and a student
Declaration of amount, duration and purpose of sponsorship
Signed by a sponsor

Please be advised to enclose financial documentary evidence such as bank savings, income sources, etc. It would be best if you could get it attested by a notary public.

View Samples:

SAMPLE 1