Hi! I'm planning to apply for the Working Holiday Visa (from the UK) around late August, early September, to go in mid September. As far as I can see I need £2500 if I don't have a return flight (I can potentially renew for a second year as a british citizen so I shan't be buying a return…)
Currently I have around £2100 in my account. BASICALLY, when they ask for 3 months of bank statements, do they need 3 months of having solidly over 2500, or is it so long as it's in at the time of application? I should have around 2350 saved in a month, then 2600… etc. But are they going to be fussed if they scroll back to 3 months ago and see 2k-ish? Are they expecting it to be well over the minimum..?
Also, I have a savers and a regular account and shift money between them, keeping 95% of it in the savers, is it fine to only show them the statements from the saver? Basically I'm worried about any of my finances looking off and getting the application rejected off the bat! I presume it'd be possible to go 2k deep into my overdraft on one account to bump up the amount in the saver. Not doing this but they might want proof I'm not!
TLDR: Can I just flash them the last 3 months of my saving account or do I need to show every account?
(Also, the 2500 gbp requirement is over 3300 usd, while americans only need 2000 usd! Bit unfair, but anyway!)
Also just tacking this on the end here… currently I make money selling handmade goods and intend to carry this on in Japan for the working part of my working holiday as it gives me reason to travel and network, does this sound like the type of thing that's fine to put down, or would there be too many concerns? Of course I'll have to record all my sales and pay the appropriate taxes but- will they trust me?
As for my CV/resume, will my past few years being self employment look bad? Is it better to fluff it up a bit (put down a friend's company and phone number) or do they even check? I feel freelancing as I do now is ideal for transitioning to a working holiday as most of my methods of making money can stay the same (art markets, english/japanese tutoring, etc), but they may not see it that way!
by tomodatchi_net