B2B partner handbook · Pakistan · United Kingdom
Everything a new B2B partner needs, in the order you will need it.
You bring the student. The office runs the process. This is where the line sits, what happens on each side of it, and what to say when a family asks you the hard question in the first ten minutes.
The nine parts
How to use this
Read Parts 1 to 5 in order , they follow a real student file from the first phone call to the airport. Parts 6 to 9 are the ones you come back to: how you are paid, what you must never do, what to say, and the figures. Search covers all of it, press / from anywhere.
Figures verified August 2026 and subject to change by UKVI, the universities and the test providers. Where this guide and an official source disagree, the official source is right , and the office wants to hear about it the same day.
Part 1 of 9
Start here
What a B2B partner is, where you sit in the chain, and what to do in your first week.
What you are, and what you are not
You are a B2B partner of Northbound Education. You find students, you counsel them honestly, you collect their documents, and you stay with them until they fly. You do not submit applications, issue offers, handle university portals or run the visa file , and no university, visa or government payment ever passes through your hands.
You own the relationship. The office owns the process. Every problem in this business comes from one side trying to do the other side's job.
| This is yours | This is the office's |
|---|---|
| Finding and qualifying the student | Choosing which portal or channel the application goes through |
| The first counselling meeting and the shortlist conversation | Submitting the application and speaking to the university |
| Collecting and checking documents | Uploading documents and clearing academic conditions |
| Explaining money before anyone spends any | Requesting the CAS |
| Keeping the student moving , chasing IELTS, attestation, the bank statement | Completing the visa application and booking VFS |
| Preparing the student for the credibility interview | Dealing with UKVI, refusals and administrative review |
| Being the person the family calls | Paying your commission |
The single most damaging thing a B2B partner can do
Promise something the office has not agreed to. A visa is never guaranteed, a deposit is rarely refundable, and a scholarship you saw on a website is not a scholarship until it is written on an offer letter. Everything you say in the first meeting becomes the family's expectation, and an expectation you invented is a complaint the office has to absorb.
Two commercial facts, straight from the office
Northbound serves the UK only for now. A family set on Australia, Canada or Europe is not a file we can take today, and saying so in the first ten minutes costs you nothing and saves you a month. And Northbound charges the student nothing , no service charge, no processing fee, no counselling fee. What you charge for your own service is yours to decide. Part 6 sets out both sides of that.
"I'll be with you from today until you land. The paperwork side is handled by our processing office in Lahore , that's deliberate, because they do this every day and they know exactly what each university wants."
The chain, end to end
Six parties touch every file. Knowing who decides what stops you from chasing the wrong door.
The student and the family
They decide the destination, the budget and the course. They sign everything. They are the only ones who can answer a credibility question.
You, the B2B partner
You introduce, counsel, collect and support. You are the family's translator between an anxious kitchen-table conversation and a formal admissions process.
Northbound Education
Applies, negotiates, clears conditions, requests the CAS, files the visa. Holds the contracts with universities and the recruitment channels.
The university
Decides admission and issues the offer, the deposit terms, and the CAS. Its own credibility interview comes before the CAS, not after.
UKVI (the Home Office)
Decides the visa. Cares about one thing: is this a genuine student who can pay and will comply. VFS is not UKVI , VFS only takes biometrics and documents.
The service providers
IELTS test centres, HEC / IBCC, MOFA, the TB clinic, the banks. None of them work to your timeline, which is why they all start early.
A useful mental model
A student file is not a queue, it is a convoy. The slowest vehicle sets the arrival time. Your job is to know which vehicle is slowest today and push that one.
Who does what, step by step
Print this table. It answers ninety per cent of "should I do this or should I ask the office?"
| Stage | You | Office | Student |
|---|---|---|---|
| First enquiry | Own | , | , |
| Profiling and eligibility | Own | Confirms edge cases | Provides facts |
| Shortlist of 3–4 universities | Own, using the panel | Approves and corrects | Chooses |
| Document collection | Own | Checks and rejects | Provides |
| Application submission | , | Own | , |
| Offer letter | Deliver and explain | Own | Accepts |
| IELTS preparation and test | Assess, enrol them in our online classes, monitor | Runs the classes | Attends, books and sits |
| HEC / IBCC and MOFA attestation | Push and monitor | Advises | Does it or authorises an agent |
| Tuition deposit | Explain, never collect | Confirms the amount and the account | Pays the university direct |
| University credibility interview | Prepare the student and run the mocks | Schedules with the university | Prepares their own answers, attends |
| Bank statement | Explain the formula early | Verifies before it is used | Arranges with the bank |
| TB test | Book the reminder | , | Attends the approved clinic |
| CAS request | , | Own | , |
| Visa application, IHS, fees | , | Own | Pays online, in their own name |
| VFS biometrics | Remind and confirm attendance | Books | Attends |
| UKVI credibility interview | Prepare and run the mocks | Own | Prepares their own answers, attends |
| Decision and eVisa | Celebrate, then push travel | Own , set up in office | Attends |
| Enrolment and arrival | Stay in touch | Confirms to the university | Travels |
Your first week
- Read this guide end to end once. Forty minutes. Do not skip Part 4 (money) or Part 7 (compliance) , those two are where B2B partners lose files and lose their agreement.
- Learn the qualification ladder in Part 2. If you can look at a Pakistani transcript and name the UK route in ten seconds, you can counsel. If you cannot, you are guessing.
- Memorise five figures. Visa GBP 558. Health surcharge GBP 776 a visa year. Maintenance GBP 1,171 a month outside London, GBP 1,529 in London, nine months maximum. Deposit around GBP 8,000 on average.
- Get your commission terms in writing. The rate and the payment cycle live in your signed agreement, and the band varies by university. Confirm what a university pays with the office before you build a shortlist around its name.
- Decide what you will charge, if anything. Northbound charges the student nothing. Your own service fee is yours to set , but decide it before your first meeting, not during it, and put it in writing before anyone pays it.
- Get your portal login and your referral link from the office. Every enquiry you send goes through it. An enquiry sent by WhatsApp alone is an enquiry that may be credited to nobody.
- Sit in on two counselling calls before you run one alone.
- Send your first file. Complete, using the handover template in Part 8. A half-file costs the office three days and costs you nothing but goodwill you will need later.
You are ready to counsel when you can answer "how much does the whole thing cost?" without looking anything up, and you are willing to say "I don't know, I'll confirm and come back" to everything else.
Part 2 of 9
Counselling the student
The first conversation, the qualification ladder, study gap, English, and building an honest shortlist.
Where students come from
Almost every file starts in one of six places. Each needs a different opening.
| Source | What they already believe | Your opening job |
|---|---|---|
| Family or friend referral | Whatever the referrer's file did, which may be a different route entirely | Reset. Their cousin's route is not their route. |
| Walk-in / office | They are shopping and comparing consultants | Give one useful fact for free in the first two minutes. |
| Facebook / TikTok / Instagram | A price or a promise from an ad | Find out which promise, and correct it gently now, not later. |
| College or university campus | Group enthusiasm, thin individual research | Separate them from the group and profile individually. |
| IELTS centre or academy | Test-first thinking , "I'll apply after my result" | Correct it immediately. Applications do not need IELTS. |
| Returning enquiry / previous refusal | Fear, and often a story they have edited | Get the refusal letter before you say anything at all. |
Refusal cases first, always
If a student has ever been refused a visa for any country, you need the refusal letter in your hand before you counsel. Not a summary, not what they remember , the letter. See Part 5.
The first conversation
Thirty minutes on a call is enough to profile a student and produce a shortlist of three or four universities. It is enough because you are asking twelve questions in a fixed order, not having a chat.
- What is your last completed qualification, what year did it finish, and what were the marks or CGPA?
- Is anything currently in progress? When does it finish?
- What have you been doing since the last qualification finished? (This is the gap question. Ask it neutrally.)
- Have you taken IELTS, PTE or any English test? Score? If not, what is your honest English level?
- What do you want to study? Then: why that?
- Which country, and why that country?
- When do you want to start , this January, this September, or next?
- Who is funding this, and what is their relationship to you?
- Roughly what have you budgeted? Do you know a taught Master's means about PKR 4.5 million to spend and about PKR 8.5 million shown in the bank?
- Has anyone in the family applied for a visa to any country before? Refused, or granted?
- Are you married? Do you have children? Do you intend to take them?
- Do you have your passport, and is it valid for at least the next two years?
Question 3 and question 10 are the two that decide whether the file is easy or hard. Ask them early, while the student is still being factual rather than persuasive.
"I'm going to ask you twelve questions before I say anything about universities. If I recommend a university before I know your marks and your gap, I'd be guessing, and guessing is how people lose a deposit."
The four answers that should slow you down
- "I'll decide the country later." A student who is comparing the UK, Australia and Canada in the same breath is not ready to pay a deposit. Counsel, but do not push documents yet.
- "My uncle is paying." A sponsor outside the immediate family , uncle, sibling, in-law , is a documented credibility-interview trigger. It is workable, but flag it to the office at handover.
- "I was refused, but it was a small thing." Nothing about a refusal is small. Get the letter.
- "My friend's agent said IELTS 5.5 is fine everywhere." It is fine at some universities for some courses. Do not agree, do not argue , say you will confirm against the panel.
The qualification ladder
This is the single most useful thing in the guide. A Pakistani qualification maps to a UK entry point, and the mapping is not a matter of opinion.
| What the student holds | UK route | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matric / O Level only | No UK study option | They must first complete FSc / HSSC or A Levels in Pakistan. Say this clearly rather than offering hope. |
| FSc / HSSC / A Levels | Foundation year, or direct entry to Year 1 of a Bachelor's | Foundation where grades or subjects fall short, or where the subject changes direction. |
| 2-year BA / BSc / B.Com, or an ADP | Three real routes: Top-up final year · direct entry to Year 2 · Pre-Masters then Master's | The Top-up usually wins. See below. |
| 4-year BS / BSc (Hons) / 16-year | Taught Master's | The standard, straightforward file. |
| Master's / MPhil / 18-year | Second Master's, or a research degree | A research degree is 12–18 months of admission processing, not a plan for the next intake , and not every educational background can apply. See the brief. |
| Professional qualification (ACCA, CA, ICMA) | Depends entirely on the award held, not the papers passed | An ACCA Advanced Diploma is an RQF Level 6 award and can carry Master's entry. Passed papers without the award do not. |
Why the Top-up usually wins for an ADP or 2-year Bachelor's holder
One year in the UK, one year of tuition and living costs, and the student is awarded a full UK Bachelor's (Hons) at RQF Level 6 , with the same Graduate Route rights as any other UK graduate. Year 2 entry ends at the same place but costs two years. A Pre-Masters costs a year and leaves the student holding no qualification of their own.
When the Top-up is not the answer
Where no Top-up exists in the student's subject, direct entry to Year 2 is the honest second choice. A Pre-Masters is for cases where the subject does not exist as a Top-up or the grades fall short. Never sell a Pre-Masters as the default.
"Your BA is a two-year degree, and the UK Bachelor's is three. So you're not starting again , you're joining the final year. One year, and you come out with a full UK degree."
Study gap is judged twice
A university accepting a five-year gap does not make the visa safe. These are two separate tests, and a student can pass one and fail the other.
Test one , the university
After FSc / HSSC most accept up to about 2.5 years, some stretch to 5. For Master's entry the same 2.5-year norm applies, some go to 5, and a small number accept up to 10 years for postgraduate. ADP and Top-up follow the undergraduate rules.
Test two , the Home Office
A gap of three years or more is a documented credibility-interview trigger, alongside an unexplained career change, a sponsor outside the immediate family, and inconsistencies across the CAS, the form and the financials.
What actually covers a gap: dated employment letters on company letterhead, further study, a professional qualification, or a family caring responsibility. And the student has to be able to say the same thing out loud, in an interview, without contradicting a document that has already been submitted.
Never manufacture employment evidence
An experience letter written for the file is deception. It carries a mandatory refusal and a mandatory ten-year re-entry ban. It also ends your agreement. There is no version of this that is worth the commission.
English, and the mistake that costs an intake
Applications do not need IELTS. Submit with what the student has today.
The university issues a conditional offer asking for the score later. If the student already has IELTS and every document, the university issues an academically unconditional offer instead , and the only conditions left are the university's own credibility interview and the initial deposit.
What waiting costs
Holding an application back for a test date costs four to eight weeks and buys nothing. In that window the student could have had an offer in hand, the deposit terms confirmed, and a clear picture of what to prepare for.
| Item | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS test fee | PKR 72,000–75,000 | Budget 75,000. |
| IELTS preparation , our online classes | PKR 25,000 per month | How many months depends entirely on the student's own foundation in English. Assessed, not tabled. |
| Which test to book | IELTS Academic UKVI | Always, for the UK. Book the UKVI version, not plain Academic. |
| Typical Master's requirement | IELTS 6.5 overall, 6.0 in each band | Varies by university and course , check the panel, never assume. |
| Typical undergraduate requirement | IELTS 6.0 overall, 5.5 in each band | Same caveat. |
| Research degrees (our own standard) | 6.5–7.0 overall, nothing below 6.0 | Stricter than most universities publish, deliberately. |
Always book IELTS Academic UKVI
It is sat at a UKVI-approved centre under a stricter identity and security regime, and the certificate says so on its face. That is exactly why it carries more weight with a caseworker than a standard Academic result. It improves credibility and it improves the chances of a visa grant , for a little more money and no extra study. There is no case in a UK file for booking the cheaper version.
We teach it ourselves , online, PKR 25,000 a month
Northbound runs its own online IELTS classes. How long a student needs depends entirely on their existing knowledge and foundation in English , someone who already reads and writes comfortably may need a month; someone starting from a weak base may need several. Have them assessed first, then quote. A month count promised before anyone has heard the student speak is how a family ends up angry in week six, and it is your relationship that absorbs it.
"We can apply today, without your IELTS. The university will give you an offer with the English score as a condition, and you sit the test while your file is already moving. Everyone who waits loses six weeks for no reason."
Have the money conversation in the first meeting
Not the second meeting. Not after the offer. The first. A family that finds out about the bank statement at week eight either withdraws or produces something that fails.
The full breakdown is in Part 4. In the first meeting you need to convey three things and nothing more:
- There is money that leaves the family's hands , budget about PKR 4.5 million for a taught Master's.
- There is separate money that must sit untouched in an account for 28 days , about PKR 8.5 million on average, and the exact figure comes from the formula in Part 4.
- The deposit is not an extra cost. It is the first slice of tuition, and it comes off both the balance and the maintenance figure.
"There are two different pots. One you spend , visa, health surcharge, tests, deposit. One you only have to show , it sits in the account for twenty-eight days and then it's yours again. People confuse them and panic. Let me show you both."
Building the shortlist
Three or four universities, in one thirty-minute meeting, from the panel. Not fifteen. Not one.
- Filter by entry requirement first , marks, gap accepted, English. Anything the student cannot meet is not a choice, it is a distraction.
- Then by deposit. This is the number that kills files. A university with a 50%-of-tuition deposit is not comparable to one asking GBP 4,000, whatever the ranking says.
- Then by city and cost of living. London adds GBP 358 per month to the maintenance figure , GBP 3,222 over nine months , before rent is even discussed.
- Then by ranking or reputation, last, and only among options that survived the first three filters.
- Present a spread: one ambitious, two realistic, one safe. Never four of the same tier.
Avoid commercial universities
Some institutions recruit hard, admit almost anyone, and are known for it , by caseworkers as much as by employers. Apply to ranked, reputable universities. A student placed at a name nobody respects gets a weaker visa decision, a weaker degree and a weaker outcome at the end of it, and you get a family who tells everyone you did that to them. Where the grades genuinely do not reach a ranked institution, the honest answer is a Foundation or a Pre-Masters into one , never a shortcut into a poor one.
The panel
Northbound holds partner arrangements with 152 institutions across the destinations we currently process. The panel changes every cycle, so confirm the current list with the office rather than working from a saved copy. The Universities tab in the agent portal carries entry requirements, gap accepted, average fees, scholarships and current deposits for each. Use it. Deposits in particular move, and a figure you remember from April is not a figure you can quote in August.
Never quote a deposit from memory
Nine deposits on the panel changed between April and August 2026 alone, some by thousands of pounds. Open the record in front of the family.
What you never promise
| Never say | Say instead |
|---|---|
| "Your visa is guaranteed." | "Nothing about a visa is guaranteed. What we control is that your file is complete, consistent and honest , that is what the decision turns on." |
| "You'll get the university fee back if the visa is refused." | "Refund depends entirely on that university's own refund clause. I'll show you exactly what yours says before you pay a rupee." |
| "You can work full time and cover your fees." | "Not full time , twenty hours a week in term time, full time in the vacations. That is around GBP 10,000 over a year, which on most Master's clears what is left of the fee after the deposit. But UKVI counts none of it, so the bank money still has to be there in full." |
| "You'll get PR after your studies." | "After graduating you get the Graduate Route , two years to work, dropping to eighteen months for applications made from 1 January 2027. A PhD keeps three. That is a work permission, not settlement." |
| "Take your wife along on a Master's." | "Dependants are only allowed on research degrees and PhDs of nine months or more, and government-sponsored courses. A taught Master's has not allowed dependants since January 2024." |
| "This scholarship will definitely apply to you." | "That scholarship is advertised. It counts when it is written on your offer letter, and not before." |
| "We can manage the bank statement." | Nothing. Walk away from this conversation. See Part 7. |
Everything you promise, the office has to deliver. Everything you refuse to promise, the office gets to over-deliver on. The second one builds a referral business.
Handing the file over
A complete handover gets an application submitted in two to three days. An incomplete one sits, and the student assumes you did nothing.
- Passport data page , clear scan, all four corners, no glare
- All academic transcripts and certificates, every year, front and back
- Result cards for anything in progress
- IELTS / PTE result if it exists , if not, say when the test is booked for
- Experience letters on letterhead, dated, if there is any gap
- CNIC of the student and of the sponsor
- A one-paragraph profile note in your own words: what they want, why, who pays, and anything the documents do not show
- Any previous visa refusal letter, in full
- Your referral reference, so the file is credited to you
Never send passport scans over a channel you would not want a stranger reading
Use the portal. Not a public WhatsApp group, not an unlocked shared drive. A leaked passport scan is an identity theft that lands on the student and on you.
"Send me these nine things and I'll have your application in front of a university this week. Anything missing and it waits , so let's do it in one go."
Part 3 of 9
Admission
Run the tracks in parallel, clear the conditions, get to CAS in eight to ten weeks.
Run the tracks in parallel
This is the difference between a file that reaches CAS in eight to ten weeks and one that takes nine months. Almost nothing here is sequential, and treating it as sequential is the commonest mistake new B2B partners make.
| Track | Starts | Runs while |
|---|---|---|
| Application and offer | Day one, with whatever documents exist | , |
| IELTS preparation and test | Day one | The application is being submitted and assessed |
| HEC / IBCC then MOFA attestation | Day one | The application is being submitted and assessed |
| Ecctis / qualification equivalence, where asked for | Day one | The application is being submitted and assessed |
| Bank statement , starting the 28-day clock | As soon as the deposit amount is known | The offer conditions are being cleared |
| TB test | Any time before CAS | The deposit and interview are being arranged |
Two things you can stop waiting for
IELTS is not needed to apply. The university issues a conditional offer. Attestation is not needed for admission. Scans and photocopies are enough to be admitted , HEC/IBCC and MOFA are needed before the visa, and they run in the background. Holding an application back for either is a pure loss.
Real timings
Counselling and shortlist
YouOne 30-minute meeting or call
Profile the student, agree the route, pick three or four universities from the panel.
What goes wrong · A shortlist built from reputation instead of entry requirements, so two of the four were never possible.
Document collection
You and the student3–5 days
The nine items in the handover list. Check every scan yourself before it goes to the office.
What goes wrong · A cropped transcript or a glare-covered passport page. It comes back, and you lose a week.
Application submission
Office2–3 days
Submitted to all shortlisted universities, not one at a time.
What goes wrong · Applying to one and waiting. If it is a decline, you start again from zero.
Offer
University1 to 20 days
Conditional, or academically unconditional where everything was supplied.
What goes wrong · Nobody reads the conditions. Read them out loud to the student.
Clear the academic condition
StudentAs soon as IELTS is in hand
Submit the score to the university.
What goes wrong · The test was booked late because someone waited for the offer first.
Deposit and university interview
Student and office1–3 weeks
Most universities interview first, some require the deposit before they will schedule the interview.
What goes wrong · Assuming the order. Confirm it per university, every time.
Bank statement matures
Student28 consecutive days
The full maintenance figure held without dropping below it once.
What goes wrong · Money moved between family accounts inside the 28 days. This fails the whole file.
TB test
StudentSame day result at an approved clinic, certificate in a few days
Valid six months. Only at an IOM-approved clinic.
What goes wrong · Going to an ordinary lab. The certificate is worthless.
CAS processing
University1–3 weeks
The matured statement and the TB certificate go to the university, and the CAS is issued.
What goes wrong · A name or date on the CAS that does not match the passport. Check it character by character the day it arrives.
Conditional or academically unconditional
Conditional offer
Issued when something is still outstanding , most often the English score, sometimes a final transcript. Perfectly normal. The student is admitted subject to producing it.
Academically unconditional offer
Issued when IELTS and every document were supplied up front. The academic side is closed. The only remaining conditions are the university's own credibility interview and the initial deposit.
Unconditional offer
Everything cleared including the interview and, at most universities, the deposit. This is the state the file needs to be in before CAS.
Read the conditions to the student, out loud
"Conditional offer" sounds like a rejection to a family and "unconditional" sounds like a visa. Neither is true. Two minutes of explanation here prevents a month of confusion.
The deposit
The deposit is the first slice of tuition, not an extra cost. It comes off the balance and it comes off the maintenance figure the family has to show.
| Shape | Example | What to tell the family |
|---|---|---|
| Flat amount | GBP 4,000–8,000 | The commonest shape. Panel average is around GBP 8,000. |
| Percentage of first-year tuition | 50% before CAS | On GBP 16,000 tuition that is GBP 8,000 , the same money, described differently. |
| Full tuition before CAS | 100% | Rare, and it changes the affordability conversation completely. Flag it before the shortlist is agreed, not after. |
| Staged | GBP 1,500 pre-CAS, balance later | Easier on cash flow. Worth putting on the shortlist for a tight budget. |
| Non-refundable component | GBP 2,000 non-refundable plus GBP 1,000 admin | Say the words "non-refundable" out loud and point at the clause. |
There is no general rule on refunds
Tuition and deposit refunds are governed by each university's own clause, and nothing else. Some are expressly non-refundable in full. "You'll get the university fee back if the visa is refused" is the most common false promise in this market. Show the family the actual clause before they pay.
Where the money goes
Always to the university's own portal or bank account, always in the student's name. Never to an individual, never to you, never to a third party who says they will forward it. This rule has no exceptions , see Part 7.
Attestation, TB and the last pieces
HEC / IBCC then MOFA
Needed before the visa, not for admission. HEC attests degrees from Pakistani universities; IBCC attests Matric and FSc / HSSC certificates. MOFA comes after, and only after , MOFA attests the HEC or IBCC stamp, not the original document.
- Start it on day one, alongside the application.
- Budget several weeks. It is the track that most often becomes the slowest vehicle in the convoy.
- The student can do it themselves or authorise someone. Confirm which, so it does not sit undone because each side assumed the other was doing it.
TB test
Required for a UK visa from Pakistan. Only at an IOM-approved clinic , an ordinary laboratory report is not accepted.
- PKR 14,000–15,000.
- Certificate valid six months, so do not do it so early that it expires before the visa is filed.
- Anyone over 11 travelling as a dependant needs their own.
Ecctis / qualification equivalence
Some universities ask for an Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) statement of comparability for a Pakistani qualification. Where it is asked for, start it early , it is another parallel track, not a step in a queue.
The CAS, and the check nobody does
The CAS is the university's electronic confirmation that a place is held. It carries the course dates, the tuition figure, the deposit already paid, and the student's personal details , and every one of those feeds the visa application.
Check the CAS the day it arrives
Name spelling against the passport, date of birth, passport number, course start and end dates, tuition and deposit figures. A wrong date changes the health surcharge calculation. A wrong name is a refusal. It is far easier to have a CAS corrected than a visa reversed.
Part 4 of 9
The money
What the family spends, what the family only shows, what a student can earn out there, and the formula behind the bank statement.
Two pots, and families confuse them
Money that LEAVES their hands
Tests, preparation, attestation, application fees, the tuition deposit, the TB test, the health surcharge, the visa fee, VFS extras, flights. Budget about PKR 4.5 million for a taught Master's.
Money that must SIT untouched
The maintenance requirement , about PKR 8.5 million on average for a taught Master's. It stays in a bank account for 28 consecutive days, is shown to UKVI, and is then the family's money again. It is not spent and it is not sent anywhere.
Separate these two in the first meeting, on paper, in front of the family. Half the panic in this business comes from a family adding the two together and concluding they cannot afford it.
The bank statement formula
There is one formula. Learn it, and you can answer the hardest question in the first meeting.
The formula
(Tuition on the CAS − deposit already paid) + (living cost per month × months)
- Tuition is the figure on the CAS, not the figure on the website, and first year only.
- Living cost is GBP 1,171 a month outside London, GBP 1,529 a month in London.
- Months is the course length capped at nine. A twelve-month Master's still uses nine. A six-month course uses six.
- Which means the maximum living component is GBP 10,539 outside London, GBP 13,761 in London.
| Case | Calculation | Show in the bank |
|---|---|---|
| Master's outside London | 16,000 − 8,000 + 10,539 | GBP 18,539 |
| Master's in London | 18,000 − 5,000 + 13,761 | GBP 26,761 |
| Bachelor's year 1, outside London | 14,000 − 4,000 + 10,539 | GBP 20,539 |
| Top-up year, outside London | 15,000 − 7,500 + 10,539 | GBP 18,039 |
Converting to rupees
Convert in front of the family, at today's rate, on a phone. Never from memory. At roughly PKR 373 to the pound, GBP 18,539 is about PKR 6.9 million sitting in an account , a number worth being precise about.
The 28-day rules
- The required amount must be held for 28 consecutive days, and must not drop below it on any single day in that window.
- The closing balance must be dated within 31 days of the date the visa application is submitted.
- The account must be in the name of the student, a parent, or a legal guardian. Nobody else.
- If it is a parent's account, a birth certificate or equivalent proving the relationship goes in, plus a letter of consent.
- The bank must be one whose financial institution can be verified, and the statement must show the account holder's name, the account number, the date, the bank's name and logo, and the balance.
The one that fails whole families
Money moved between family accounts inside the 28 days. It looks like tidying up. To a caseworker it looks like a balance that was assembled for the application, and it fails the file , including every dependant attached to it. Tell the family: from the day the clock starts, that account does not move.
"From today, that account is frozen in your own mind. No transfers in, no transfers out, for twenty-eight days. Not even moving money from your father's account to your mother's. One movement and we start the clock again."
What the family actually pays, in order
| # | Payment | Amount | Where to | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IELTS preparation (our online classes) | PKR 25,000 per month | Northbound | No |
| 2 | IELTS test | PKR 72,000–75,000 | Test centre | No |
| 3 | HEC / IBCC attestation | Per their schedule | HEC / IBCC | No |
| 4 | MOFA attestation | Per their schedule | MOFA | No |
| 5 | Ecctis, where required | Per their schedule | Ecctis | No |
| 6 | University application fee | Usually none; varies | University | No |
| 7 | Tuition deposit | GBP 4,000–8,000 typical; up to 100% | University portal, student's name | Depends on the university's clause |
| 8 | TB test | PKR 14,000–15,000 | IOM-approved clinic | No |
| 9 | Immigration health surcharge | GBP 776 per visa year | UKVI, online | Yes , automatically, if the visa is refused |
| 10 | Visa application fee | GBP 558 | UKVI, online | Never |
| 11 | Priority service, optional | GBP 500 (priority) / GBP 1,000 (super priority) | UKVI, online | Sometimes , if UKVI misses its own service standard |
| 12 | VFS appointment | PKR 0–25,000 | VFS | No |
| 13 | Tuition balance | Course fee less deposit | University | Per the university's clause |
| 14 | Flights and arrival money | Varies | , | , |
VFS: the basic appointment is free
The cost only appears with a premium or prime-time lounge slot, or add-ons like courier, form-filling or SMS. Say this plainly: premium buys a shorter wait and a nicer room. It buys nothing at all from the caseworker. It does not speed up the decision and it does not improve the outcome.
Two rules that never bend. Northbound charges the student no service fee, processing fee or counselling fee, and nobody may collect one in our name. And no payment on this list ever goes to an individual , always the university's or the government's own portal, in the student's own name. Your own service fee, if you charge one, sits outside this list and outside these payments entirely.
Earning in the UK , and the rule that decides everything
Everyone can earn, and most students do
Around GBP 10,000 across a year, on top of the deposit, is normal , on a typical Master's that clears what is left of the tuition, and there are many ways to earn it. But none of it is visa money, and it is never the reason to pick a course a family cannot otherwise afford.
This is a conversation to have properly, because the market handles it in one of two useless ways. Some agents promise a student can work their way through, which is how a family ends up short in the second term. Others refuse to discuss it at all, which is dishonest in the other direction , students do earn, it is normal, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
| Situation | Hours |
|---|---|
| Term time, degree level and above | 20 hours a week. A hard visa condition, not a guideline |
| Term time, below degree level | 10 hours a week |
| Vacations and after the course ends | Full time |
| Self-employment, freelancing, running a business | Not permitted at all |
| Professional sport or coaching | Not permitted |
| Dependants (research routes only) | Full time, any employer, self-employment allowed |
| Line | Hours | At GBP 12.71/hour |
|---|---|---|
| Term time, 20 hrs × ~30 weeks | 600 | GBP 7,626 |
| Vacations, ~37.5 hrs × ~15 weeks | ~560 | GBP 7,150 |
| Undergraduate year, total | ~1,160 | ~GBP 14,700 gross |
| Tax and National Insurance | , | First GBP 12,570 is tax free; ~GBP 600 due above it |
| Taken home | , | ~GBP 14,100 |
| A taught Master's, 20 hrs most of the year | ~960 | ~GBP 12,200 gross , a Master's has a dissertation, not a long vacation |
So GBP 10,000 is the conservative number, not the optimistic one
And it is a meaningful number. A Master's outside London with GBP 16,000 tuition and a GBP 8,000 deposit leaves a GBP 8,000 balance , a student working the hours they are allowed clears that and still has money left. Say this plainly to a family who are close to the edge; it is true, and nobody else is telling them.
But it is NOT visa money, and this part has no flexibility
UKVI will not count a single pound the student has not yet earned. The full maintenance figure still has to sit in the bank for 28 days before the application. Future earnings do not reduce it, do not replace it, and cannot be mentioned as though they do. A family who cannot show the money does not have a course they can afford , they have a cheaper course, a cheaper city, or a later intake. Part 7 explains why the fourth option does not exist.
Never skip a class. This is the single sentence that decides which student they become, and it is worth more to them than anything else in this guide.
Nobody arrives intending to drift. It happens one shift at a time. They take a shift, then another because the money is real and the degree is abstract, then they miss a class because they worked late. By the second term the job is the timetable and the degree is what happens if there is time left over. That student does not fail their course. They simply never leave the job they took to survive.
The classroom is where three things are built, and there is nowhere else to get them: English good enough to be interviewed in, real expertise in the subject they came for, and the confidence, contacts and street sense that make a graduate employable. Miss the classes and none of the three arrives. No UK employer hires a graduate who cannot hold the conversation, however good the transcript is. The degree opens the door; the classroom is what lets them walk through it.
"Yes, you can work, and you should , ten thousand pounds over a year is normal and it can clear your fee balance. But hear the order, because it decides your whole life over there: education first, work second. Never miss a class for a shift. The people still driving deliveries three years after they graduated are not less clever than you. They just never got the English, the expertise or the interview practice, because they were always at work."
Practical things to tell them before they fly
The first job usually takes three to six weeks to find. They need a National Insurance number, applied for after arrival. The employer counts the term-time hours, and going over is the student's breach, not the employer's. Term dates are set by the university, not by the student's sense of when term is. And the university's own careers service , free, and almost entirely unused by international students , is where the better-paid part-time work and the placements actually come from.
The health surcharge, in one formula
The health surcharge is charged on the length of the visa, not the length of the course. Getting this wrong is the commonest costing error in the market.
- GBP 776 for each full year of the visa.
- GBP 388 for any part-year of six months or less. Part months round up.
- The visa runs from up to one month before the course starts, and after it ends: four months for a course over 12 months, two months for a 6–12 month course, seven days for under six months.
| Course | Visa length | Health surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone Foundation year | ~12 months | GBP 776 |
| Top-up final year | ~12 months | GBP 776 |
| Pre-Masters alone | ~12 months | GBP 776 |
| Taught Master's, 1 year | ~16 months | GBP 1,164 |
| Taught Master's, 2 years | ~28 months | GBP 1,940 |
| Bachelor's, 3 years | ~3 years 2–5 months | GBP 2,716 |
| Bachelor's or PhD, 4 years | ~4 years+ | GBP 3,492 |
| PhD, 3 years | ~3 years+ | GBP 2,716 |
GBP 2,328 for a three-year Bachelor's is wrong
That figure is 776 × 3, which assumes the visa is exactly three years. It never is. The correct figure is GBP 2,716. This wrong number circulates widely, including from other consultants.
Two consequences worth knowing
A pre-sessional English course can push a twelve-month Master's past eighteen months and into the next surcharge block. And because the CAS dates drive the calculation, a CAS error produces the wrong surcharge , which is another reason to check the CAS the day it arrives.
Dependants
Since January 2024, dependants are not allowed on taught Master's courses of any length, undergraduate degrees, Top-ups, Foundation years, Pre-Masters or pre-sessional courses.
Who can bring dependants
PhD, doctoral degrees, Professional Doctorates, MPhil and research-based Master's (MRes, MbyRes) on courses of nine months or longer. Plus government-sponsored students on courses over six months.
Who counts as a dependant
Spouse or civil partner; an unmarried partner with two years of cohabitation; a child under 18, including one born in the UK.
Who decides research vs taught
The university's classification on the CAS. The Home Office will not accept the student's own reading of it. Get it in writing before you tell a family anything.
The route that allows dependants has its own entry bar, and it is high
A research degree is the only way most families get dependants to the UK, and it is not open to everyone. The main applicant needs IELTS 6.5–7.0, an excellent research proposal , genuinely excellent, and written by the student , and tremendous fluency in spoken English, because a supervisor and a caseworker will both hear them speak. Admission processing runs 12–18 months. And not every educational background can apply at all. Screen for every one of these before the word 'dependant' is said out loud in a first meeting.
| Item | Outside London | London |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance to show, per dependant | GBP 680/month × 9 = GBP 6,120 | GBP 845/month × 9 = GBP 7,605 |
| Visa fee | GBP 558 | GBP 558 |
| Health surcharge | GBP 776 per visa year (same blocks as the student) | Same |
| TB test | PKR 14,000–15,000 for anyone over 11 | Same |
| VFS | PKR 0–25,000 (basic free here too) | Same |
| English test | None required | None required |
| State school for children | Free from age 5 | Free from age 5 |
A worked family example
A three-year PhD outside London, student plus spouse plus one child: GBP 9,822 paid and GBP 32,779 shown , roughly PKR 3.7 million in fees and PKR 12.2 million shown, before tuition. Say that combined number in the first meeting, not the eighth.
Dependant work rights are better than the student's
Full time, any employer, self-employment allowed, only professional sport and coaching excluded. The student, by contrast, gets 20 hours a week in term time at degree level, 10 below that, and no self-employment at all.
Pakistan-specific traps
An unregistered nikah is not enough , the caseworker looks for the NADRA marriage registration certificate. Name differences across the nikah nama, the CNIC and the passport read as inconsistency. Money moved between family accounts inside the 28 days fails the whole family file. A dependant refusal does not automatically refuse the student.
Part 5 of 9
The visa
What UKVI is deciding, the credibility interview, the decision, and what a refusal actually costs.
What UKVI is actually deciding
Not whether the student is clever, and not whether the university is good. The caseworker is testing one proposition: is this a genuine student, who can pay, and who will comply with the conditions of the visa.
Home Office guidance scores that across seven categories. Every question in a credibility interview maps to one of them.
| Category | What the caseworker is testing |
|---|---|
| Course choice | Can the student explain why this course, at this university, in this city , in their own words, without a script. |
| Educational background | Does the course follow logically from what they have already studied, or is the change explained. |
| Financial preparedness | Do they know who is paying, what it costs, and where the money came from. |
| Intent to return | Is there something to come back to , a career, a family business, a dependent parent. |
| English language | Can they hold the conversation, not just hold the certificate. |
| Genuine student credibility | Do the answers hang together and match the documents. |
| Immigration history | Previous applications, refusals, overstays , declared, and consistent. |
The commonest refusal is not a weak answer. It is an answer that contradicts a document the student has already submitted.
Filing the application
CAS received
University
The CAS number and dates go into the visa application. Check every field against the passport first.
What goes wrong · A mismatched name or date. It changes the surcharge and it can lose the visa.
Application completed with our visa team
OfficeSame week
Personal history, travel history, funds, course details, sponsor details.
What goes wrong · The student answering questions themselves, differently from how the documents read.
IHS, visa fee and priority paid
StudentOnline, debit card
Paid online in the student's own name.
What goes wrong · Someone else's card. It creates a funding question nobody wanted.
VFS appointment attended
StudentOn the booked date
Biometrics and document submission only. VFS makes no decision about anything.
What goes wrong · Arriving without the original documents, or on the wrong date.
Interview, if UKVI wants one
Student1–3 weeks after VFS
UKVI emails the invitation. It is a video call, scheduled separately, not at VFS.
What goes wrong · Missing the email. See below.
Decision
UKVIBy email
Grant or refusal, delivered by email.
What goes wrong · Nobody checking the inbox.
Missing the interview email is a refusal
UKVI sends the invitation by email. From the day biometrics are given, the student checks inbox and spam every day. Missing an interview is refused where the reason is not acceptable. Set this expectation at VFS, not afterwards.
What the priority services actually buy
Priority (GBP 500) and super priority (GBP 1,000) shorten the queue. They do not improve the outcome, and if an interview is triggered the interview timeline reasserts itself anyway. Sell them as time, never as safety.
The credibility interview
What it is
A video call, scheduled by UKVI, typically one to three weeks after the VFS appointment. It adds one to three weeks to processing.
Where it is not
At VFS. VFS handles biometrics and documents and nothing else. Students turn up expecting an interview there constantly.
What survives it
Nothing is audio recorded. A written transcript reaches the caseworker. Which means the student's own notes afterwards are the only account they will ever have of what they said.
What triggers one, on the documented list: a study gap of three years or more; an unexplained career change; a sponsor outside the immediate family , uncle, sibling, in-law; and inconsistencies across the CAS, the application form and the financial evidence.
| Do | Do not |
|---|---|
| Run mock interviews , several, over days, not one the night before | Rely on a single run-through and hope |
| Make them re-read their own application and CAS the night before | Write answers for them to memorise |
| Ask them the seven categories out loud, in random order | Run through a fixed list in a fixed order |
| Practise saying "I don't know" and "let me think" without panic | Teach them to fill silence |
| Check their answers against every submitted document | Assume the documents say what the student thinks they say |
| Have them explain the course to you as if you were a cousin | Have them recite the university prospectus |
We prepare them. They still have to do the work.
Northbound prepares students for both interviews , the university's and the embassy's. But the answers have to be the student's own: organic, genuine, in their own words, and consistent with their own file. That takes real preparation from them, genuinely good spoken communication, and a lot of mock interviews , and a fair number of those mocks will be yours to run. A student who has sat four mocks with you sounds like a person. One who has read a document sounds like a document.
A word-for-word rehearsed answer is itself a credibility concern
Caseworkers are trained to notice recitation. The goal is a student who knows their own file, not a student who has learned a paragraph.
An answer that contradicts a submitted document can be treated as deception, which carries a mandatory refusal and a mandatory ten-year ban. This is the strongest possible reason to prepare properly , and the strongest possible reason never to put anything in a file the student cannot defend out loud.
Decision, eVisa, departure
- The decision arrives by email. Not by post, not by phone call.
- On a grant, the student comes into the office and we set up the eVisa together , it is issued within minutes. Do not let a student attempt this alone at home and then panic.
- Book the ticket. Travel before the university's enrolment deadline, not before the course start date , they are not the same date and universities enforce the first one.
- Confirm arrival and enrolment back to the office. Enrolment is what triggers the commission cycle. See Part 6.
"Come into the office with your phone and your passport and we'll do the eVisa together. It takes a few minutes and I'd rather we do it here than have you troubleshooting a login at midnight."
Refusals, bans and refunds
Part Suitability replaced the old Part 9 in full on 11 November 2025. The distinction below is the one that matters most, and most of the market gets it wrong.
SUI 9.1 , deception
Deliberate dishonesty, on the balance of probabilities. Mandatory refusal and a mandatory ten-year re-entry ban under SUI 12.1. No discretion. The clock runs from the finding of deception.
SUI 10.1 , false representation without dishonesty
Discretionary refusal, and no automatic ban. The courts have held that deception cannot exist without dishonesty. So non-disclosure is not automatically a ban , and a police case is not itself a ban either. Criminality sits separately under SUI 5; concealing it is what triggers deception.
| Length | Broadly when |
|---|---|
| 12 months | Lower-level breach, voluntary departure at own expense |
| 2 years | Breach with departure at public expense, within a set window |
| 5 years | Longer breach or removal |
| 10 years | Deception under SUI 9.1, and other serious grounds |
Deadlines run from service, not from the date on the letter
A refusal can be dated one day and served , emailed , three weeks later. The administrative review clock runs from service. If a student brings you a refusal, the first question is not "what does it say" but "when did the email arrive".
The repeat-application trap
A refusal without an interview is permitted where an applicant reapplies with no change in material circumstances and no new evidence. Changing the university is necessary but it is not sufficient. A second application that is materially the same file gets the same answer, faster.
| Payment | Refunded? |
|---|---|
| Immigration health surcharge | Yes, automatically to the original card. Held while an administrative review is pending , released within six weeks of the refusal where no review is filed, or within six weeks of the review being determined. |
| Visa application fee | Never. |
| Priority / super priority | Sometimes. Not never , a refund is allowed where UKVI missed its own published service standard or the service was unavailable. Worth claiming GBP 500–1,000. |
| University tuition and deposit | No general rule. Governed entirely by that university's own refund clause. Some are expressly non-refundable in full. |
"You'll get the university fee back" is the market's most common false promise. Never repeat it. Show the family the actual clause instead, before they pay.
Part 6 of 9
How you get paid
Short, because the numbers belong in your agreement and nowhere else.
The one line that matters
Northbound pays you commission when your student enrols. Not on the offer, not on the deposit, not on the visa. Enrolment.
The rate, the payment cycle and everything else commercial live in your signed partner agreement. They are not published here, they vary by university, and anyone quoting you a figure who is not the office is guessing. Confirm with us before you build a shortlist around what a university pays.
Where the money comes from
Northbound charges Pakistani students nothing. No service charge, no processing fee, no counselling fee. Our income is commission paid by the institution when a student enrols, and your commission comes out of our earnings, never out of the family's pocket.
Every other payment a family makes goes straight to the university, the Home Office, the test provider or the TB clinic. None of it passes through you.
Your own fee is separate, and it is yours
Northbound does not charge the student and does not tell you what to charge. You may charge for your own service, or not at all. Two conditions, and both protect you more than they protect us: put the figure in writing before they pay it, and keep it visibly separate from university, visa and government payments. A fee the family understood in advance is a fee nobody argues about in month four.
Nobody may collect a fee in Northbound's name
Your own fee, charged openly in your own name, is legitimate. A fee collected as though it were ours , a “processing charge”, a “file opening fee”, anything presented as Northbound's , is not, and whoever collects it has no authority. If you hear of it, tell the office the same day. That includes anyone claiming to be a partner, and it includes anyone in your own office.
Keeping your files clean
Put your referral reference on the file the day the enquiry arrives, not when the offer comes. A file with no reference is the commonest way a partner loses a student they did all the work on, and it is entirely preventable.
Confirm arrival and enrolment back to the office. Enrolment is the event everything else follows from.
Part 7 of 9
Compliance and fraud
The five rules that never bend, the red flags, and what it costs when someone ignores them.
The five rules that never bend
1. No fee in Northbound's name
Northbound charges the student no service charge, no processing fee, no counselling fee. Nobody may collect one as though it were ours. Your own service fee is a different thing , yours to set, charged in your own name, agreed in writing before the student pays it.
2. No university, visa or government payment passes through you
Every one of those goes to the university's own portal or a government portal, in the student's own name. Never to your account, never to a friend who will "forward it", never in cash. This one has no exceptions and no version of it that is fine just this once.
3. Nothing goes in a file that the student cannot defend out loud
If a document would not survive being read back to the student in an interview, it does not go in.
4. No document is created, altered or arranged
Not a bank statement, not an experience letter, not a transcript, not a test result. Not once.
5. Nothing is promised that the office has not agreed
Not a visa, not a scholarship, not a refund, not a job.
Every one of these has cost somebody in this market their business. None of them has ever paid off for longer than one intake.
Document fraud , the red flags
You are not an investigator. You are the first person to see the document, which makes you the cheapest place to catch a problem.
| Document | Red flag |
|---|---|
| Bank statement | A balance that appears in a single deposit shortly before the 28-day window. Round-number transfers in from multiple accounts. A logo that does not match the bank's current branding. No account holder name. |
| Experience letter | Undated, no letterhead, no signatory title, a mobile number instead of a landline, and a company with no traceable existence. Perfect grammar in a sector where nobody writes like that. |
| Transcript or degree | Fonts that change mid-page, misaligned seals, a CGPA that does not match the marks, a session that does not match the student's age. |
| Passport | Any sign of substitution on the data page. Name order that does not match the CNIC. |
| English test result | A score far above the student's demonstrated speaking ability on your own call. Trust your ears. |
| Sponsor documents | A sponsor the student cannot describe. Relationship documents that arrive later than everything else. |
The test that settles it
Ask the student, gently, one open question about the document , "tell me about this job", "whose account is this". A genuine document produces a fluent, boring answer. A manufactured one produces hesitation and then detail nobody volunteered. When you get the second, escalate to the office. Do not confront, do not accuse, and do not submit.
English test integrity
Assisted or proxy online English testing becomes deception the moment the certificate reaches a CAS and a visa application. We will not process such a file, and the agent relationship ends.
This is not a policy position invented for this guide. Proxy testing is the single issue that has cost the most agents in Pakistan their access to UK universities, and its consequences fall on the student for ten years.
The honest alternatives, all of which exist and all of which work:
- A pre-sessional English course, taken before the main course starts.
- A lower-entry pathway , a Foundation year or a Pre-Masters with a lower English requirement.
- A university that accepts a different test the student can genuinely pass.
- Another destination with a different English framework.
- Two more months of preparation and a re-sit. PKR 75,000 and an intake is cheaper than a ten-year ban.
Funded and arranged bank statements
A statement built for the application is the second commonest fraud in this market, and it is the one families most often think is harmless , because the money is real, it is just not theirs.
- Money borrowed and returned after the 28 days is a funded account. Caseworkers look for exactly this pattern.
- Money moved between family accounts to consolidate a balance fails the file even when every rupee is genuinely the family's.
- An account in the name of an uncle, a brother-in-law or a family friend is not acceptable regardless of the relationship. Student, parent or legal guardian only.
- If the family cannot hold the figure for 28 days, the answer is a cheaper university, a cheaper city, or a later intake. Those are real answers. There is no fourth one.
"I know it feels like a technicality because the money is genuinely there. To a caseworker it's the exact pattern they're trained to find, and it fails the whole file , including your wife's. Let's look at a course where the number is one you can actually hold."
What it costs when it goes wrong
| Who | What happens |
|---|---|
| The student | Mandatory refusal and a mandatory ten-year re-entry ban under SUI 12.1 where deception is found. Money already spent is gone. Other destinations ask about UK refusals and see the record. |
| The family | The maintenance money is not lost, but everything paid is. Where a dependant was attached, the whole family application falls. |
| You | Termination of the B2B partner agreement, forfeiture of commission on every file in progress, and a reputation in a market where everyone knows everyone. |
| Northbound | Institutional relationships with universities that took years to build, put at risk by one file. |
There is no commission large enough to be worth this, and no student desperate enough that this helps them. The honest answer , a cheaper course, a later intake, another destination , is always available and always faster.
Student data
- Passport scans, CNICs, bank statements and transcripts go through the portal. Not a public WhatsApp group, not an open Google Drive folder, not a shared laptop.
- Do not keep student documents on a personal phone longer than the file needs them.
- Do not send one student's documents to another student as an example. Redacted or not.
- Do not post a visa grant screenshot with the name, passport number or CAS visible. Blur it, or ask the student for a photo instead.
- A student's refusal history is theirs. It goes to the office and nowhere else.
Part 8 of 9
Scripts and templates
What to say on the first call, what to send on WhatsApp, and how to answer the ten objections you will hear every week.
The first call
Assalam-o-alaikum, this is [name] from Northbound Education. You enquired about studying abroad , is now a good time for ten minutes?
Before we talk about universities, I need to ask you about twelve questions. It's quick, and it means whatever I tell you afterwards is actually about you and not a general answer.
What's the last qualification you completed, what year did it finish, and what were your marks?
BSc in 2022, 68 per cent.
And since 2022, what have you been doing?
I was helping in my father's business, then I did a short course.
Good , that's a three-year gap, which is completely workable, but we'll need dated letters for it. I'll explain why later. Have you taken IELTS?
No, I was going to take it first and then apply.
That's the one thing I'd change today. You don't need IELTS to apply , the university gives you an offer with the English score as a condition, and you sit the test while your file is already moving. Waiting costs you six weeks and gains you nothing.
Last one for now, and it's the important one: do you know roughly what the whole thing costs? There are two separate numbers and most people only hear about one of them.
The first call ends with three things: you know the route, they know there are two pots of money, and they have one homework item. Never end a first call without a homework item.
WhatsApp templates
After the first call
"Good speaking with you. Quick summary so nothing gets lost: your route is [Top-up / Master's / Foundation], we're looking at [January / September] intake, and the two money figures are roughly [PKR x] to spend and [GBP y] to show in the bank for 28 days. Next step is documents , list below. Send them all in one go and I'll have your application with a university this week."
The document request
"Please send these as clear photos or scans , all four corners visible, no glare:"
- Passport data page
- All academic certificates and transcripts, every year
- Result card for anything still in progress
- IELTS / PTE result, if you have one
- Experience letters on company letterhead, dated
- Your CNIC
- Your sponsor's CNIC
- Any previous visa refusal letter, complete
"Please don't send these in a group chat , send them here or upload to the portal link I've sent you."
Chasing a stalled document
"Checking in on the [attestation / IELTS booking / bank statement]. This one is the slowest part of your file right now , everything else is ready and waiting on it. What's the current position, and is there anything I can do to unstick it?"
Naming why it matters turns a nagging message into a status update. People answer status updates.
Offer delivered
"Your offer from [university] has arrived , congratulations. It's a [conditional / academically unconditional] offer, which means [the English score is still needed / the academic side is closed]. The two things left are the university's interview and the deposit of [amount]. Let's get on a call today and I'll walk you through the conditions line by line."
Before the VFS appointment
"Your VFS appointment is [date] at [time]. Take your passport, the appointment letter and the original documents on the list. VFS only takes your fingerprints and your papers , they don't interview you and they don't decide anything."
"From tomorrow, check your email and your spam folder every single day. If UKVI wants an interview they'll email you, and missing that email is treated as missing the interview."
The ten objections
| Objection | Answer |
|---|---|
| "Another consultant said they can guarantee the visa." | "Nobody can. A caseworker decides it, not a consultant. What anybody can control is whether your file is complete, consistent and honest , I'd ask them how they plan to guarantee a decision they don't make." |
| "Why should I pay you when others are free?" | "Northbound charges you nothing , the universities pay them when you enrol. If I charge a service fee of my own I'll tell you the number right now and put it in writing, and it sits outside every payment on your list. What you're really comparing isn't price. It's who answers the phone in week nine when your bank statement has a problem." |
| "I'll apply after my IELTS result." | "That costs you six weeks and buys you nothing. The university gives you an offer with the score as a condition. You'll be sitting the test with an offer already in your hand." |
| "My cousin got a visa with a lower bank balance." | "Then either the course was cheaper, the city was outside London, or a bigger deposit had already been paid. The formula is fixed , let me show you exactly how your number is built." |
| "Can I work and pay my own fees?" | "Twenty hours a week in term time, full time in the holidays , about GBP 10,000 over a year, and on most Master's that clears what is left of the fee after your deposit. Two conditions. UKVI counts none of it, so the bank money still has to be there in full. And the day a shift costs you a class, you have started down the road where people are still delivering food three years after graduating. Work around the timetable, never the other way round." |
| "Can my wife come with me on my Master's?" | "Not on a taught Master's , that changed in January 2024. Dependants are allowed on PhDs, MPhils and research Master's of nine months or more. If that route matters to you, we should talk about it now, because it changes which course we're looking at." |
| "The deposit is too much, can I pay after the visa?" | "No university issues a CAS without the deposit, and no visa is possible without a CAS. What we can do is look at universities with a smaller or staged deposit , there are several on our panel." |
| "If the visa is refused, do I get my money back?" | "The health surcharge, yes, automatically. The visa fee, never. The university deposit depends entirely on that university's own refund clause, and I'll show you yours before you pay anything." |
| "I was refused before, so it's finished for me." | "Not necessarily. It depends entirely on the ground of refusal , some are discretionary with no ban at all. Send me the refusal letter and I'll get it read properly before either of us assumes anything." |
| "Can you arrange the bank statement?" | "No. And I'd be careful with anyone who says yes , that's the fastest route to a ten-year ban. If the number is out of reach, let's find a course where it isn't." |
The handover note
One paragraph, sent with the documents. It is the difference between a file the office understands and a file the office has to interview you about.
Template
Student: [full name as on passport] · Referred by: [your reference]
Last qualification: [what, year, marks] · In progress: [what, expected completion]
Gap: [years, and what they were doing, and whether letters exist]
English: [score and date, or test booked for, or level]
Route: [Top-up / Year 2 / Pre-Masters / Master's / research] · Intake: [month, year]
Funding: [who pays, relationship, and whether the maintenance figure is genuinely available]
Immigration history: [any application to any country, refused or granted]
Dependants: [yes/no, and whether the course allows them]
Flags: [anything the documents do not show , a weak reason for the course, a sponsor outside the immediate family, a subject change, a hesitation you noticed]
The Flags line is the most valuable line in the note. The office can fix a weak file it knows about. It cannot fix one it finds out about at the interview stage.
Follow-up cadence
| Stage | Contact | What you are checking |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry to documents | Every 2 days | Which document is missing, and why |
| Submitted, awaiting offer | Weekly | Nothing to chase , this call is to keep the relationship warm and stop them shopping |
| Offer received | Same day, then every 2–3 days | Conditions understood, IELTS booked, deposit conversation started |
| Deposit and interview | Every 2 days | This is the highest-drop-off window in the whole cycle |
| 28-day statement running | Weekly, and once at day 26 | That the account has not moved |
| CAS requested | Weekly | , |
| Visa filed | Every 3 days until decision | That they are checking email and spam daily |
| Visa granted | Immediately, then weekly | eVisa set up, ticket booked, enrolment deadline diarised |
| After arrival | Week 1, then month 1 | That they actually enrolled , this is your commission |
Two windows lose files: the deposit-and-interview window, and the week after the visa is granted, when everyone relaxes and nobody books a flight.
Part 9 of 9
Quick reference
The figures, the cycle, the glossary. The page to keep open during a call.
Figures to know by heart
| Item | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Student visa fee | GBP 558 | From 8 April 2026 |
| Immigration health surcharge | GBP 776 per visa year | GBP 388 per part-year of six months or less |
| Health surcharge, one-year Master's | GBP 1,164 | Because the visa is about 16 months, not 12 |
| Health surcharge, three-year Bachelor's | GBP 2,716 | Not GBP 2,328 , that figure is wrong and widely circulated |
| Priority service | GBP 500 | Super priority GBP 1,000 |
| Maintenance, outside London | GBP 1,171/month | Maximum 9 months = GBP 10,539 |
| Maintenance, London | GBP 1,529/month | Maximum 9 months = GBP 13,761 |
| Maintenance per dependant | GBP 680 outside London / GBP 845 London | Per month, 9 months, on top of the student's |
| Typical tuition deposit | ~GBP 8,000 | Range GBP 4,000 to 100% of tuition |
| IELTS | PKR 72,000–75,000 | Budget 75,000 |
| Taught Master's, budget to spend | ~PKR 4.5 million | The planning number for a first meeting |
| Taught Master's, bank statement | ~PKR 8.5 million | An average; the formula in Part 4 gives the exact figure |
| Which English test | IELTS Academic UKVI | Always for the UK , it improves credibility and visa chances |
| Research degree, admission processing | 12–18 months | And not every educational background can apply |
| IELTS preparation (our online classes) | PKR 25,000 per month | Length depends entirely on the student's English foundation , assess, never quote from a table |
| TB test | PKR 14,000–15,000 | IOM-approved clinic only, valid 6 months |
| VFS appointment | PKR 0–25,000 | Basic appointment is free |
| Student earnings, realistic | ~GBP 10,000 across a year | 20 hrs/week term time, full time in vacations. UKVI counts none of it , the bank money is separate |
| UK minimum wage, 21 and over | GBP 12.71/hour | From 1 April 2026. GBP 10.85 for ages 18–20 |
| UK personal allowance | GBP 12,570 | 2026/27, frozen , most of a student's earnings fall under it |
| Your commission | Per your signed agreement | Varies by university , confirm with the office before you shortlist |
| What Northbound charges the student | Rs 0 | Your own service fee is separate and set by you |
| Destinations Northbound serves | United Kingdom only, for now | Anything else is not a file we can take today |
| Graduate Route | 2 years | 18 months for applications made from 1 January 2027; PhD keeps 3 years |
| Graduate Route fee | GBP 937 | , |
| International student levy | GBP 925 per student per year | From August 2028 |
Widely circulated and wrong
The old maintenance figures (GBP 1,483 London / GBP 1,136 outside). The old visa fee (GBP 524 or GBP 490). GBP 2,328 for a three-year Bachelor's health surcharge. "The Graduate Route is two years" stated flatly. And "HEC-approved bank account" , HEC does not approve banks.
The cycle at a glance
| Phase | What happens | Clock |
|---|---|---|
| A · Counselling and application | Profile, shortlist, documents, submit | Week 1–2 |
| P · In parallel, from day one | IELTS preparation and test, HEC/IBCC then MOFA, Ecctis where needed | Weeks 1–8 |
| B · Clearing the conditions | Offer, English score submitted, deposit, university credibility interview, TB test | Weeks 3–7 |
| C · CAS | 28-day statement and TB certificate to the university, CAS issued | Weeks 6–10 |
| D · Visa | Application with the visa team, IHS and fees paid, VFS biometrics, interview if called, decision | Weeks 10–16 |
| E · eVisa and departure | eVisa set up in office, ticket booked, travel before the enrolment deadline | Weeks 14–18 |
CAS in as little as 8–10 weeks , but only when the parallel tracks actually run in parallel. Sequenced, the same file takes nine months and misses the intake.
Glossary
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| ADP | Associate Degree Programme , a two-year Pakistani degree. Routes to a UK Top-up, Year 2 entry, or a Pre-Masters. |
| CAS | Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. The university's electronic confirmation that a place is held. No CAS, no visa application. |
| Conditional offer | An offer with something still outstanding, most often the English score. |
| Academically unconditional | The academic side is closed. Only the university's interview and the deposit remain. |
| Credibility interview | A video call by UKVI, testing whether the student is genuine. Separate from the university's own interview. |
| Ecctis | The body that issues statements of comparability for overseas qualifications. Formerly UK NARIC. |
| eVisa | The digital record of immigration status. Set up after the grant; there is no vignette sticker to collect for most routes now. |
| Graduate Route | Post-study work permission. Two years, dropping to 18 months for applications made from 1 January 2027. PhD keeps three. |
| HEC / IBCC | Higher Education Commission attests university degrees; Inter Board Committee of Chairmen attests Matric and FSc / HSSC. |
| IHS | Immigration Health Surcharge. GBP 776 per visa year, paid with the visa application. |
| MOFA | Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Attests the HEC or IBCC stamp , after them, never before. |
| Maintenance | The money that must sit in an account for 28 days. Shown, not spent. |
| Pre-Masters | A bridging course before a Master's. Costs a year and awards no degree of its own. |
| RQF Level 6 | The UK level of a Bachelor's (Hons) degree. A Top-up ends here; so does an ACCA Advanced Diploma. |
| SUI | Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules, which replaced Part 9 in full on 11 November 2025. |
| Top-up | The final year of a UK Bachelor's, entered with an ADP or a two-year degree. One year, full UK Bachelor's at the end. |
| UKVI | UK Visas and Immigration , the decision maker. Not VFS. |
| VFS | The commercial partner that takes biometrics and documents. Decides nothing. |
When to stop and call the office
- Any previous visa refusal, for any country.
- Any criminal case, police record or FIR, however old and however minor.
- A sponsor outside the immediate family.
- A study gap over five years, or a gap with no documentary evidence at all.
- A student who wants dependants on a course that does not allow them.
- Anything about a document that made you hesitate , even if you cannot say why.
- A student already on the system under another agent.
- A family who cannot hold the maintenance figure for 28 days.
- Any request, from anyone, to arrange a document.
- Anyone claiming to collect a fee in Northbound's name.
- A student set on a destination other than the UK , we serve the UK only for now.
Escalating early is free. Escalating after submission costs an intake. Escalating after a refusal costs ten years , the student's, not yours.