How to refund your university tuition fees, due to failed or denied visa application?
Yes, it may be frustrating to have put in all that effort to apply for a visa to study abroad, you woke up early, freshened up after months of preparation but got denied!
We’ve all been there sometimes, but you are not alone, at least you gave it your best shot.
What if I tell you that you can still get an admission and stand a chance to get a visa? Well the first step to that is refunding your tuition fees. Most universities in Europe and around the world have a refund policy which requires that a student can apply for a refund of the amount paid for tuition.
Some of the benefits of refunding your tuition fees after a failed visa interview or denial is:
- You can reuse the refunded amount to pay for another university
- You can invest the money into a savings account that yields interest while searching for a new university
- You can start a business, if you wish to pursue another career path
There lots more benefits at least having your money back can make you feel a bit better psychologically after a visa denial.
It is important to understand that the tuition fees is different from the application processing fees. It is very rare and in most cases non refundable for application fees as the university has labor cost to process your admission. So this article would only address steps to refund your tuition and not application fees.
Step 1: Scan your visa rejection letter
Every visa denial either has a stamp on your international passport or a letter accompanying the rejection which states the reason for the refusal, you will need to make a photo or scan a copy to attach to the refund email to the university.
Step 2: Scan your admission letter issued by the university
After you have scanned your rejection letter, the next is to scan and attach your admission letter, this is important for the university to connect your refund request to an existing application in their database. Hey you are not the only one who has applied to the university, their are lots of other applicants and the university receives tons of application, help them to help you by making their lives easier to locate your application. Think about that for a minute.
Step 3: Provide a bank account details
After the hard work of preparing all those refund supporting document, you don’t want to miss the most important part, which is where and how do you want to receive the money back? Oh there’s almost zero chance it would be bitcoin or cash 😁So you need a bank detail to receive the transfer from the university. In most cases the university would only transfer the amount back to same bank account the tuition fee was received, so don’t be surprised when you are denied a refund due to this factor or asked to provide additional proof.
Make sure the bank account is valid to receive international or local transfer depending on your location, if you are not sure contact your financial institution. To avoid delays.
Step 4: Compose an email
The last step is to write an email to the university to officially request a refund. Your email should be concise and straight to the point, there’s no need for whining and complaints as the university are not the immigration authorities and have little to no influence on issuing of a student visa, unless in exceptional cases where the university did not provide enough supporting documents for your visa application. Then it is entirely up to you if you wish to address those concerns in an email, which we recommend you use a separate email for that purpose. You can write an email using this quick format
Dear Admission Officer,
Thank you for all the support during this application process, unfortunately I was denied a visa for the following X reasons. While I appreciate your support, I would like to formally request a refund of my tuition fees inline with your university’s refund policy.
Please find attached to my email a copy of my visa denial, personal details, application number and bank account.
Should you have any questions or need additional information, I would more than happy to provide.
Best Regard,
Your Name
Good luck with your refund, try not to use the refunded tuition to host a party with your neighbor 😁 Life has a way of giving you lemons, you can make it lemonade
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that this article does not guarantee you a refund, most universities have their refund policy, you should familiarize yourself with this policy before, during and after your application process, and make sure to read and understand it before applying for a refund. Some universities may deduct transfers or additional amounts from your tuition fees before transferring to your bank account.
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