# Highlighting bank statements for evidence



## ozrob101 (Feb 14, 2015)

This might be a stupid question but in regards to providing bank statements as evidence for visa applications, is it fine to physically use a highlighter on bank statement copies and then write little notes next to it for relevant transactions? Or is preferable to cover the relevant parts on a separate page to go with the statements? Thanks in advance


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## meesha121 (Apr 10, 2012)

I highlighted and wrote notes..I think it makes it easier for them. Either way will be fine I'm sure


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## ozrob101 (Feb 14, 2015)

great thanks


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## rani (Aug 8, 2013)

Are you applying online? I scanned our bank statements and highlighted and added notes at the end of each transaction in Adobe Reader. I think you'd have to have the latest version to do this. Mine is version XI. 

If you are doing a paper application you can highlight income and expenses in different colours and just add a colour legend as an explanation i.e. green = wages, orange = car insurance, pink = car loan etc


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## Aldjoc (May 26, 2015)

Hi guys,
The way I am thinking about explaining transactions in the bank statement is by cutting and pasting the relevant transactions into Microsoft Word then add a comment regarding the purpose of these transactions.

I will also attach the full bank statements so that the CO can cross reference the transactions I have copy pasted.

Has anyone done it this way? You think it's a good way to explain our bank statements ?

Any comment/ advice would be appreciated.

Thank you


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## lildevil872 (Dec 24, 2010)

Hello,

I don't really think there's a right or wrong way of presenting your evidence. Just do it however is easiest also ensuring that everything is labelled correctly and simple enough for the case officer to understand. 

With mine i just cropped out specific bank transactions on my netbank statement and i compiled them based on the category i.e rent, paying utility bills, car expenses etc and i combined them into a pdf file and titled each pdf file based on what it was. I hope that makes sense.


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## Mish (Jan 13, 2013)

As has been said there is no right or wrong way of doing it. However, if you have a joint account it is not really necessary as you are both contributing financially. It is more beneficial if you both have individual accounts to show how you both contribute financially.


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## rheia (Apr 10, 2013)

For the 309 application which was a paper application I copied the joint bank statements and then used a highlighter pen to highlight relevant transactions (in different colours, depending on whether it was a contribution from our individual accounts, a utility bill or travel expenses etc. - providing a colour legend at the beginning of the section). I then hand-wrote some notes on the sides where an explanation was necessary (e.g. "rent").

I am currently working on my 100 application and as this will be done online, I'm doing exactly what @rani mentioned - highlighting statements within the pdf document using Adobe Acrobat Pro (can also be done for example with the standard Mac Preview application - I'm sure there's a free Windows equivalent too). I am also once again adding text boxes with notes next to the highlighted transactions where required.

To be honest, as others have said, I don't think there is a wrong way to do it. This is just the path I have chosen - I like pretty colours and giving lots of explanations.... This also means my bank statements now look like a lit-up Christmas tree...


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## 18302 (Nov 23, 2011)

Aldjoc said:


> Hi guys,
> The way I am thinking about explaining transactions in the bank statement is by cutting and pasting the relevant transactions into Microsoft Word then add a comment regarding the purpose of these transactions.


What I did in a previous application was to export the bank statements as PDF from internet banking, and then also export the same transactions as CSV. You can then open the CSV in Microsoft Excel and type comments next to each transaction you want to highlight to the CO.

Save it as an Excel document so you can pretty up the formatting a bit, then attach both the original statement and your Excel spreadsheet(s).

I didn't bother with it for the 801 application but I did it for the 820.


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## lildevil872 (Dec 24, 2010)

rheia said:


> For the 309 application which was a paper application I copied the joint bank statements and then used a highlighter pen to highlight relevant transactions (in different colours, depending on whether it was a contribution from our individual accounts, a utility bill or travel expenses etc. - providing a colour legend at the beginning of the section). I then hand-wrote some notes on the sides where an explanation was necessary (e.g. "rent").
> 
> I am currently working on my 100 application and as this will be done online, I'm doing exactly what @rani mentioned - highlighting statements within the pdf document using Adobe Acrobat Pro (can also be done for example with the standard Mac Preview application - I'm sure there's a free Windows equivalent too). I am also once again adding text boxes with notes next to the highlighted transactions where required.
> 
> To be honest, as others have said, I don't think there is a wrong way to do it. This is just the path I have chosen - I like pretty colours and giving lots of explanations.... This also means my bank statements now look like a lit-up Christmas tree...


I like the thought of a lighted up Christmas tree haha


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## JandE (Jul 17, 2015)

I just attached copies of the statements. They show money going in from me, and ATM withdrawals every few days. We pay everything in cash.

Not sure ours will be a good enough record for them.


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## rheia (Apr 10, 2013)

JandE said:


> I just attached copies of the statements. They show money going in from me, and ATM withdrawals every few days. We pay everything in cash.
> 
> Not sure ours will be a good enough record for them.


I can see that you have already applied for your visa but if I was in this situation I'd try to find receipts for my spendings. For example if you paid your rent in cash, your landlord might have given you a receipt (that was the case for me for a couple of years as well). Or if you went shopping for groceries, you might still have the receipt for that. Then you might be able to link the cash withdrawals from you account to actual items. We are doing this for some larger items on our statement where the bank's naming/description of the transfer is not clear.

Also, it both of you have bank cards for this account and use them, even just the cash withdrawals would show that you both have access to the account (assuming your bank statements show the number of the card used).

Good luck for your application! It's such a daunting process...


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