I managed to put a few $k USD in my PayPal account from a side business over time. Now, the only problem is PayPal does not have the option to send me the money in a cheque to cash it due to my location, as they do not have that option for countries other than the US. The only option I have is sending the money to my credit card.

In addition to that, my credit card issuer allows me to overpay my credit card, and the excess amount will be treated as if it was on a debit account, that's cool but I can't withdraw that money in cash, because cash rules will still apply if I try to cash that amount from any ATM, meaning I will lose some good % from that money.

So basically I will have a credit card with a few extra $k ready to be spent without taking any credit from the bank.

Will the US embassy or any EU embassy accept this as a proof of fund since it is as good as cash in my checking account (I can provide the embassy with a credit card monthly report which shows this)? I searched and found nothing related to this.

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    Can you withdraw it to your bank account, as opposed to a cheque? (PayPal offers that in some countries) – Ankur Banerjee Apr 5 '15 at 19:46
  • @ankur no, only to credit card. – Nean Der Thal Apr 5 '15 at 20:01
  • Would your credit card company give you a statement showing available funds or similar? You could then use that to show how much you had available, which would be positive balance + normal credit limit – Gagravarr Apr 5 '15 at 20:02
  • @gagravarr yes, the credit card report shows that, only thing is will the embassy accept it as they expect a bank account statement, not a credit card report. – Nean Der Thal Apr 5 '15 at 20:21
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    To extend a visa in Mexico they were always happy just for me to wave a credit card in front of them. But some rich countries will even scan your accounts to see if there were recent large deposits and if so they'll count that as suspicious like a family member is putting money in your account temporarily just so you can get the visa. So it depends a lot. I would expect US and EU to both be in the latter category. – hippietrail Apr 6 '15 at 8:59

Update 1 August 2015


The most recent edition of the Schengen guidance contains this text (a screen cap is being used so that the information will persist if the link is changed)...

enter image description here

Item (b) in this list explicitly states that credit card statements are acceptable as evidence.

This makes some portions of my original answer (and other people's answers to this question) wrong. Specifically, statements about the EEA/Schengen visa process that discuss credit card statements are not correct.

Credit card statements can be used for Schengen applications.

Portions of the answer dealing with the UK remain correct (verified with guidance 1 Aug 2015), especially the paragraph about 'subsisting and genuine'. The original answer is kept intact so that comparisons can be made.

More info at Schengen Borders Code.

Previous Answer

United Kingdom

I will answer for the UK (and implicitly for the EEA, where there are intersecting regulations and shared agreements). Since your question is useful to a very broad audience I'll take it from the top.

The Letter of the Law

The rules laid down by Parliament are shown in this image...

the letter of the law

There is nothing stated about how to demonstrate the person's capacity to 'maintain and accommodate'; so from a strictly legal viewpoint there's no requirement to show anything at all. Legally, they do not even require the applicant to submit a passport.

The Policy

The current government has interpreted the above law to formulate their policy on how an applicant demonstrates financial capacity. The relevant policy is shown below...

the policy

Additionally, there are intersecting regulations about the provenance of the funds (i.e., whether the money was obtained in a lawful way) and the ownership of the funds (i.e., that the money is in liquid form and actually available to the applicant). It goes without saying that the money should be easily convertible to Sterling or Euro from within the EEA.

In order to keep things uniform on a global basis, they keep a list of banks which are regulated in a way that's roughly compatible to EEA regulation. Paypal (and other related internet wallets) is not on that list. They also keep a list of banks and financial houses from which they will refuse to consider statements. Paypal is not on that list either, but it's useful to note that statements from just any bank will not always be successful. Schengen refusals on these grounds simply use the 'evidence not reliable' check box. UK refusal formulae goes along the lines of "I am not satisfied that these funds..." There are no internet links to these lists and they change all the time, but you can obtain a current list using the Freedom of Information Act.

Credit card statements, from anywhere, fail both the provenance and availability tests.

TL;DR Paypal statements (MasterCard, American Express etc statements) will not be considered as a source of funds to meet the maintenance and accommodation requirement. All of the same considerations apply to credit card statements as well.

Moreover, it can lead to a credibility hit if the statements suggest the funds are provananced unlawfully or in a way that eludes taxation.

Anecdotal Info

I had a client once who had sent them his Ebay print-outs along with his login and password for evidence (this was before he was under client care). This was misconceived and the application was refused on those grounds.

There's also this report...

anecdotal info

Source: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/

The corollary to your question is...

What can Paypal/Credit Cards be used for in visa applications?

Couples have used Paypal to demonstrate that their relationship is subsisting and genuine. This is a wholly different area of visa applications and off topic here.

Ironically, they will accept fee payments from Paypal. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it's a good way to get whipsawed on exchange rates and cash advance fees.

Note: I used images for the law and policy because they are redrafting and overhauling those sites and there may be changes to the paragraph numbers and wording. The law is found here. The policies are found here.

Rules on money laundering, taxation, and lawful provenance are shared across the EEA and you can expect refusals from all the member states.

Note: to avoid questions about the list of unacceptable banks, note that banks that operate within the US (Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, etc) regulatory framework are ok. Some (but not all) banks on the Indian subcontinent and Africa are on the list for example. Some banks in the Middle East are embargoed and for those cases you need to speak with a lawyer.

Note: they are not going to accept that kind of evidence (Paypal, credit cards, stock certificates, IRA accounts, etc). Whether they should or whether somebody can clear all of the hurdles with that kind of evidence or whether it's fair are all tantamount to debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

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    I think the poster is talking about transferring the money from PayPal to his credit card and then sending his credit card statements (showing positive balance) to the embassy. Your answer seems to be about sending his PayPal statements directly, which I think could be different. – djr Apr 6 '15 at 13:49
  • I upvoted the answer as it provides a lot of good information but note that the Schengen Borders Code mentioned credit cards since at least 2008 (cf. article 5) and this has, to my knowledge, always been common practice in the Schengen area. Nothing new there, you should simply stop assuming what you are used to in the UK readily applies to the Schengen as it often leads you astray. In light of this, I would recommend rewriting your answer, rather than adding layers upon layers of commentary. – Relaxed Oct 14 '16 at 12:18
  • @Relaxed I will check on this – Gayot Fow Oct 14 '16 at 12:21



A credit card is a liability and is not considered "funds" for the purposes of proving financial sufficiency for visa purposes.

Only a bank statement and (if employed) a salary certificate are accepted as proof of funds:

Recommended documents: U.S. immigration law requires that nonimmigrant visa applicants present evidence of strong economic, familial and/or social ties to a residence outside of the United States to which they are compelled to return. Applications unable to demonstrate such ties will be refused. The Consular Section recommends providing the following documents that can demonstrate such ties:

  • Proof of employment
  • Salary certificate
  • Bank statement(s) demonstrating sufficient funds for travel
  • Previous passport showing prior international travel

There are some countries which require you to show proof of funds when giving you a visa on arrival; and here they do accept a valid credit card as proof of funds.

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    Burhan, the excess amount is not liability. – Nean Der Thal Apr 6 '15 at 4:46
  • The overpayment does not matter, unfortunately. – Burhan Khalid Apr 6 '15 at 4:49
