Source of Funds - where the money for this investment came from

Source of funds (SoF) is the answer to a narrow question: where exactly the money for this specific investment or payment comes from. Put simply, the question here is narrow — “which account did this $200,000 come from, and from the sale of what” — while overall wealth is examined under source of wealth.

The bank and the reviewer want to see a direct chain down to the last step: which account the payment leaves from, how the money reached that account, from which dividends, from the sale of which asset. SoF is supported with bank statements, contracts and payment orders — everything that shows the movement of the money right up to the moment of investment.

SoF always goes together with source of wealth. SoW explains all your wealth; SoF the specific sum on the table. A common weak point: the wealth as a whole is explainable, but the specific money arrived in transit through a third account without documents — and the chain breaks.

For Vanuatu citizenship, the main applicant proves the source of funds: an asset statement in totals, a bank letter and a 6-month statement. An unproven source is the second most common reason for refusal.