Refund policy

This policy explains when you get your money back. It does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer.

Institution application fees

• When an institution charges an application fee, the amount is set by the institution and shown on its programme page. We ask you to pay it only when we’re ready to submit. We then pay it to the institution when we submit and send you the institution’s receipt.
• If we have not submitted within 5 working days of your payment, we refund it in full. You do not need to ask.
• If we cannot submit (for example, the course has closed), we refund it straight away and tell you why.
• You can cancel before we submit and get it back in full.
• Once your application has been filed with the institution, its fee has been paid to the institution. It belongs to them, is not refundable by us, and any refund is under the institution’s own policy.
• There is no service charge on your first 3 applications to partner institutions, so there is nothing of ours to refund. Where we do charge (US$50 for each further application to a partner, and K-12 placements), the charge and its refund terms are confirmed in writing before you pay. Our US$1,299 charge for a university we don’t have a contract with is payable only after your visa is approved, so if your visa is refused there is nothing to pay.

Examiner marking of practice tests

Refundable in full before an examiner starts marking. If we can’t mark your answers (for example, they didn’t arrive complete), we refund in full.

Paid services

Refusal review, funds audit, SOP coaching, SOP writing and the admissions document pack are refundable in full before work starts. Once an adviser has started, we refund the part not yet delivered. If we tell you that a service will not help your case, we offer a refund.

K-12 fees (paid in three stages)

K-12 is paid in three stages — School application (US$449), Custodian & school arrangement (US$350), After-visa arrival & settlement (Contact us) — and each is taken only when your child reaches it. Stage 1 includes the school’s own application fee: if we cannot submit the application, or you cancel before we submit, it is refunded in full; once submitted, the school’s fee belongs to the school and is not refundable by us. Stage 2 is refundable in full before the work starts; once it has started, we refund the part not yet delivered. The custodian’s own fees are set by the custodian and school and follow their refund rules. Stage 3 (after-visa arrival and settlement) is quoted personally, and its price and refund terms are confirmed in writing before you pay. If visas are refused, Stage 3 is not charged. School tuition, homestay, custodian and government fees are paid by you directly to those providers and are subject to their own refund rules.

Online payments

Online payments on our website are processed by Stripe in US dollars. We never see or store your card details. Stripe emails you a receipt; keep it, as its reference is what we use to find your payment. Your bank may add its own foreign-currency charge.

How refunds are paid

Refunds go back to the card or account you paid with. They can take 5–10 working days to appear, depending on your bank.

Ask for a refund

Email info@luminousinternational.org with your payment or invoice reference, or message us on WhatsApp.