Financial Documents Required for Student Visa in Canada (2024)

Prospective students from countries outside Canada must provide certain financial documents supporting their student visa (and permit) application in Canada. We previously describedproof of funds requirementsfor international students in another topic but will try to bolster this here further.

Many international students prefer Canada as the destination to pursue their higher education abroad because of the quality of education that Canadian higher institutions of education offer. Apart from the quality education, you can get in Canadian higher institutions; you will also discover that the cost of education in Canada is relatively low compared to other countries. Therefore, students who also wish to stay back in Canada after graduation also have the opportunity to do so.

Before studying in Canada as an international student, you must show proof of sufficient funds and present some financial documents needed for a Canada study permit. This will show that you have enough money that you need for your tuition and living expenses in Canada.

If you do not have enough proof that you can support yourself financially, you will lose your chances of obtaining a Canada study permit or visa. So, to be eligible to apply for a Canada study permit, you must be able to show proof of fund with the financial documents needed for a Canada study permit.

You must prove that you have enough money to carter for yourself, your spouse, or any family member accompanying you to Canada.

What is Proof of Funds (POF)?

As an international student, your proof of fund shows that you have enough money to take care of yourself and your family members for the time you will stay in Canada for your studies. Your proof of fund covers your tuition fee and other costs you will incur while in Canada.

Ways of Showing Proof of Fund

You can show your proof of fund and financial documents needed for a Canada study permit in many ways. The different ways include:

• Cash
• Guaranteed investment certificate (GIC)
• Fixed Assets (immovable property such as houses and land)
• Liquid Assets (Savings/current accounts, fixed deposits, policy investments, vehicle resale price, gold)
• Sponsorship (Financial support from relatives and non-relatives living outside/inside of Canada)

Cash

Cash is one way to show your proof of fund. Cash is the money you have at hand while entering Canada, and you can use them as proof of funds in Canada. When you want to use cash as proof of fund, you must show it to the immigration officer at the port of entry.

However, you are not advised to use cash as proof of fund since you cannot show any document to support it. For example, the immigration officer may want to see the financial documents needed for a Canada study permit. You may not be able to show them if you are using cash as your primary proof of funds.

Sponsorship

Most parents sponsor their children to study in Canada, and some parents sell their houses or land and deposit a large sum of cash in the student’s bank account. To prove that you have access to the fund, you must do the following

• proof of relationship to the owner of assets
• proof of ownership
• proof of sale
• Include the details in the letter of support

Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC)

Another way to show your proof of funds is through a GIC account. When you have a GIC account from your country, they will keep sending you monthly money in your Canadian bank account.

You must open an online bank account in your country; when you arrive in Canada, then you will open another GIC account with an approved financial institution in Canada, where you will receive your money monthly. When you have completed your account opening in Canada, you will send CAD 10200 to the account. This is where you will be receiving money every month for the duration of your study in Canada.

After everything, you will be issued a receipt which you must print out because you will attach it to your visa application as your proof of fund and financial document needed for your Canada study permit.

How to use your CAD 10,000 in the GIC account

Upon arrival in Canada, you will receive an initial CAD 2,000 as set-up costs. Then the remaining money will be divided into 12 for the 12 months of the year. In this way, you will be getting CAD 667 every month.

Eligible Canadian Financial Institutions for GIC

The following financial institutions can be used for GICs by international students. They include:

1. Bank of Beijing
2. Bank of China
3. Bank of Montreal (BMO)
4. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
5. DesjardinsFootnote1
6. Habib Canadian Bank
7. HSBC Bank of Canada
8. ICICI Bank
9. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
10. RBC Royal Bank
11. SBI Canada Bank
12. Scotiabank

The amount of money needed as proof of funds for applying for a Canadastudy permitalways depends on the type of program and the duration of the program going to Canada.

Furthermore, suppose your family members are going with you to Canada. In that case, it will also determine the amount needed as proof of funds and the financial documents required for a Canada study permit.

Amount of funds based on program

For international students traveling alone in Canada, you can calculate the amount of proof of funds using a simple formula.

The amount for a one-year program

The amount of money you take with you must be able to cover both your tuition and the cost of living in Canada for one year.

The standard amount used as proof of fund for one year is CAD 10,000.

The amount for two years program

The amount to use as proof of fund for two years program must at least cover 1st year’s tuition fees with two years’ cost of living in Canada.

Amount of funds based on family members

If you plan to travel with a family member, you must also provide funds for every family member that will accompany you. Then, you should add the amount. For example

If you and two family members want to come to a province outside Quebec for a year, you will need

living expenses: $10,000 (for the student)

living expenses: $4,000 (for the first family member)

living expenses: $3,000 (for the second family member)

Total: $17,000 + 1st year tuition fee (for one year)

Financial documents are needed as proof of funds for the Canada Study Permit

Financial documents needed for a Canada study permit depend on the financial option that the student wishes to select. When applying fora study permit, you can choose to use any of the following ways as documents for proof of funds.

• Self-funding
• GIC
• Scholarship
• Financial support from relatives
• Financial support from non-relatives
• Financial support from within Canada

Self-funding financial documents

You can decide to fund your studies in Canada as an international student if you have enough money to sponsor your education in Canada. This means that you must have money to cover your tuition and cost of living in Canada, including that of accompanying relatives if any.

Documents needed for self-funding

Employment Certificate and three months pay slips or proof of business (such as a business license under your name)

• Your bank statements for the last six months (also include Bank certificates)
• Income tax return for the past two years
• Proof of GIC (mandatory in SDS but optional in the regular stream)
• Proof of Fixed Assets (immovable property such as house and land) (if any)
• Proof of Liquid Assets (fixed deposits, policy investments, vehicle resale price, gold)(if any)
• First-year tuition fee (mandatory in SDS but optional in the regular stream).

The GIC

GIC means Guaranteed Investment Certificate. This program helps students to invest in an approved Canadian financial institution that will disburse the money to them monthly throughout your program. In addition, financial documents issued to you can serve as proof of funds for a Canada study permit.

Documents needed for GIC

• a letter of attestation
• a GIC certificate
• an Investment Directions Confirmation or
• an Investment Balance Confirmation

Scholarship

Some students get either government or an agency scholarship to study in Canada. Such students also need to provide certain documents as proof of funds for a Canada study permit.

Documents needed for Scholarships

• First-year tuition fee (mandatory in SDS but optional in the regular stream)
• An official letter from the sponsoring organization is a mandatory requirement.
• The official letter must include e full amount of the award, its duration, and any governing conditions.

First-year tuition fee

You can also use your first-year tuition fee as proof that you can sponsor yourself in Canada for the duration of your study. This means showing evidence that you have paid your first-year tuition fee in full.

Documents needed for First Year tuition fee

You can submit any of these documents as proof that you have paid your first-year tuition fee and use it as a document needed for your Canada study permit.

• a receipt from thedesignated learning institution
• an official letter from the DLI confirming payment of tuition fees
• A receipt from a bank showing that tuition fees have been paid to the DLI
• Proof that the tuition fee amount has been transferred into a repository account at the DLI to be applied to the tuition bill at a later date

Financial Documents from non-relatives

Financial documents needed to prove financial support from non-relatives include all the required documents for your relatives, except that you don’t need to show the status of the relationship. Then, you will provide an affidavit or letter of support with a detailed explanation person is sponsoring you.

Financial support from within Canada

You can also get a sponsor from Canada who can provide food,accommodation, and transport.

Financial Documents needed for Support from within Canada

For financial support from within Canada, you need to provide the following financial documents

• Official identification documents
• A certificate of employment and three months’ payslip
• Bank statement and certificate
• T4 (T4 is a tax document in Canada)
• Tenancy certificate
• Proof of relationship (if any)
• Affidavit or letter of support

Financial support from relatives

Relatives who can sponsor your study in Canada include your father, mother, grandparents, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, and cousins. These relatives can also decide to provide financial support for your studies and living expenses in Canada.

Financial documents needed to prove financial support from relatives

• Sponsor’s government Id
• Income Tax Returns of your relative for the past two years
• Reference letter from your relative. Also known as Affidavit. Check a sample of Affidavit
• Relative’s bank statements (stamped) for the last six months plus bank certificate
• Employment Certificate and three months’ payslips or proof of business (business license under the sponsor’s name)
• First-year tuition fee (mandatory in SDS but optional in the regular stream)
• Proof of your relationship
• Proof of GIC (mandatory in SDS but optional in the regular stream)
• You can strengthen your application by providing proof of supplementary funds
• Proof of fixed assets such as house or land (if any)
• Proof of liquid assets such as savings, fixed deposits, policy investments, vehicle resale price, gold

Documents to prove a relationship with the sponsor

Parent:official Ids and your birth certificate or official id

Siblings: your birth certificate or official id and your sibling’s birth certificate or official id

Grandparents: your birth certificate or official Id, your mother/father’s birth certificate or official ids, and grandparents’ official Ids.

Aunt/uncle: your birth certificate, your mother/father’s birth certificate or id, and your aunt/uncle’s birth certificate or official IDs

Cousins: your birth certificate, mother/father birth certificate, cousin’s parent birth certificate, and cousin’s birth certificate or official id.

Stepparents: provide your birth certificate and marriage certificate of your parents

In-laws: marriage certificate and additional identification documents of your in-laws

Documents needed for Canada Study Permit based on student application

You also can show your proof of fund based on the type of application you fill out for the immigration officer. There are two types of streams that you can use in your application:

1. Student Direct Stream
2. Regular Stream

There are some differences between these two streams, and they are included in the table below

ComparisonSDSRegular Stream

Availability Only for seven countries* Worldwide

Acceptance letter from DLI Required Required

Current location Outside of Canada Inside or outside of Canada

First-year tuition payment Must be paid Optional

Proof of financial support Required Required

Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) Required Optional

Processing time Usually 20 calendar days, Varies by country.

Financial documents for the General category

You can provide any financial documents as proof of funds for the general category or regular-stream.

• Proof of a Canadian bank account in your name
• Evidence of a student or education loan from a bank
• Proof of Self-funding
• Proof of GIC
• Proof of Scholarship
• Evidence of Financial support from relatives
• Proof of Financial support from non-relatives
• Evidence of Financial support from within Canada
• Proof of First-year tuition fee

How many months of bank statements for a Canada student visa?

You will need a four-month bank statement when applying for a Canada study permit; this must be able to cover both and submit proof of sufficient funds to cover your tuition fee and other living expenses. A four-month bank statement is often required. Provide the following: Original bank account statement, scholarship letters, loan approval letter, or loan capacity certificate.

Applying for express entry? Seeexpress entry proof of funds.

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