If you are planning to move to Canada as a permanent resident, one of the requirements that you will need to meet is the proof of funds or the financial means requirement. Essentially, you must show that you have sufficient funds to take care of yourself and your family, if they will be accompanying you, once you move to Canada. In other words, persons immigrating to Canada as permanent residents must show that they will be able to become economically established in Canada.
Legal Requirement For Canadian Permanent Residency
Canada’s Immigration Act and the Immigration and Refugee Regulations provide that if you are applying for permanent residency under one of the economic streams such as the federal skilled worker program or the federal skilled trade program, you must meet the proof of funds requirement.
Particularly, one of the listed criteria is that you must have available transferable funds. The money must be available to you and not in debt or tied up by other obligations. It must be an amount that is equal to half of the minimum necessary income.
In order to prove to the Canadian immigration authorities that you will become economically established in Canada, you will need to provide evidence of the transferable funds available to you. The Canadian Government has made it easier for you to understand the amount of money you would need if you are immigrating to Canada, whether individually or as a family.
Minimum Necessary Income
If you are immigrating to Canada alone, you will be required to show the immigration authorities that you have at least 13,000 Canadian dollars. If you are immigrating to Canada as a couple, you will be required to show the immigration authorities that you have just over 16,000 Canadian dollars.
In the case of immigrating as a family, the amount of funds required increases depending on the size of the family. The definition of a family is very specific to spouses and dependent children who are under 22 years of age. For instance, if you are two parents and five children, the number totals to seven which means that you will be required to show that you have a grand total of just under 35,000 Canadian dollars available to you.
It is worth noting that the money is not for you to give to the Government but money that you will use to take care of yourself and your family and cater for your living expenses. The immigration authorities want to be sure that you will not end up relying on the Government for any kind of financial or social support while in Canada.
The amount of money required is equivalent to 50% of the Government’s minimum necessary income. Therefore, you ought to be alert on the required income and the information is available on the Canadian Government immigration and refugee website.
Persons Required To Meet The Requirement
Generally, if you are applying for Canadian permanent residency, you will be required to meet the proof of funds requirement. The categories of persons that need to show this requirement are persons applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Program and persons applying under the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Additionally, persons who are applying under most of the provincially managed programs and who are not yet in Canada will also need to meet the proof of funds requirement.
Exceptions
There are persons who may apply for Canadian permanent residency from inside Canada such as persons on work permits under the Canadian Experience Class, who will not need to show that they have proof of funds.
In addition, persons who are authorized to work in Canada, that is, persons with a work permit and a job offer from a Canadian employer also do not need to show proof of funds when applying for permanent residency.
Such persons are not required to meet the proof of funds requirement because they are already in Canada and are earning an income. Therefore, they would be able to take care of themselves and become economically established when they become permanent residents.
Required Supporting Documentation
The proof of funds must be your own money that is not encumbered or tied up. For instance, you cannot borrow money from a relative and use it as your proof of funds. The immigration authorities will require you to provide documentation from your bank showing that you have the funds and that there is a history of you having the money.
The documentation must have your bank’s or financial institution’s official letterhead. Imigration authorities would want to ensure that the documentation that you are providing is authentic, legitimate and reflective of the funds that are truly available to you. The documentation should provide a list of outstanding credit card debts that will allow the immigration authorities to understand your net worth and the money you have at your disposal.
Let Us Help
We are happy and available to provide you with professional advice on the proof of funds requirement if you wish to immigrate to Canada as a permanent resident.
Should you also need any assistance with your permanent residency application, we are here to assist you put together the required documentation and guide you through the process.
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