Money is the part of a study permit application that applicants most often get wrong, and it is rarely because they do not have enough. It is because they cannot show where the money came from, or cannot show it will still be there next year. IRCC raised the required amounts on September 1, 2026. Here is what you now need, and what officers are actually looking at when they read your bank statements.
What IRCC requires you to prove
You must show that you can pay for three separate things, without working in Canada:
- tuition for your programme
- living expenses for yourself and any family members coming with you
- transportation to and from Canada for yourself and those family members
That last clause matters. A plan that depends on your on-campus job to cover rent is not a funding plan as far as IRCC is concerned.
How much you need for living expenses
These are the amounts for applications submitted on or after September 1, 2026, for every province and territory except Quebec. They cover living expenses only. Tuition and transportation are on top.
| Family size (including you) | Required for one year |
|---|---|
| 1 person | $23,448 |
| 2 people | $29,192 |
| 3 people | $35,888 |
| 4 people | $43,572 |
| 5 people | $49,419 |
| 6 people | $55,736 |
| 7 people | $62,054 |
| Each additional person | +$6,318 |
The single-applicant figure rose by $553, from $22,895. IRCC updates these amounts every year against the cost of living.
If you applied before September 1, 2026, the previous band still governs your application: $22,895 for one person, $28,502 for two, $35,040 for three, and so on. The date that counts is the date you submitted, not the date you are reading this.
Who counts in your family size
Family size means you plus the family members coming to Canada with you. Relatives staying behind do not count, and do not raise your requirement.
- Student alone: $23,448
- Student and spouse: $29,192
- Student, spouse and one child: $35,888
- Student, spouse and two children: $43,572
What you can use as proof
IRCC publishes examples rather than a fixed list, and it says plainly that you do not need every document on it. You need enough evidence to show you meet the requirement. The examples fall into three groups.
Tuition and study costs. Receipts showing you have paid first-year tuition or housing to your designated learning institution, a student or education loan from a bank, or a scholarship. Note that if your scholarship covers tuition only, you still have to prove living expenses and transportation separately.
Employment and other support. Recent pay stubs, or a letter from whoever is funding you. That letter has specific contents IRCC expects: their occupation or employment, their relationship to you, the number of dependants they have, and the amount of support they are providing. You also need proof of the relationship itself, including a copy of their photo identification or their business registration.
Banking and other income. A Canadian bank account in your name if you have already transferred funds, a guaranteed investment certificate from a Canadian financial institution, pension documentation, or rental income. Bank statements should cover the past six months, including the month you submit or the month before, and must be accompanied by documentation showing where that income came from.
The part that refuses more applications than the number does
IRCC does not only assess how much money you have. It assesses the source of the funds and whether they will remain available to you for the full duration of your studies.
This is where applications with sufficient money still fail.
A lump sum that appears in an account three weeks before filing, with nothing to explain it, is not proof of financial capacity. It is an unanswered question sitting in the middle of your application, and the officer reading it has no obligation to guess the answer in your favour.
If a parent, spouse or anyone else is supporting you, your application needs to establish your relationship to them, their employment or income, their actual financial ability, the amount they are committing, and evidence of both the relationship and the support. Your financial documents should read as one coherent account, not a stack of unrelated papers.
If your programme runs longer than a year
You must show funds for the first year. For anything longer, you must also explain how you will pay for the rest.
IRCC gives examples of what that can look like: a scholarship that runs more than one year, or evidence that a supporting parent is employed and will remain so. A two-year programme funded by one year of savings and optimism is a weak application, even when the first-year number is met.
Studying in Quebec
The table above does not apply. Quebec sets its own financial requirements through the Ministere de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Integration, and you will need a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ). Check Quebec’s own figures before you budget.
One more thing, if your country restricts currency
If your country operates foreign exchange controls, IRCC requires you to prove that you will actually be permitted to export the funds you are relying on. Money you cannot legally move is not money IRCC will count.
Four questions to ask before you submit
- Do I meet the amount for my family size, on top of tuition and travel?
- Can I explain, with documents, where every significant sum came from?
- Can I show the funds are genuinely available to me, not just visible in someone’s account?
- Do I have a credible plan for financing the remainder of my programme?
If any of those makes you hesitate, it is far better to find that out now than in a refusal letter. A refusal for insufficient financial capacity also becomes part of your immigration history, and it follows you into the next application.
How we can help
Preparing proof of funds is not a matter of collecting bank statements. We work with applicants to assess the financial position before anything is filed: what the requirement actually is for your family size and programme, whether the source and consistency of your funds will withstand scrutiny, how support from a parent, spouse or sponsor should be evidenced, where the gaps are, and how the financial picture fits the rest of your study plan.
If you are preparing a study permit application and you are not certain your financial documentation holds together, book a consultation and we will go through it with you before you submit.
Where to check this yourself
The amounts and the document requirements in this article come from IRCC’s Proof of financial support page on canada.ca, last updated August 28, 2026. We link to sources in everything we write, because immigration facts change and you should never have to take our word for it.
Information current as of September 21, 2026. Financial requirements are updated annually and can change at any time. This is general information, not legal advice, and eligibility depends on your individual circumstances and current IRCC requirements. Always confirm the current amounts with IRCC before submitting an application.
