Updated July 22, 2022.
As part of the requirements of a study visa, you need enough money for tuition, living expenses and travel. If you are bringing family members with you to Canada, your funds need to be enough to cover them as well. As you are coming as a student, your funds must be adequate to cover your expenses without the need to get a job. Let’s discuss each of the three categories of expenses separately:
Tuition fees
Tuition fees will vary based on:
- The program you study
- The school you attend
- The province or territory of your school
- Your residency status or citizenship
- The number of classes you take
- The type of classes you take
- Whether you’re a part-time or full-time student
Students are required to demonstrate financial sufficiency for only the first year of studies, regardless of the duration of the course or program of studies in which they are enrolled. In other words, a single student entering a four-year degree program with an annual tuition fee of $15,000 must demonstrate funds of $15,000 to satisfy the requirements, and not the full $60,000, which would be required for four years. However, keep in mind that the officers need to be satisfied that you’ll be able to pay the tuition fees for future years (i.e., parents are employed, existing scholarships etc.) and if they have any doubt, they may request more information or documentation. Some other costs that you’ll want to include in your budget, but that are not usually included in your tuition fees include:
- Student fees: this will include things like student union fees, administrative fees, health insurance etc.; and
- Books and other course materials (The cost of books and other course materials depends on your program and school. Approximately, $800 to $1,000 per year is a reasonable estimate for an undergraduate student)
To save money on books and course materials, consider:
- Buying used books;
- buying textbooks from online retailers that may offer items at a lower price than the campus bookstore;
- getting the electronic version of course materials such as textbooks and articles;
- sharing textbooks with roommates or classmates, if practical
- checking your school library to see if any of the course material is available to borrow;
- selling your used textbooks; and
- using an older edition of the textbook if possible (be careful that the older versions don’t exclude imperative information)
Living expenses
You need to bring enough money to pay for the cost of living in whatever province you are immigrating to. This will include things like residential accommodations, food, insurance, transportation, entertainment, etc. Click here for a table setting out the amount of money you need to support your family as determined by the size of your family.
You should also note that your tuition and living costs may rise each year due to inflation. The average rate of inflation in Canada has been 2 percent per year.
Travel
This one is quite straightforward. Whatever it costs for you to bring yourself and your family members over to Canada (i.e. cost of a flight and baggage fees). Flights to Canada vary in price depending on the time of year you’re travelling and the time of week your travelling. Flights tend to be more expensive on the weekends and holidays and less expensive when you’re flying mid-week (i.e. Tuesday and Wednesday). Plan strategically; if you intend to go back to your home country anytime during the year, (i.e. for holidays or to visit family), you should include the costs of such travel plans in your calculations.
Proof of funds for your study permit
Funds must be readily available to you. For example, you can’t use equity on real property as proof of settlement funds. It’s also important to keep in mind that the funds must be available at the time you apply and also when you receive the visa. In order to prove to an immigration officer that you can legally access the funds when you arrive in Canada, you must provide official letters from the bank or financial institution where you keep the money. The letter must:
- Be printed on the financial institution/bank’s letterhead
- Include their contact information
- Include your name
- Include a list of your outstanding debts (i.e. credit cards and loans)
- Include, for each current bank and investment account:
- Account numbers
- The date each account was opened
- The current balance of each account
- The average balance for the last six months of each of the accounts.
Remember that officers have a lot of discretion in determining what documentation you have to provide in order to prove that you’ve met the financial requirements for a study permit. Therefore, you want to be as prepared as you can be. Have records and documentation readily available and expect that they’ll request more information. If they don’t, it will be a pleasant surprise. If they think you pose a low-risk regarding funds based on the documentation you’ve provided, they may even waive routine requirements. On the other hand, they may decide to do a thorough investigation to verify your statements. In any case, it’s best to be as prepared as possible so that things go smoothly. Officers may take into consideration such sources of funds derived through scholarships, fellowships, assistantships and the like, as well as financial support or support in kind that may be available from relatives in Canada.
In conclusion, the best thing to do is to create a budget spreadsheet that sets out your estimated tuition costs, living costs and transportation costs factoring in all the items discussed here. Be conservative in your estimates, it’s always better to overestimate than underestimate. At the same, do your research in finding out where you can save money (i.e. sharing living spaces, selling textbooks, taking public transportation or carpooling). Create a budget for the year and be sure to include social and entertainment costs. You’ll be much less likely to run out of money or be caught off guard if you already know how much you can spend each month on things like eating out at restaurants, going to movies or going out with friends. A helpful student budget worksheet can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/budget-student-life/student-budget-worksheet.html