If you have been thinking about applying for a Canada PR Visa, one of the most primary things that you need to do is to provide documentation that you have enough financial resources to be able to maintain yourself and your family, in a comfortable manner while you are living in Canada. To this end, you need to submit proof, that you have enough funds that will be able to support your household during the time of your employment search, post your arrival. The minimum amount that is required for you to show in your application is known as Canada Immigration Proof of Funds, and it varies from person to person depending upon the size of your family.

Proof of Funds (POF), is generally a document that lets the government know that you have the financial capability of carrying out transactions. The following are acceptable documentation of funds that can be used for Canada PR:

  • Personal chequing or savings accounts
  • Bonds
  • Cash-value life insurance
  • Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) or Certificates of Deposit
  • Mutual Funds
  • Provident Funds (an official letter from the provident fund organization indicating the amount of accessible funds is required)
  • Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
  • Stocks
  • Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)
  • Term deposits and time deposits (must be valid at the time of application and remain valid throughout the entire application process)
  • Treasury Bills

Here is the table showing how much is the general cost of funds required in Canadian dollars depending upon the number of people you have in your household.

Number of Persons in Household

Funds Required (in Canadian dollars)

One person

$12,960

Two people

$16,935

Three people

$19,836

Four people

$24,083

Five people

$27,315

Six people

$30,806

Seven people

$34,299

For each additional family member

$3,492

A few pointers that you need to keep in mind are:

  • You must ensure that your funds are available with you immediately, you cannot be using equity and real property as your POF. You also cannot be borrowing this money from another person, since you need this money to be able to pay for your cost of living, even if you are coming without any family.
  • In case, of your spouse accompanying you, you can also show the money that you have together in your joint account as your POF. You can also look at an account which is under your spouse's name as the money that you can count on, but you need to be able to prove that you also have access to that account.
  • Another thing to keep in mind, if you’re coming with your spouse is that, you need to make sure that funds are available for the both of you when you apply to Canada, in case you are being issued a PR Visa. You will need to prove to an immigration officer that you both have access to the money legally.
  • Apart from this, you can bring as much money as you want into Canada since it will help you in settling down and finding a home for yourself. In case, the money exceeds more than C$10,000, you must declare it to the border officer, failure to do so might end up in you getting fined or even your funds getting seized.

So there you have it, all you need to know about POF and how to go about it for your Canada PR.

If you are planning to apply for Canada PR Visa then you must be aware about the requirement of proof of funds. Here we have mentioned required documents for proof of funds. For further guidance get in touch with us.