Canada hikes amount of reserve funds required by study permit applicants

Canadian immigration authorities have increased the amount of reserve funds required for international students applying for a study permit from this month onward.Increasing the cost-of-living was among the initial measures the Canadian government adopted as it attempted to temper the intake of international students in the face of growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, as they were also blamed for a housing affordability crisis. (REUTERS)The new requirements went into effect for those applying on September 1 or after. For those who applied earlier, the amount of financial support required to be proven by a single applicant was CA$ 22,895. That amount has been increased to CA$ 23,448.This amount excludes the cost of tuition or transportation to Canada.Overall, the applicant will have to prove they have “enough money, without working in Canada, to pay for” tuition fees for the course or programme of studies, living expenses for the applicant and their accompanying family members, and transportation to and from Canada.The financial capacity requirement also stipulates the applicant must provide documents proving the required funds are available for the first year of studies, and how they will pay for the full duration of the course if the programme is longer than that.“We’ll assess the amount of funds you have and their source, and confirm that you have funds available to you throughout the full duration of your studies,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in an update on Tuesday.Increasing the cost-of-living was among the initial measures the Canadian government adopted as it attempted to temper the intake of international students in the face of growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, as they were also blamed for a housing affordability crisis. In December 2023, IRCC stated that for new study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024, a single applicant will “need to show they have CA$ 20,635, as against CA$ 10,000 earlier. Explaining the increase, a release issued at the time stated, “The cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants has not changed since the early 2000s, when it was set at $10,000 for a single applicant. As such, the financial requirement hasn’t kept up with the cost of living over time, resulting in students arriving in Canada only to learn that their funds aren’t adequate.”