Money
Canada's proof-of-funds figure, and what it does not include
In short
For study permit applications made on or after 1 September 2026, a single applicant outside Quebec must show CAD 23,448 in available funds for living costs. That figure is living costs only: first-year tuition and travel are separate, and must also be covered. The amount rises with each accompanying family member, and Quebec sets its own figures.
The living-cost requirement has moved twice in two years, and the number most agents still quote is the older one. Here is the current table, with the thing applicants most often get wrong about it.
The figure is a floor, not a target. Meeting it exactly and no more is a thin file, which is a separate problem from an ineligible one.
The current figures
IRCC publishes the requirement by family size, counting the applicant. The amounts below apply to applications made on or after 1 September 2026, outside Quebec.
The previous set, in force from 1 January 2025 to 31 August 2026, started at CAD 22,895 for a single applicant. If you are reading a guide that still says 22,895 or, worse, 10,000, it predates two increases.
| Family members (including you) | Funds required (CAD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $23,448 |
| 2 | $29,192 |
| 3 | $35,888 |
| 4 | $43,572 |
| 5 | $49,419 |
| 6 | $55,736 |
| 7 | $62,054 |
| Each additional member | $6,318 |
What the figure excludes
Living costs only. IRCC states that the amounts exclude tuition and transportation, and you must separately show funds for your first year of tuition, whether by a receipt from the designated learning institution, a bank student loan or a scholarship.
If a scholarship covers only tuition, you still have to show living and transportation funds on top. For a programme longer than a year, you are also expected to explain how the rest of it will be paid for, which is a question about the plan rather than a second number.
A Guaranteed Investment Certificate from a Canadian financial institution is listed among the accepted proofs, which is why the GIC route is so common in Indian applications. It is not the only route, and it is not a requirement.
Quebec is different
Quebec sets its own amounts through its immigration ministry, and applicants to a Quebec institution go through the CAQ rather than the provincial attestation letter used elsewhere. The IRCC page does not carry those figures, so take them from the Quebec ministry rather than from a national guide.
Where files go wrong, and it is rarely the total
Refusals we see are seldom about an account that is a few thousand dollars short. They are about funds that appeared last week, a sponsor whose relationship to the applicant is never explained, or a balance that cannot be reconciled with the income shown elsewhere in the file.
That is a documentation and narrative problem, and it is the part a letter of explanation is for. If money arrived as the sale of land or a parent's retirement payout, the file should say so in plain terms, with the paperwork attached.
Our longer note on what a study permit refusal actually means covers how these reasons are worded on the refusal letter, which is usually more generic than the real objection.
Related questions
Does the CAD 23,448 include tuition?
No. IRCC's figures are for living costs and exclude tuition and transportation. You must show first-year tuition separately, for example with an institution receipt, a bank student loan or a scholarship letter.
How long does the money need to have been in the account?
IRCC does not publish a fixed seasoning period the way the UK publishes its 28-day rule. In practice, funds that appear immediately before the application and cannot be traced to a stated source are the ones that draw questions, so document where they came from.
Is a GIC compulsory for Indian applicants?
No. A GIC from a Canadian financial institution is one accepted proof of funds among several. It is popular because it is simple to evidence, not because the rules require it.