Is it sufficient to provide only 6-month bank statements as Proof of Funds for Express Entry. All my savings are in an online bank (Marcus by Goldman Sachs) and an investment account (Betterment), so there is no physical bank branch that I can go to ask for an official letter. I have contact customer support and their first response is to download the bank statements online since it contains all the required pieces of information.
Does anyone know if six-month bank statements alone are sufficient as proof of funds for the PR application? Or must I get a one-page letter from the financial institution?
Ideally you should get a letter as stated on CIC website:
What we accept as proof
Funds must be readily available to you. For example, you can’t use equity on real property as proof of settlement funds.
The funds must be available both when you apply and when (if) we issue you a permanent resident visa. You must prove to an immigration officer that you can legally access them to use to settle here when you arrive.
For proof, you must get official letters from any banks or financial institutions where you are keeping money.
Letter(s) must:
be printed on the financial institution’s letterhead
include their contact information (address, telephone number and email address)
include your name
list outstanding debts such as credit card debts 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 past six months
I would recommend to try again and tell them this is for immigration purposes and that you require a letter in a specific format. Check if they have an online form where you can request such summary letter. Let us know how that goes. I haven’t heard of a lot of people using “online banks”. Usually everyone ends up getting some variation of summary letter by visiting a branch.
That being said, it’s a gamble if you are not able to get the summary letter from the online bank. Some officers may look at the PoF part more strictly than others. If anyone has a different experience we’d like to hear it.
Is it possible to transfer funds to a physical bank and then get the summary letter and statements? You’ll probably have to include the transfer part in letter of explanation.
Yes. I provided only the statements and explained the situation in my letter of explanation. Everything went smoothly and I am planning to land next month.