Proof of funds - Express Entry

Hi @anon25417004,

Got a few questions.

  1. If for a family of two you need 15,300 CAD, how much in excess of that amount should one have in their account to be granted PR?

  2. Also, is it important to maintain this balance for the past 6 months prior to ITA?

Thanks

  1. Technically that will satisfy the requirement. If you have more then show it for example if you have more in savings just include the full bank statement. Keep in mind those funds needs to have been in that account for a while (over 6 months) and not something just transferred in for this purpose. If they were transferred in from some other account that belongs to you or your wife then you would need to show that. Also if you are granted PR then you ca be asked by the immigration officer at the port of entry to prove you have access to required funds in Canada.

  2. Yes its very important that the money is not borrowed for this and that it actually belongs to you and your wife. The letters from the bank has to contain the banks contact information and its possible they call the bank to confirm. If you moved money around say brought in funds from selling assets recently then please provide documentation to back that up.

Thanks for the clarification @anon25417004

@anon25417004 does banks reveal our confidential information to the government when they call them?

I might have overdone that bit :slight_smile: That’s a very good question and I would think NOT. A bank would not be able to provide this information to anyone who calls. To be honest I don’t know how they would confirm this other than to ask you for more documentation.

It’s possible they could do this if they think you are only showing the exact amounts and they feel that after so many years of work experience you should have more in savings since express entry is for high skills jobs. This is really at the officers discretion. For example they say that you will have to prove access to these funds when you arrive to claim landed PR at the airport. We were not asked to do this.

  1. Anything you can show above the minimum requirement will be good.
  2. It’s important to maintain the balance. For e.g., if your account shows a sudden increase in money in the 6 months, it means that the money might be borrowed. Although this could also mean you’ve been steadily saving, in which case the balance will only go up. Ensure that your balance never dips too much below the required minimum. If you have sudden increases/decreases in balance then carry proof of why it happened, if possible. Again, nothing should be borrowed from someone else.

Note that the price of fudging any documents and getting caught is high (5-year ban).

Do all the funds need to be shown in a single account? We have multiple accounts so can we show the balance sheets for all of them or would we need to transfer it in one place and show just that?

The funds can be in any number of accounts but they should add up to atleast the minimum stated requirement. It’s just easier if it’s not split into too many accounts. Try to maintain the balance (for e.g. if it’s your savings account then monthly balance should either be roughly same or increasing steadily) which tells them that you suddenly didn’t get large influx of money (e.g. you didn’t borrow it from someone etc.). This minimum balance should be maintained for about the past 3-6 months, both during the application as well as during the landing, as they may ask for proof of funds during landing (they didn’t ask me for it during the landing).

It helps to get a official summary letter from your bank which states all details, and possibly a cover letter for funds written by you that adds up all the numbers for the visa officer’s convenience.

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If I am the primary applicant, but don’t have more than 10k in my bank account at any time. Instead, can I show funds from my wife’s bank account? Other option is my 401k account. What do you recommend?

I think that should work (you and your wife’s combined funds should work assuming you both are on the application). 401k should also work in my opinion although I’m not 100% sure. There’s a penalty for early withdrawal of 401k so you might have to account for that. IF they ask you for all these during landing make sure you are able to explain it.

I would second @avj 401K should be fine as long as its more than the required amount. Additionally you can show money thats in your spouse’s account as long as that person is also on the application.

If your spouse is coming with you, you can count money you have together in a joint account. You may be able to count money in an account under their name only, but you must prove you have access to the money.

Also note that the PoF should be entirely in the name of the principal applicant(s). E.g. if it’s a joint account between you and your spouse or entirely in your name that’s OK. But it can’t be, say, joint between you and your parents (e.g. a PF/PPF).

Hello Friends,

I have quick question,

My wife had a joint account with her mother and she recently took one FD. I have couple of questions on which if anyone can reply.

Can I put that FD in my POF if its less then 1 month old?

The FD is only for my wife’s name and her mother is nominee so does it count as individual FD for her only?

If CIC ask to provide source of fund Is it fine if we share share update from joint account ?

Kindly provide answer, I am really confused.

Regards

@priyankbhojak88 Hi, As far as I know you CAN NOT show Join account as PoF unless it is between you and your spouse only. All the funds should be disposable. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/proof-funds.html has all the guidelines.

Also refer attached link, it might give you more idea about it. Proof of funds for Express Entry

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As far as I know you can liquidate FDs before term is up with some penalty. So if the FD certificate mentions this then it’s liquid.
The problem is ownership. The FD should be fully accessible by the primary applicant and/or spouse only! If you can get ownership changed to you and/or your spouse (only), then you might be able to show it.

I don’t know what a “nominee” on an FD is.

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Question about financial statement: Gift Deed