I think I will wait for couple of months before applying EE and lower my credit card debts so the balance does not show like I have major credit card bills even though I have minimum balance in my account. I do have a full time job so I don’t know if that will help to show that even though I have big credit card bills and personal loans, I am able to pay all monthly with my salary.
I will show all my major credit cards, personal loans and auto loan. I guess it’s ok if the debt seems more (due to auto or PL) as they are to be paid over the years.
I will show minimum balance required for 6 months in US account and support that with statements as well as India account of my husband which has some savings in it… any extra liquid cash is good to show I think.
You do have 90 days between when you apply for EE and when you submit the documents. Your call, as long as u get the ITA after two months it should be fine.
I do not think debt such as home mortgage and car loan will be counted against you. Homes can be sold, and instead of renting one can decide to own.
As far as bank balance and credit card goes, I think the rule of thumb is going to be around your average balance. From the date you take the bank letter ideally your account balance would increase, there might be slight drops but overall it should hover around the average balance. Now, I tend to move money from my checking to savings, since I am attaching my bank statements I am showing actual proof of the transaction. Furthermore, the statements help the officers to dig deeper if something looks fishy.
If it’s in your name only then they’re your funds and they’re liquid, i.e. they can be encashed tomorrow if needed. It might be a good idea to either get a translation done from INR to CAD by a bank, or do it yourself. You may need the deposit slips, not sure if they accept copies or not.
I had a quick question around minimum balance and average balance that we need to maintain as proof of funds?
I know we need to show minimum funds in a span of say 6-8 months to show that it was all gradually saved and not borrowed but does it matter if I am able to save up minimum balance in 8 months and my average balance comes up pretty low because I just started to save? Will that affect the application?
Say for example, I saved 15k USD in 8 months time but my average balance in 6/12 months comes around 11 or 12k - will that be alright?
Otherwise, Should I just wait till I know my avaerage 6 months balance is also atleast 15k USD (which is minimum funds required in my case?)
Convert to CAD and check again.
You don’t need to show 8 months. 6 months is also fine. Gradual increase in funds is OK. As long as your final balance is over the minimum it should be OK. A couple of grand fewer in the initial months should not pose a problem.
Average balance will always change. You’ll be providing bank statements as supporting documents which they can validate the source of funds if needed. Don’t break your head over this. Also funds in our account will constantly increase so average will change.
Thanks @avj and @vignesh.pr , this means I need not wait unnecessarily to reach the average balance to be 15k as well. I checked the requirements and it’s about 15k balance that I need to show. I am able to save the minimum balance in 6 months but since I just started saving when we decided to apply for express entry, even though I will save up 15k in 6 months, my average balance looks low. But sounds like it should be ok even if I have low average balance as long as I have minimum balance required that’s been saved up gradually and confirms it’s not a borrowed money.
I have more than the needed amount for EE / PR. However my average balance refeclected something around $10K - $11K. This makes sense as during the course of 6 months, you are not just saving, but if something comes up (health or sending money back to India) you are using your funds. What they are concerned about is someone dumping money in your account, and you claiming those funds as yours. This is not being truthful to them.
So as long as the money in your account is coming for genuine sources which you are supporting with bank statements you should be totally fine even if the average balance is less than the required amount.
I had a chance to read through this full thread. I noticed some repetitive questions. So I’ve put together this response that will hopefully answer most of your questions. Note: This is based on my experience, and what I did as part of my application.
Funds Overview:
You are required to show liquid funds that you have access to as any given time. This would generally mean bank balance. You can however, support the liquid funds with additional stocks / bonds etc, however it is safe to ensure you have the required amount in your bank balance.
Access to money: Rule of thumb the money should be in your account or your spouse. Any other family member would not be recommended as they can assume YOU do not have access to those funds. Having said this – how do you show that you have access to funds in spouse’s account? Read on.
You may have funds in multiple accounts (Banks and credit unions) how do you reflect them in one document? – Simple, after accumulating all required documents, I recommend writing a cover letter. In this letter, put a table that states the Name of the institution, owner of account, funds available, CAD equivalent. Also, I added a statement in the letter along the following “We, ________________ and ____________ certify that we have a total funds _______ or _________ CAD (Rate: 1 USD = ____ CAD) as disposable income. In addition, we have retirements funds and stocks which we have listed below “.
With this sentence you have stated that both of you have access to the funds. Provided a quick overview for the officer as what to expect and a quick table with all funds for a summary. Feel free to rephrase the sentence as needed. This is what I wrote and submitted, you may feel to make edits as you wish. You may have an account in India, you can show that balance as well, make sure you include the conversion rate.
How to reflect current loans (car, credit card, house) – Do this through statements. These loans will not be counted against you. Instead they are used to provide an insight into your financial maturity i.e. are you paying your bills on time? That is the only thing that they care about.
List of Documents
a. Bank statements (with 6 months average balance)
b. Loan documents
c. Stocks / Bonds / 401K / Retirement Funds
d. House Loan (if any)
e. Credit Card statements (and balances)
Here is my $0.02 – if you have a car, do not sell it yet. You have taken time in USA to build your credit history. Moving to Canada you will be starting credit history from scratch. Upon migrating you will have lots of other expenses to take care of, in that case having a car will really help. Rather than taking up a new car loan, just continue with your current one till you have all the required things taken care of. You can transfer a car from USA to Canada, there are some documents required but it should be pretty straight forward.
If you feel that by waiting for another 3 months or so your financial profile will be better, then do that. Do not apply with a half mind, you have a long waiting time in this process, and any halfhearted or luck-based approach will cause additional headache. From EE to ITA based on your score it can take from 2 weeks to 2 months, and ITA gives you an additional 90 days to submit documents. This means you can get started in the process and have time built in to be able to submit documents on time with sufficient funds.
Hope this gives you all an overview of all factors surrounding funds and financial documents.
@avj@mrandmrs please feel free to add to this, if I have missed anything.
You should submit a summary page with your bank statements etc showing the different bank accounts and total money in USD and CAD. Most likely they won’t have an issue as long as current funds are above the minimum. I was in a similar situation and had 2 initials where funds were below $12k CAD for single applicant but I submitted anyway and it got through.
More importantly, make sure you keep these funds till you complete your landing process because they may ask for PoF again during landing.
@vignesh.pr@avj I have a checking and a Savings account in one of the banks here in USA. The amount in the savings account is well above the minimum requirement as per CIC. Also the 12 month average is above the minimum requirement. I also have a credit card with them and will show the latest balance after paying it off. Now in this case do I need to show them funds from my other banks or my spouse’s account? Also is it necessary to show them my car loan?
Note : The reference letter from the above bank will show both of my account details and the 12 month average.
I don’t think you need to show the money in another account or your spouse’s account. But as per description from CIC page.
“You will need to show proof that you have enough money when you apply to immigrate. This table shows the minimum amount you need. If you have more money, you should list the full amount in your profile or application.”
Having said this, I’d include your other account and your spouse’s account. The reason I would do this is because it strengthens your profile further. It won’t work against you in any case.
Regarding showing car loan - it will not work against you. Now, I don’t think they will do any checking, but in the event you are going to do your landing they can ask PoF at that point so you would want to avoid any discrepancies.
Thanks @vignesh.pr . Even if I deduct the amount of the outstanding car loan , the amount is well above the minimum requirement. i just wanted to avoid the hassle of getting the car loan letter from a different bank ( car loan is from a different bank).
The other accounts I have with different banks too do not have much balance. So I do not think the total amount would increase in case of me showing letters from other banks.
Now would your answers change based on my response?
Yeah, that’s fine. But yes I’d recommend furnishing the car loan. That way you are clearly stating you have liability, and might bring it over later.
During landing, they could ask for Proof of funds and at that point you would show the car if you plan to take it. So why create an unnecessary mismatch. It’ll take you a day or two to get the letter and I would get it.
You can take a call and decide not to. That’s up to you. Just stating the factors.
Hi,
In order to make up the minimum funds required for express entry, I will be showing the mutual fund balance from my Indian bank. Can anyone please share a format listing the information to be included in the letter from the Bank Manager?
Note that all accounts should either be in your name or jointly amongst the applicants only (e.g. husband and wife). Jointly with you and parents for e.g. is not allowed.
Also note that it may be more prudent to show liquid funds mostly as “mutual funds are subject to market risk”. Your retirement funds or PFs etc from India might be better than mutual funds IMO.