Express Entry proof of funds: how much for your family size

A spouse or child who is not coming with you still counts toward your family size, and your family size sets the amount you must show. Leave them out and you will show the wrong figure.

Your family size is not the number of people on the plane. It is the number of people in your family: you, your spouse or partner, your dependent children and your partner's dependent children, even those who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or who are not coming with you. A person who stays behind can still move your requirement up a line in the table.

The figure above is the amount for one person under the Federal Skilled Worker Program in Express Entry, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada publishes it. It is your own money, shown through letters from your bank. Nothing is paid over.

Reading the family-size lines

The lines beneath the single-applicant amount give the amount for each family size, from two people to seven, and the last line says what each further person adds. Find your line by counting everyone described above, then compare it with your funds.

The table is updated every year. The latest update is dated above, so check an amount you have read elsewhere against that date.

Who does not need it

You do not need to show proof of funds if you apply under the Canadian Experience Class, or if you are already authorised to work in Canada and have a valid job offer.

What counts as your funds

The money must be available to you when you apply, and again when your visa is issued. Money borrowed from someone else does not count, and nor does the equity in a property you own. You must be able to use the money legally.

The proof is an official letter from each bank or financial institution, on its letterhead, with its contact details, your name, your account numbers and the dates they were opened, the current balance, the average balance over the past six months, and any debts you owe.

Reading a consultant's quote

If you use a consultant or lawyer, the government's charges and the professional's fee should not share a line.

To the government:

• The processing fee and the right of permanent residence fee, and the biometrics fee where it applies. The government fee shown above is these charges for the main applicant, the higher end with biometrics; each adult and child applying with you adds their own.

To the professional:

• The consultant's or lawyer's fee, itemised on its own.

Ask:

1. What family size are you counting, including a spouse or child who is not coming with you?
2. Do you qualify for an exemption: the Canadian Experience Class, or authorisation to work in Canada with a valid job offer?
3. Is any of the money borrowed, or tied up in property?
4. Do your bank letters show the six-month average balance, not only today's figure?
5. Will the money still be there, and still be enough, when your visa is issued?

If a consultant or lawyer has sent you a quote or proposal, the box below asks about it first and reads it line by line against the published rules; no account is needed, and a PDF, a Word file or a photo will do. Without one, enter the amount you can show and the period it covers. It does not look at your application or advise on it. In Canada, anyone you pay to represent or advise you must be a lawyer or paralegal of a provincial or territorial law society, a Quebec notary, or a consultant licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

General information, not legal advice.