As part of the immigration process, you are required to submit Proof of Funds, essentially proving that you have the necessary funds at your disposal to survive the first few months in Canada. These funds need to be readily accessible, and not locked in any financial instrument or asset like jewellery or real-estate. To declare your PoF you only need a balance certificate and your 6 month bank statement (or your spouse’s). Here are some things to note:
Balance Certificate is a document that the bank gives you to prove the available balance on your account. Its fairly standard worldwide.
- The document must be on the bank’s letterhead and can be addressed “To Whomsoever It May Concern”
- It must mention your full name, account number, and preferably latest updated address
- The letter must state the date from which you have held the account with the bank.
- Not a must, but preferred: List the closing balance of your bank account for the last six months, in CAD. For e.g.
- January 2019 – CAD 3000
- February 2019 – CAD 4000
- …
- June 2019 – CAD #### (should exceed the proof of funds by at least C$ 100–200)
- If the above is not possible, then mention the account balance in CAD on the date of the statement. Be sure to mention the exchange rate being used
- Get the document stamped and signed by an authorized signatory at the bank. Ensure that the bank’s contact details are mentioned somewhere on this certificate.
Once done, you can then print out the bank statement for the last six months, and have each page of the statement signed by an authorized signatory. DO NOT print this at home.
Note: I supplied my salary account to the bank which showed monthly salary credits. This proves that I have a steady income. I simply let this grow for the next few months till the PoF limit was exceeded.
ProTip: For some of you using a debit card, the # of transactions on your account could cause your bank statement to print in multiple pages. A small trick here is to ensure that you make all your purchases on a credit card, so that your bank statement looks clean, and is also short.
In case you borrowed money from your parents or relatives, you have to get a Gift Deed from them which would state that they are willingly giving you the money as a gift, and they do not expect it back. This will prove that you have not taken on any loan or debt to arrange your funds. Here’s a sample – Gift Deed Sample template.
One last piece of advice – there is no real way for a visa officer to check your bank account because they are not authorized to. All they will do is verify the authenticity of your balance statement and bank statements. Having said that, it’s best to leave the funds in your account untouched until you have received your PR confirmation.
That’s it! This is all you need to know about Proof of Funds. Good luck folks.
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