TORONTO – The government of Canada has increased the amount of settlement funds needed for skilled workers to be eligible to apply for permanent residency programs under the Express Entry system.
The new rules only apply to skilled workers under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) programs as workers under the Canadian Experience Class still do not need to show proof of funds.
The fresh guidelines also do not apply to workers who are already working in Canada under FSW and FST, and have a valid job offer.
The size of the family dictates how much funds are needed under the new rules. This includes you, your spouse or common-law partner (if applicable), and any dependent children.
An important aspect regarding the fresh rules is that your spouse or dependent children will be counted in family size irrespective of whether they reside with you in Canada or not. They are also counted even if they are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
The breakdown of the funds required is as under:
| Number of Family Members | Required Funds (In Canadian Dollars) |
| 1 | 13,757 |
| 2 | 17,127 |
| 3 | 21,055 |
| 4 | 25,564 |
| 5 | 28,994 |
| 6 | 32,700 |
| 7 | 36,407 |
| Each additional family member | 3,706 |
Canada’s Express Entry is one of the most sought after programs by expats. It is an online system used to manage immigration applications from skilled workers.
There are 3 immigration programs managed through Express Entry which include Canadian Experience Class for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience. The Federal Skilled Worker Program is for skilled workers with foreign work experience while Federal Skilled Trades Program
is for skilled workers who are qualified in a skilled trade.
If one is eligible for one or more of the Express Entry programs they will be ranked in the Express Entry pool using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) which is a points-based system to assess and score profile and rank it in the Express Entry pool.
What Counts as Proof
The Canadian government says that the funds must be available to the applicant both when they apply
and when the authorities issue a permanent resident visa (if application is approved). Besides, the applicant must prove to the authorities that they can legally access the money here when they arrive.
It is to be highlighted that one can’t use equity on real property as proof of settlement funds or borrow this money from another person.
The Canadian government update the funds required every year based on 50% of the low income cut-off totals. To stay eligible, one needs to update their settlement fund numbers in Express Entry profile.
For those who want to live in Canada, proper research should be done as to what would be the living cost in the country which would depend on the place of accomodation/province. When one arrives in Canada, they have to tell the border officer if they are bringing more than CAN$10,000 into the country or otherwise, they may be fined and the funds could be seized.
