How to use this calculator
- Count everyone included in the application — yourself plus any spouse or children
- Say whether your school is in Quebec (different table, and a CAQ is required)
- Enter first-year tuition and what you have already paid
- Show the bank the resulting figure, ideally with a 10-15% buffer on top
The most common mistake with Canadian proof of funds is assuming the requirement scales linearly with months or people. It does not. IRCC publishes an official table by family size: C$22,895 for one person outside Quebec, C$28,502 for two, C$35,040 for three, then fixed increments of C$6,170 per additional member. These figures updated on 1 September 2025 — the C$20,635 value you see on many blogs is the previous year's number.
The total requirement is the table figure plus first-year tuition you have not yet paid. Not four-year tuition — one year. This matters for budgeting: a four-year program does not require you to prove C$150,000 upfront, only year one.
If you apply through the Student Direct Stream (where eligible), the standard route is a Guaranteed Investment Certificate. You deposit the living amount with a participating Canadian bank, and it is released back to you monthly — about C$1,908 per month on the single-applicant figure over 12 months. The GIC doubles as both your proof of funds and a forced budgeting mechanism.
Quebec is its own regime: higher figures (C$24,617 for a single applicant from 2026), a separate CAQ certificate that adds four to six weeks of processing, and different renewal paperwork.
Who can issue a GIC
Participating banks include Scotiabank, CIBC, BMO, RBC, SBI Canada and ICICI Canada. The certificate must come from one of these or another bank on IRCC's list — a fixed deposit at your home-country bank does not substitute.
Order the GIC at least a month before you plan to submit, as issuing and account activation typically take two to four weeks.
What the officer looks for beyond the number
Funds should be traceable. Six months of bank history showing gradual accumulation is ideal; a single large unexplained deposit invites additional scrutiny and requests for source-of-funds documents.
Agricultural land, property and gold do not count as liquid funds. If money comes from a property sale, it needs to be sitting in a bank account with documentation before you apply.