Importance of sufficient funds for study permit applications in Canada

Law360 Canada (November 15, 2024, 10:03 AM EST) --

Marina L. Sedai

In the case of Mohammadi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 598, an 18-year-old Iranian national, who wished to complete Grade 12 at a private high school in Ont., submitted a study permit application in which he showed parental funds of $168,000 to cover $32,500 costs for tuition and room and board. He provided the following parental financial evidence: bank statement, land title deeds, tax payment receipts, insurance premium receipts and employee salary amounts.

The officer refused, in part asserting “your assets and financial situation are insufficient.” Justice Angus Grant upheld the officer’s decision because the applicant failed to prove the source and stability of the funds. Further, non-liquidable asset documentation did not speak to actual income or available funds the applicant could easily access for his stay. Further, Justice Grant, cited Aghvamiamoli v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1613, where the court stated “an officer must not only look at an applicant’s bank account, but also conduct a more detailed and fulsome analysis about the source, origin, nature, and stability of these funds.”

Mohammadi underlines the financial resource requirements in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) s. 220 that applicants have sufficient and available funds during their stay. Further, the study permit application instructions request bank statements spanning several months, so that an officer can see the flow and stability of funds through the account.

However, there is another evidentiary issue of import when establishing sufficient funds that is often missed but that was not before the court in Mohammadi. While not in the study permit application guide, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has the following corporate policy:

Students are required to demonstrate financial sufficiency for only the first year of studies, regardless of the duration of the course or program of studies in which they are enrolled. ... Officers should be satisfied however that the probability of funding for future years does exist (for example, parents are employed, scholarship is for more than 1 year).

Therefore, while funds for the entire duration of studies do not need to be conclusively proven, the applicant should indicate that funding for future years probably exists, such as in the instance that parents are employed or scholarships have been awarded for more than one year.

In Pourmehdi Kasmaei v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 963, Justice Sébastien Grammond stated that this policy does not change IRPR s. 220, which requires financial evidence for the entire proposed period of study and for transportation. Rather, it refines that regulatory requirements to prove liquid funds are available for the first year and funds will be available in future years. In Roudehchianahmadi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 626, Justice Richard Mosley explained:

It is therefore open to an officer to conclude that the probability of funding for future years is not established as would be the case, for example, if an applicant has depleted her assets and has failed to demonstrate that there is any other possible source of funding for the remainder of the program.

Justice Cecily Strickland went further in Sani v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 396, stating:

… it is open to visa officers to require proof of sufficient funds for the whole of the tuition for the subject program as well as living expenses for the duration of the program … However, the Guidelines suggest that an officer may exercise discretion with respect to providing proof of sufficient funds to the extent that officers may be satisfied with appropriate proof only of the first year of payable tuition and the first year of living expenses based on the minimums set out, plus travel expenses. I note that officers are not bound by guidelines and fetter their discretion by treating them as binding …

In conclusion, applicants need to be mindful when submitting evidence of financial resources in support of a study permit application to ensure the following are included:

1. follow the study permit instructions for acceptable evidence of liquid funds;


2. ensure that the financial evidence proves that sufficient liquid funds are available for the first year of studies and travel to and from Canada; and,


3. ensure that the financial evidence indicates that funds will be available for the remaining years of study and, if possible, demonstrate that the liquid funds are already available for the duration of stay.

Marina L. Sedai is a senior lawyer/principal at Sedai Immigration Law Corporation.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice. 

Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to Law360 Canada, contact Analysis Editor Peter Carter at peter.carter@lexisnexis.ca or call 647-776-6740.