Canada Study Permit Funds: September 2026 Amounts

Sources checked October 20, 2026 · Progressive Research Team

For a study permit application made on or after September 1, 2026 outside Quebec, IRCC’s living-expense requirement starts at $23,448 for one person. Tuition and transportation are additional, and the applicable IRCC financial-support table is dated August 28, 2026. Official source summary

Choose the table using the application date

Record when the application will actually be submitted, not when you accepted a school offer or began saving. IRCC displays separate date bands on its financial-support page. Keep the relevant table with your preparation notes so a later reviewer can see which date and family count were used.

If an application was already filed, preserve the submitted financial documents and receipt. Do not silently replace the old calculation in your own records with today’s figure. A later request should be considered against the actual application and the instructions that accompany it, rather than answered from a social-media screenshot.

Build a budget with separate rows

Use three main rows: tuition, living expenses and transportation. Record the document behind each amount, the currency and what has already been paid. The purpose is to make the calculation readable without counting one payment twice or presenting a living-expense minimum as the total cost of studying.

For a program lasting longer than a year, prepare a second-year planning column. List the resources you expect to use and what evidence exists now. Avoid solving a gap by assuming a future Canadian job will pay it: IRCC asks you to demonstrate financial capacity without working in Canada and to explain financing for the full program. Official source summary

Trace each amount back to a source

A practical funds worksheet can have five columns: account or award, legal holder, amount, source document and amount allocated to the study plan. Add a note explaining any amount you chose not to count. This helps distinguish available support from a headline total that includes money committed elsewhere.

For example, a tuition receipt and the bank transfer used to pay it describe the same payment. Link the two records in the worksheet rather than listing them as independent resources. The illustration is about clear arithmetic; it does not decide whether a particular receipt or account meets the immigration requirements.

Explain recent deposits with a document trail

If a bank statement contains a large recent transfer, identify what happened before drafting an explanation. Was it a transfer between your own accounts, employment income, a family gift, a loan or the sale of an asset? Use records that show that event rather than adding a label to the bank statement and hoping the label is enough.

Prepare a short transaction index with the statement date, sender, receiving account and supporting record. When a transfer crossed currencies or institutions, show the connection between both sides. Keep the explanation proportionate: a reviewer should be able to follow the movement without reading unrelated private financial history.

Sponsor support needs its own practical explanation

Where a relative or institution is providing money, write down the relationship and the support actually being offered. Separate an intention to help from a commitment for a stated amount and purpose. Ask the supporter for accurate information rather than drafting a sweeping promise that does not reflect what they can provide.

Use a separate page for that supporter’s documents and connect it to the budget line they cover. If two relatives are contributing, show the division clearly. The supporting evidence should explain the arrangement as it exists, including limits, instead of suggesting every account in the extended family belongs to the applicant.

A GIC is one possible document, not a complete budget

IRCC lists a guaranteed investment certificate among possible evidence, alongside other financial records. Buying one product does not answer every question about tuition, travel, family support or the origin of money. Read the current document guidance and the instructions for the relevant country or region. Official source summary

Before purchasing a financial product, ask the provider for its terms, release schedule and fees. Keep those terms with the budget so you can see how the money fits the plan. Avoid choosing a product merely because an advertisement calls it an immigration requirement without identifying the official instruction.

Keep currency conversion transparent

Record the original currency for each resource and use a stated conversion date when preparing your Canadian-dollar worksheet. Keep the rate source or bank conversion record beside the calculation. This is an organisational method, not a promise that IRCC must use the same rate or accept the resulting valuation.

If the plan is close to the stated minimum, show that sensitivity in your private budget instead of hiding it with a rounded figure. Include bank charges and payment commitments in the commercial planning discussion. An adviser can then distinguish a mathematical shortfall from a question about accessibility or supporting documents.

Follow the application checklist as well as the money table

The general study-permit documents page places financial support within a wider package. A persuasive budget cannot replace missing study or identity documents, and a school offer does not remove the financial question. Check the applicable checklist before deciding the file is complete. Official source summary

Create an index that uses the checklist’s own document names. Beside each item, record the file name and whether it is final, needs translation or is awaiting information. This turns an untidy collection of uploads into a package someone else can review without guessing which version you meant to submit.

Quebec requires a separate calculation

The outside-Quebec figures above are not a Quebec cost table. IRCC directs Quebec applicants to the provincial financial-capacity information for the CAQ process. Confirm the study location and applicable provincial requirements before reusing a budget made for another province. Official source summary

If you are comparing offers in Quebec and elsewhere, prepare two budgets rather than changing only the school name. Keep the relevant provincial and federal instructions with each comparison. Do not combine the lowest figure from one system with the most convenient document rule from the other.

Check the family count before finalising the calculation

Write the people included in the proposed travel and study plan by relationship, using a private worksheet rather than names in a public document. Match that explanation with the forms and the budget. If the family plan changes, identify what changed and revisit the supporting calculation instead of adjusting a total without explanation.

Keep the personal decision about accompanying family separate from the evidence review. Housing, childcare and travel costs may affect the practical budget even when a published minimum is satisfied. The minimum table is useful for the immigration calculation; your household still needs a plan that fits the actual study location and commitments.

Treat uncertain financing as a question to resolve

Mark a resource as uncertain when you do not yet know its amount, ownership, access conditions or source documentation. Put the exact question next to that line. This is more useful than adding an optimistic total to the application and trying to explain later which parts were only expected.

For a scholarship, ask what it pays and for which period. For a family contribution, ask what can be documented and when it is available. For borrowed money, preserve the loan terms and payment obligations so the budget does not describe a liability as unexplained savings.

Prepare a calculation someone else can reproduce

Before a consultation, print or save one page showing the application date, study location, family count and the three budget categories. Attach the current official table and a document index. Ask the reviewer to trace the totals back to the documents, rather than only asking whether the bank balance looks large enough.

IRCC decides the study-permit application on its requirements and evidence. No balance, bank product or explanation can guarantee approval. Bring questions about unusual deposits or support arrangements early enough to obtain the records while they are still accessible.

The study-permit program page and study planning overview explain the wider decision. This article is the financial worksheet companion; it does not determine future work-permit or permanent-residence eligibility.

General information only. Requirements can change, and no outcome is guaranteed.