MM2C Podcast by Ben Alagnam

SEARCH the Related FSW Canada Topics HERE!

25 May 2014

Settlement Funds: Prepare for FSW Canadian Immigration

When you apply for a Federal Skilled Worker program in Canada, you need to show them that you can survive in their country with a 6-month worth of savings.

This is a practical approach by the Government in order for an applicant not to be dependent from them once they arrive in Canada.

Although the government can help you while you're in Canada, they make sure that you don't risk yourself and your family for a bad situation while you're in their country.

Due to this reason, they require an applicant to show a proof of fund or what is also known as the "Settlement Fund'.

Note: You do not need this if you have an arranged employment in Canada.

What is a Settlement Fund?
A settlement fund is your personal assets, this will be in the form of:



  • cash
  • documents that show property or capital payable to you (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.) or
  • documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money, which are payable to you (such as bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders).
  • Source: www.cic.gc.ca

    How to Compute for the Settlement Funds?
    This is how to compute for the total settlement fund.  You have to subtract all your assets from your liabilities.

    ASSETS - LIABILITIES =  TOTAL SETTLEMENT FUNDS

    You need to show these values at the form Schedule 3: Economic Classes (IMM 0008 SCHEDULE 3) item #11. 

    It should look like this...


    How Did I Showed My Proof of Fund?
    Since I applied for an FSW on 2007, which was returned by the way, I had already prepared my bank accounts during that time.  My only problem at that time is MONEY, which I needed to accumulate more.

    As soon as I went to work in Singapore, I made sure that I have money to put into my bank account every month. When I applied again for an FSW on 2013, I was sure that I'm ready to show my proof of funds.

    So, my situation was I had 3 diversified bank accounts in the Philippines and a POSB bank account in Singapore.

    I got a house property in the Philippines, which I was paying my mortgage since 2003, I included this as my proof.

    This is the summary of what I've submitted to the Canadian Immigration:

    1. Three bank certificates in the Philippines
    2. One bank certificate from POSB bank in Singapore
    3. Two certificate of Policy from my insurance/investment in Singapore and Philippines
    4. One copy of my mortgage contract from the house developer stating how much is the total cost of the house and the outstanding balance.

    Then I made a summary in a Microsoft Word format, arranged in a tabular form stating my Assets and Liabilities.

    I uploaded a sample format for you to download. The description and the amount written there are all fictitious, it's just an example.

    How to request a copy and download: Email me at benalagnam@yahoo.com and I will add your email to my google drive and send you a link to the file, so you can access the format.

    After you download, you can edit it for your preferences.  This is for your reference only .

    What I Submitted in the Canadian Immigration as a Proof of Fund?
    I listed down all my personal assets and liabilities in a piece of paper.

    Info: In Philippines, the bank requires the requestor to fill up the bank certificate request form and some forms had a section where you need to sign and allow the Canadian Immigration to call the bank for verification purpose.

    I requested certificates on each of the three banks in the Philippines and one at the POSB Singapore.

    For my insurance,  I gathered the policy certificates from my Insurance in Singapore and asked for another letter from the Philippines.

    The house mortgage contract copy was photocopied and certified by an attorney.

    All of these bank certificates are original copies and the bank accounts should not be less than 3 months old.  If the copy is not original, asked a lawyer and have it certified as a true copy with their signature in it.

    I compiled all of those documents, placed the summary page on top of it and inserted it with my whole application package.

    Where to save and invest your Settlement Funds when you arrive in Canada?

    Got questions about FSW application to Canada? Register in MM2C Community to download the Proof of Fund Summary. Click the photo below.

    I hope that this can help you with your application.  If you like this post or appreciate the author, please tick the LIKE button below.

    *If you like this post or appreciate the author, please tick the LIKE button below.
    ___________________________________
    If you have any questions regarding this post, you can leave a comment below or email me at benalagnam@yahoo.com.

    Enter your email address:


    Delivered by BenAlagnam's FeedBurner

    HAVE MORE ON THIS BLOG
     EMAIL    RESOURCES      ASK ME    ARCHIVE    SUGGEST

    99 comments:

    Tun Tun said...

    Hi Ben,

    I only have POSB saving account which have more than enough money for proof of fund since last year.

    However, I saw that some people suggest that need to show Fixed deposite account so I opened fixed deposite account last week and put the money in it. Based on what you wrote the account need to be at least 3 months old. So I cannot use my FD as a proof (only few weeks old) ?

    Since I moved the money to FD, my saving account doesn't left much money. So I just keep the FD account or move back to my saving account?

    Please share your document to me. I hope you still have my email address?

    Thank you once again.

    Regards,

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi Tun, you can show your POSB and Fixed Deposit account together. You can also provide the embassy with proof of transfer from POSB to FD to let them know that it's your money.

    The reason for an account to be at least 3 months old is, in my opinion, that some people just borrows money from anyone for "Show Money" and returns it back to the owner upon approval or after arriving in Canada.

    A 3-month old account, in my opinion, is enough to say that it's the applicant's legit account and di not open it just for the sake of applying for FSW. But of course, people can make things possible. But, if someone really has the guts in borrowing this huge amount of money with interests, it can be possible. Some immigration agents offers this kind of tactics.

    If you can show a proof that the account is legit and the money inside is yours, no problem with that. At the end of the day, the money is yours and will help you survive once you land in Canada.

    Unknown said...

    HI,
    I am still a bit confused as to how to outline assets, liabilities, settlements funds for federal skilled programme. So my question is in assets, should I show bank account and house value, then show liabilities which would include a mortgage I have on the house. For settlement funds, only the unencumbered bank account?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi Sharon, you can email me at benalagnam@yahoo.com so you can see the sample format, so I can add you to my Google Drive.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi if we have more than the required amount of settlement funds after we deduct liabilities off our asset (in our case, property), do we still need to show our bank statements? Similarly, if we have a bank account more than enough to cover the settlement funds, do we need to show our property and liabilities? When you say the bank account need to be at least 3 months ago, meaning we have to show 3 months of statement or just indicate how long the account has been arnd?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi, bank statement is different from bank certificate...Bank statement has history, while bank cert, has the total amount, and when the account was opened. Please read my "How to Get Bank Certificate at POSB...." at ARCHIVE page.

    Just provide the Bank Certificate, if CIC will ask the statement later on, that's the time you provide.

    Based on my sister's and myself's experience, I did not include my other bank accts. since my proof of Fund/settlement fund has reached the minimum required in the form of cash...When I included my real property...it is more than enough..I did not include bank accounts that has small amounts in it.

    My sister's case, she did not include some of her properties and bank accts.....her fund was enough. She's now living in Canada for 2+ years.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi if I intend to only include my bank certificate and not property- related items as some of my assets, can I state that my liability is $0? Understandably, I will not have liabilities in this case, right?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi, I'm sorry to say that I don't recommend to do this, although you can do it but it "might" have some complications later on. What I did was to declare the liabilities from the property. My sister did not declare her other properties, which are mortgage free.

    If you don't declare any liabilities, it should be $0.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    Is it okay if I provide bank certificate stating the balance or should I provide all 3 months of bank statements?

    Thanks,

    Ben Alagnam said...

    You just provide a certificate from the bank showing the outstanding balance and the date when it was opened. No need to show the history of your transactions.

    Anonymous said...

    But I heard that bank certificate would not be enough and that history of 3 months bank statements will be required otherwise Visa will be rejected?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi Omar, it was not indicated in the requirements that you provide the 3 month history of your bank. It is up to the Visa Officer to request one from you, IF he found the account is insufficient or suspicious.

    What I did was not to include the history of my bank transactions, just a plain outstanding balance and when the account was opened.

    A friendly advice, in any institution including Canada Embassy, do not provide documents that is not included in the requirements. Please check thoroughly what was indicated.

    Do not follow based on what you heard, read the requirement wholeheartedly and follow your interpretation. You can also base your decision on others that had gone through the process.

    Anonymous said...

    Hello Ben, many thanks for the much useful information. I have mailed you my mail id so that i can see the sample template.

    Cheers,
    Vikas

    Unknown said...

    hi ben,

    for the liabilities, should I include my total amount of my housing loan? or just the monthly amortization?

    for the asset, should I include the amount of property under loan or not?

    please enlighten me.

    thanks

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Assets is the total price of your property...and Liabilities is the outstanding total amortization...

    Anonymous said...

    Hello Ben,

    I'm a FSW applicant too and settlement fund is my big problem. I have less than 100k in my bank account but my dad has properties that we can sell in the province. He willing to give me one so I can use on my application. The only problem is that we don't have any title to show as proof of ownership and the fastest way to sell this property (agricultural land) is through "inside sale" between my father's relatives or my brother. My concern here is how to explain where I got the rest of my funds when I don't have any attached property documents. I have a two year old account with BPI where I intend to deposit the proceeds of the sale. I will be using this as my settlement fund.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi, after you sell the property, then deposit the money at your old BPI account (I suggest of more than 6 months old). The last thing you do is to get the bank certificate once the full application is ready.

    srikanth rokkam said...

    srikanth rokkamAugust 20, 2014 at 6:38 PM
    thanks Ben, I read your post.
    In my case
    eg: my bank account has 20000, so
    assets = 20000
    liabilities = 0
    settlement funds =20000. Correct?
    And another doubt is bank will issue certificate in SGD I hope. But in form its asked to mention in Canadian dollars. do we need to convert ourselves with approx exchange rate?

    thanks


    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    Ben AlagnamAugust 20, 2014 at 6:47 PM
    Hi Srikanth, I suggest to leave your question about funds at the Settlement Fund post so other readers can see it also. But anyway, I will answer this one here..

    Yes, POSB , OCBC or other banks will always issue the currency in SGD. You can just put the estimate amount in CND if you will.

    But, to make it more convincing, you have to visit the foreign exchange rate websites and check for the current rates then indicate it at your attached form including the source of that rate, you may follow my sample settlement fund form here.

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dSA_rpKjk5lWTTl689jm1cgEoExefE3z6q0dzU78KBg/edit?usp=sharing

    srikanth rokkam said...

    Hi Ben,
    I am applying bank certificate tomorrow. only source is my bank acc funds. I have little more funds than required by CIC. I have some funds in Indian acc, to transfer back to SG or certificate from Indian bank is time taking. My question is, is it having more funds than required is good? If so, I ll get more funds into my SG acc!

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Once you have the minimum required amount as stated at the Proof of Fund rules, you're good to go. But, if you have more than that, it is recommended but not required.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    Congratulation for the knowledge that you are sharing on FSW thorough your blog.

    this is my query regarding proof of fund

    1. number for family member - myself + My Wife + one kid = 3 members
    my wife is pregnant for 3 months now, let say if i am submitting on September, how to calculate for proof of fund?
    how much Canadian $ i need to show in bank?

    2. Let say if i need to show $17011
    can i show $ 10000 as cash in bank and $7000 as my vacant land property document ?

    your response is much appreciated

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi,
    1.To show the Canadian equivalence of your fund from your foreign currency, you can visit a fore exchange website (ex. http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/) and convert it according to the rate of the day. Indicate it at your settlement fund summary.

    2. Proof of fund can be in a form of cash, documents that show property or capital payable to you (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.) or documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money, which are payable to you (such as bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders). So, you can show your cash and the vacant property title as POF.


    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben, are credit card debts included in the Liabilities section? Thanks!

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    Thanks for the valuable information provide in the last responses.

    My situation is like I have more than settlement amount in my bank accounts. But I have a home loan running from last year and the remaining Loan amount is more than the Settlement Amount.
    Also I have few other properties whose market value is much much higher than the Settlement Amount.

    In that case can I submit my property valuation certificate as the Assets.
    and home loan and a personal loan as the Liabilities.

    Best Regards
    Vivek





    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi Vivek, I just answered this question from Madel, just above the comments. Please check if it's clear. Let me know.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben, are credit card debts included in the Liabilities section? Thanks!

    Reply

    Ben Alagnam said...

    It's for you to decide, if you want to include it, it's fine...but it will directly affect your settlement fund.

    I suggest that you do not include your credit debts in your liabilities. Because, your aim is to increase your total settlement funds not the other way around.

    But, of course, make sure that you pay your debts before going to Canada. :D

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben!

    I'm only sharing a room in an HDB. Should I declare it? I don't have any contracts from the main tenant.

    - Judith

    Ben Alagnam said...

    HI Judith, there is no need to declare a bedspace or even the whole room. It was not required at the forms other than the address.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    I have a unit linked insurance plan and a government bond which will be payed out to me only in 2017. But this is a guaranteed and unencumbered amount. Can this be shown as proof of funds?

    Thanks,
    Thomas

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi Thomas,

    Yes, it's included as stated in the Proof of Fund requirement "documents that show property or capital payable to you (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.)".

    I have a Mutual Fund/Insurance, I included it in my POF.

    anil kumar said...

    hi i have doubt, i am applying for FSW programme.i donot have sufficient fund for settlement fund for requirement.can i borrow money from brother and deposit in my account.that money i will keep as settlement fund.please reply

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Canada does not allow a settlement fund from a borrowed money. I know some people do this. It's an option for them but not recommended.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    How dangerous is this? Because I've known a lot of people doing this. They barrow money to declare as their settlement fund and pay it after finding a job in Canada. Any cases you know that was denied due to settlement fund being borrowed from another person/bank.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    It's for you to decide, but I don't recommend this. It might have a problem in the future, I don't know what it is. Better follow the rules of the FSW Program.

    It is clearly stated by CIC that settlement fund should be unencumbered (free of debt or financial liability).

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,
    Thanks for all of this information. I am from India

    1. in Assets - I have property - an apartment in good city in posh area - worth of CAD $80,000 + Saving Account in bank of around $2000
    2. in Liabilities - I have Home Loan on that apartment worth of $42,000
    3. in settlements - what amount should I write ?
    so what letters would be required to show the proof for 1 & 2
    for 1st - I am getting Govt Authorized Valuers certificate to get the market value of my apartment
    & bank certificate to show account opened date & balance on that date of issuing the certificate
    and for 2nd - I am getting certificate/statement from loan provider bank showing remaining balance on my loan

    will that be all ok and summary page from your google drive as per my requirement

    Please reply.

    Thanks,
    AC

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi AC, you are exactly doing the right thing for the proof of 1 and 2. Then you have to do this formula

    Settlement Funds = Assets - Liabilities
    Settlement Funds = (80,000+2,000) - (42,000)
    Settlement Funds = USD40,000

    All of your assets should be under your name.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    Can we show a sponsor for the settlement funds, like a father/mother or someone, who is willing to sponsor the principal applicant along with funds already available with the principal applicant? If yes, then how do we present the documents?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Sponsors for your settlement funds are not allowed/required by Canada. The funds should be from you and not borrowed.

    Anonymous said...

    Thank for the knowledge that you are sharing on FSW thorough your blog.

    Think, I borrow my money from someone and provide a Bank certificate with my application.Should I maintain the balance until the my visa approved or can i debit from that account?At a later stage will they(CIC or VO) request a bank statement providing detailed transactions?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Other applicants follow this move and I totally don't recommend.

    Canada will probably request the history if your account is suspicious. It's up to you to decide.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    I have a property in Singapore. How to show(prove) the asset value ?
    For liabilities?

    It is necessary for Asset -liabilities to be equal to settlement funds?

    Thanks.
    Mike

    Ben Alagnam said...

    You can get an price valuation for that property from a 3rd party assessors to prove it as whole market price of your unit as Asset and the remaining balance mortgage from your developer or HDB as Liabilities.

    Settlement funds = Assets - Liabilities

    Anonymous said...

    I have land worth CAD$ 8500 of my spouse, my gold worth CD$4500, and Cash in bank approx CAD$ 20,000. My questions are:
    1. what amount I will show under "Assets" and "Settlement Funds" in schedule 3 form?
    2. how to provide the proof of land and gold?
    Thanks

    Anonymous said...

    hi..will it be possible that all POF are documents,, like land title, insurance, educational insurance in cash, and benefits from the company ( graduity) the benefits is enough for the POF. but no cash on bank.
    can you send me the link pls. thanks

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    I'm single and applying for FSW. My family (parents & siblings) are not gonna accompany me. So my settlemend fund should be for 1 person only or should I based it from family members?


    Thanks

    Thanks

    saima said...

    hi i am the main applicant..can i show my hubbyz( who is accompanying me) bank certificate as POF??and secondly we have a business (a Mart) with investment of approximately 1 cror PKR...can we show that as POF?

    Unknown said...

    if your parents and siblings are not accompanying you, then you will have to show settlement fund for 1 person only :)

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Saimaaman Khan, either your relatives will come or will not come, principal applicants are required to show the settlement funds of his/her dependents.

    Anonymous said...

    recalling the post above: for married and with common-in-law partner and with children, requires to show the full family settlement funds. For single, for you only..

    Anonymous said...

    HI, My fiancé and I are applying for FSW, I am applying as principal applicant. When completing the assets can I use the value of his house as an asset even though it is not in my name? ?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    NO, should be under your name.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    As long as it belong/owned to/by you, it can be shown as POF.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    1. Assets = land + gold + cash
    Settlement Fund = Assets - Liabilities

    2. provide land title and gold certificate and attach a copy of the current price of gold in the market.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben, If I have enough money for settlement funds, do I have to mention liabilities at all? I have a loan on my house only. Then Is there a need to provide a proof of that liabilities ?Lets say I have cash available - 18,100 can.dollars,then house worth of 60000 can. dollars and loan 18000 can. dollars. How much is settlement funds? Is 18,100 my settlement funds as it is a liquid money? What if I will not
    mention my liabiliets, is a big issue?Thanks for answer

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben,

    You mentioned that POF should be in primary applicant's name. Based on what I read POF can be can be in primary applicant's account or accompanying spouse, anyway its conjugal property right? Do you agree? Thanks.

    Unknown said...

    Hi there, I am planning to move with my wife. I am confused with 3 things -
    1) can a fixed deposit of my wife name - about 15000 canadian dollars will be enough as show money?
    2) for how long this FD has to be maintained after I apply for PR means - from starting till the end or in between I can use this funds?
    3) I have a house the current value is about 100000 CAD but I have a loan - mortgage of about 26000 CAD - will this mean that I need to have a show money of 26000 + 15000 CAD ? or only 15000CAD will be enough since value of property is more than my liability

    Anonymous said...

    Hello Ben,

    First, I'd like to commend you for creating this blog. It really helps a lot of migrating people with the same financial concerns.

    Mine would be:
    I am planning to submit an application to Nova Scotia though one of their provincial nominee programs this coming Jan 2015. I scanned through their application forms and a single applicant is required to have around P500,000. I'm wondering if it's okay to present a certificate from a community cooperative. Are you familiar with FICCO? here's the link: ficco.weebly.com. I've been saving and have some shares in this institution since I was in college. I do have a bank account in BDO where my monthly salaries are deposited but I kept transferring my funds to my account in FICCO. I don't have credits from loans or any other liabilities but I don't have major assets like land properties aside from my savings.

    Do you think that showing them a certificate from FICCO would suffice the required proof of funds?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    You can add the FICCO certificate as your POF. But, it is not guaranteed as a proof alone as you need to provide a letter stating the liquidity of that savings. Try to ask for that letter.

    You also should have a bank account where you can ask for a bank certificate. It's recommended.

    Anonymous said...

    Ok then, thank you for your reply.

    Unknown said...

    Hi Ben is it ok to show bank certificate of my current account with enough funds??will that be acceptable??or i will have to provide any proof as to from this amount came in to my account?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    The only requirement for bank accounts is a certificate from the bank, no more no less.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben, I am going to apply under Federal Skilled Worker Class. I have 3 bank accounts (all current) which in total make the amount required as settlement fund. I booked a plot on installments this year and I have paid few installments of it and remaining will be paid by me in 4 years on every 3rd month. Does this come under my liability and I should mention it? Can I show this plot in my asset? If it comes under my liability and I can't show it in my asset then my settlement fund will go down to negative value however I will be paying my installments from my incoming monthly salary. Please guide me what should I write in my liability and asset in this case.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi, I suggest that you ask help from a certified accountant.

    @Accountants: If someone here is an accountant, Please help me with this.

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Ben, I have shown certificate of savings account while applying for fswp 2014, now can I move the money to Fixed Deposit in the same account with the same bank. How does the VO check for proof of finds after receiving my application, do they have privilege to check my bank account balance, or will they ask me to provide POF later during processing my application. I would like to know if moving my amount from saving account to fixed deposit will affect my application. Thanking you in advance for your suggestion.

    Regards,
    Suresh

    Ben Alagnam said...

    If CIO will check your account, that will affect your application. Don't move it...you can withdraw a small portion but not everything.

    Anonymous said...

    Bro,

    I had sufficient money when i applied.however subsequently i bought a property for 22,000 usd.now i have Bernanke asked to provide pcc,medical and last 3 month bank statement.I do not have sufficient funds in bank.less thanx requiere.can i show the property deed and part of money in the bank.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    HI Dushyant,
    For Cash - Bank Certificates showing amount and date opened (original copies)
    Gold - Gold Certificates (certified copies)
    Property - Land titles or Contract Agreement (certified copies)

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Show this link to your agent and let them interpret:

    http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/funds.asp
    "These funds could be in the form of:
    *cash
    *documents that show property or capital payable to you (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.) or
    *documents that guarantee payment of a set amount of money, which are payable to you (such as bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders)."

    In my opinion, Gold(99.9%) is a physical asset and should be considered the same as property. It is money and almost liquid.

    ITR (Income Tax Returns) were not required by the CIC when I applied for FSW. Please check the latest document checklist of CIC if they'd included such document. Rule of thumb, you should only show documents when requested, no more no less. This is just my opinion.

    ilovemapleleaf said...

    Hi. I have a bank account which is 3 mos old now but my problem is i deposited my proof of funds short of 2 days to make it 3 months by the time I will be applying on January 2016. Would still consider it okay?
    (90 days old in the bank, will that beconsiderable instead of 92 days [October 2, 2015 January 2, 2016]. Thanks!)

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi ILML, If it's your money in there, no worries. From the time they review your documents, your account would be months old. Three months is the ideal age for your account. The reason was that some applicants borrow money, deposit it today and apply a bank certificate tomorrow. This is not acceptable because you should not borrow from anyone for your POF. Put yourself in the Officer's shoes and ask "Where did you get the money from and for all the years you've been holding your money, why open a bank account just now?". If you invested it somewhere else like stocks, bonds, properties, etc...prepare to show this when requested. Just my thoughts...

    ilovemapleleaf said...

    Thanks. Yes. It will be in the bank until it needs to be. My bank account is 6 mos old. I have some money in stocks and few land properties. Do I still need to include all of those even my money in the bank is sufficient for the required amount of proof of funds?

    Libra85 said...

    Hi
    First of all thanks for sharing such a great knowledge and addressing an important topic.
    I would like to ask a question related to my scenario.
    I have 3 bank accounts
    • 1 Saving Account in PKR
    • 1 Payroll Account in PKR
    • 1 Saving Account in USD

    I opened my USD account recently i.e. 3-11-2015 (less than 3 month old) and deposited 14000 USD, I received these USD’s from my father in law as gift and I will not be returning it in the future.

    My PKR accounts are more than 3 months old but have less money than required.
    Please suggest, what information I should provide to the Canadian authorities so as to avoid any objection.
    From your post’s I have understood that I should provide statement of all these bank account, with documentary proof of the gift from my father in law i.e. Gift Deed. Please give your suggestion and correct me if my understanding is wrong.

    Regards

    Unknown said...

    Hi Ben,
    I have been reading your blogs all day and it's very helpful.

    I'm currently a PR here in SG for more than 6 years. Can i use my CPF statement as a proof of funds? I will withdraw it anyway if i get my PR resindency in CA.

    Thanks in advance.

    Jay

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Yes Jay, you can include CPF. Provide a copy of your CPF contributions with your application.

    ArJay said...

    Hi Ben,

    My savings in my account is not enough for settlement fund, however I have properties in the Philippines. Land and currently constructing a new house which is 97% completed as of today(may be a month or 2 before its completion). Savings plus properties will be more than the POF requirement.
    The land and the construction of this new house came solely from my savings, if I’m going to file my application for FSW as of this date my liability will be 3%(as far as I understand). FYI,this is in progress billing with the contractor.
    If I will file my application upon completion of the house construction the liability will be zero.

    My queries are:
    1) Is zero liability acceptable by CIC?

    2)For the land, as I go through this forum, a land title will do as proof, should I declare the amount stated on deed of sale or property valuation is appropriate?

    3)For the new house the legal document will be a property valuation certificate?, browsed the internet and a lot of property valuation companies in the Philippines thinking if CIC has its own accredited valuers, any company that you can recommend?

    Thanks for the posts this is very informative, hope to hear from you soon.

    Arjay

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi ARJAY,
    1. Zero liability is the best financial status for an immigrant/everyone.
    2. Property valuation is appropriate.
    3. Not sure if property valuation cert is considered as legal document, please ask a lawyer. There is no accredited property valuators by CIC, present proper documents that shows legitimacy of such valuators.
    Note: Please read my Disclaimer page.

    JustPJ said...

    hello sir Ben. it's me JustPJ of P2C and ourcanadadreamdiary blog. thank you very much for your email link of your SF sample. so happy to share that we already received an ITA from CIC last 12/18/2015. Thank you for your blog. It helps us a lot in our applications. God bless.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi PJ, CONGRATS! What a good news! If you come in Toronto, please let me know and hope to meet you here.

    Unknown said...

    Dear Sir,
    Very informative piece. I have a doubt and I would be glad if you can advice me on this matter. I am presently working in Dubai and I have my salary account here where my salary is credited every month. However I remit a good amount of this money to my Indian savings account as I am an Indian citizen. Can I submit my Indian bank statement as proof of my funds or do I have to show my U.A.E account as I generally don't keep any money in my U.A.E bank account.
    Regards
    Yasmeen

    Ben Alagnam said...

    I suggest to provide a certificate from the Indian Bank and if there's anything left on your UAE bank account, get one as well.

    Unknown said...

    Thanks so much,

    Regards
    Yasmeen

    Sahil said...

    Hi,

    I am an Indian currently in UAE and travelling on mid march. I have been told by my agency about forex cards and/or travellers cheque as an option to show as settlement funds. My question is, if I choose some amount in forex card and some as cash in hand, how will be prove to immigration officer the balance on the card...

    Ronak said...

    Hi Ben,

    I have couple of ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan) on my and my wife's name.Can this be used as proof of funds. Also, i have some amount in stock(shares), can we show that too?

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Include documents that show property or capital payable to you (such as stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills, etc.). If the Unit Linked Insurance Plan has an investment, then you can include that also.

    Unknown said...

    Hi Ben,

    I am also having a ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan) as an investment and want to include this as part of my settlement fund and the remaining balance i can submit my bank statement. Will it be considered as my settlement fund. Part from ULIP and remaining from bank statement?
    Appreciate your view and feedback.

    Umar

    Ben Alagnam said...

    HI Umar, What I know about ULIP is that when you withdraw the investment in that plan, it will be considered as a loan. Loans are not considered as settlement funds.

    Please check with your ULIP agent about that.

    Unknown said...

    Hi Ben,

    Thank you for your blog. But I just want to clarify one thing. We just got out Visa and about to leave by next month with my family. We are planning to bring a cash amounting to 5,000 CAN $, a bank certificate from the Philippines which is more than the minimum amount for a family of 3 and a land title here in the Philippines as POF. Question is, do we need to convert our money to/and open a USD account since that's the only currency that our bank is catering for foreign account to show it to the Canadian Immigration when we land to Canada or is it okay if we leave our money in the bank as PhP?

    And one more thing, what else do we need to show to the Canadian Immigration RE: our property? Is the Land Title enough or do we need to present the Absolute deed of sale?

    Hoping yo hear from you soon.

    Thank you,
    Ghazeeey

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Hi Ghazeeey, leave your money as PHP in your bank. Bring both but don't show it unless they ask.

    Derp said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Derp said...

    Hello! Thank you for all the valuable info you've given. I've got a question, I've got a joint fixed deposit account with both my parents and I have contributed to the account as well, however since its a joint fd I will get a notarized letter stating that my parents have given me the right to access funds for his Canadian application and cost of living expenses and have no objection to use CAD 13,000 for the same. Please advice if this is acceptable to OINP/CIC for proof of funds as I don't want to unnecessarily open a new FD account on my name with a gift deed from my parents. Please let me know, if this isn't acceptable, how I could potentially prove that these FDs can be my source of funds.
    Thanks 😃

    Shells said...

    Hi Ben, What if this money is gifted to you by your parents and not lent. Sorry to reopen an old conversation.

    Unknown said...

    Hello Ben,

    Thank you for sharing your experience through your blog. I have the same case with Anonymous. My parents sold their vehicle in order to help me with my funds and they made an official deed of donation to support my application. I also have a copy of their deed of sale. The deposit was made around 5 days before the date of the bank statement and certificate. Are those documents sufficient? Is their anything else that I need to submit aside from those documents (including my bank certificate and bank statements)

    Also, I currently have a loan in UAE which I pay monthly. Do I need to declare this as well even if I have enough funds in my PH bank?

    Regards,

    Jay

    Unknown said...

    Does cash value of life insurance can be considered under settlement funds

    Unknown said...

    how much latest bank statement for Canada Visa

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Please ask a certified accountant regarding this question.

    Ben Alagnam said...

    Here's the link for the latest proof of fund.

    https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/proof-funds.html

    Unknown said...
    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
    zaroon shah said...

    I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. Cost of living in Canada

    Ben Alagnam - MeMovingToCanada