'No more $10,000' - Canada announces changes to proof of funds for students, Nigerians

The Canadian government has increased the cost of living Proof of Funds conditions for study permit applicants from other countries, including Nigeria, by 106.4% to $20,635.

The new procedure will apply to new study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024, a statement by the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated on Thursday, November 7, 2023.

Applicants to Canada need to show at least $10,000 in their bank accounts to prove that they can cope with the cost of living in the country.

Marc Miller, Canada’s minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, said in a statement that moving forward, the new threshold will be adjusted annually when Statistics Canada updates the low-income cut-off (LICO)

He said LICO is the minimum income required to ensure that individuals do not have to spend a greater-than-average portion of income on necessities.

According to Miller, the cost of living requirement for study permit applicants has stayed the same since the early 2000s, when it was established at $10,000 for a single applicant.

Per the statement, for 2024, a single applicant must show they have $20,635, representing 75% of LICO, in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs.

Miller said the change will apply to new study permit applications received on or after January next year.

BusinessDay reports that data from IRCC shows that India (175,021), Nigeria (43,482), the Philippines (21,902), China (14,975), and Nepal (12,776) were among the top five source countries of new international students coming to Canada in the first six months of 2023.

Reacting to the development, Uchechi Uzoegbu who moved to Alberta in Canada last year said she had always told Nigerian students wishing to come to the country to prepare. "Life in Canada is not what it used to be.

You have seen stories of foreign students living on the streets or living in squalid conditions. This is because they quickly exhausted the funds they came with," Uzoegbu told Legit.ng.

Temitope Adeoye told Legit.ng that the new requirement will put a strain on the finances of most Nigerians, especially the youths wishing to emigrate.

"When I came it was $10,000 and that was hardly enough because cost of living kept escalating."