How Much Money Do I Need to Show for Express Entry in 2026?

Settlement funds are a minimum requirement of the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. They are IRCC's way of checking you can support yourself when you arrive.

You do not need them if you are applying under the Canadian Experience Class. You also do not need them if you are authorized to work in Canada and hold a valid job offer, even under the skilled worker or trades programs.

One catch: the system asks everyone to upload a proof of funds document anyway. If you are exempt, you upload a letter instead, explaining that you were invited under CEC, or that you have a valid job offer and can work in Canada.

IRCC's current table, marked as updated July 7, 2025, sets the minimum by family size. One person: $15,263. Two: $19,001. Three: $23,360. Four: $28,362. Five: $32,168. Six: $36,280. Seven: $40,392. Each person after seven adds $4,112.

IRCC updates these figures every year, based on half of the low income cut-off. If you have more than the minimum, list the full amount in your profile.

Yourself, your spouse or common-law partner, your dependent children, and your spouse or partner's dependent children. You must count them even if they are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and even if they are not coming to Canada with you. A single applicant whose spouse and child stay home is still a family of three for this table.

Official letters from every bank or financial institution where you hold an account, printed on the institution's letterhead. Each letter must show the institution's address, phone number and email, your name, your outstanding debts such as credit cards and loans, and for every account: the account number, the date it was opened, the current balance, and the average balance over the past six months.

The six-month average is the part that catches people. A lump sum that arrived last month does not lift the average much, and an officer will see that.

Money you borrowed from someone else. Equity in property. Anything you cannot legally access when you arrive in Canada.

Money in a joint account with a spouse who is coming with you counts. Money in an account in your spouse's name alone may count, but you have to prove you can access it.

The funds must be there twice: when you apply, and again when IRCC issues the permanent resident visa. Spending them down between the two puts the approval at risk.

IRCC says the system may find you eligible for more than one program, and you do not always know in advance which one you will be invited under. Someone who expects a CEC invitation but is invited under the skilled worker program suddenly needs the funds. Keep the amount in your profile up to date so an invitation does not arrive with a requirement you cannot meet.

We count the family correctly, check the six-month history before the letters are requested, and look for anything an officer would read as borrowed. If the funds are short, we check whether a valid job offer or the Canadian Experience Class takes the requirement away altogether.