Revised figures of Settlement Fund for 2020 by Canadian Government

If you want to apply for Canadian permanent residence through the Express Entry system, you must take into consideration the increased settlement fund. The Government of Canada has slightly increased the sum total of funds required by skilled workers in order to immigrate to Canada. The settlement fund figures are adjusted by the government annually.

Settlement Funds: A Brief Overview

What is a Settlement Fund? – Settlement Fund is the amount of money that an applicant requires in order to support himself and his family members in Canada. Immigration candidates need to have enough money to pay for initial costs, such as accommodation, food and other things. Settlement Fund is the amount that a person owns in the form of Savings in Banks, fixed deposits, stock investment, mutual fund and provident fund. Assets are not included in the list of Proof of Funds (POF). An applicant must have the ownership of settlement fund. It can not be borrowed from any other person. And, it is mandatory to provide documents such as bank statements. Note: If a candidate has a genuine job offer, he/she is exempt from the necessity to have settlement fund. The Express Entry system enables the applicants to apply for permanent residence through its three major immigration programs:

Federal Skilled Worker Class
Federal Skilled Trades Class
Canadian Experience Class

A potential candidate, applying through Federal skilled workers class and Federal skilled trades class, needs to show proof of funds. Meaning that, he/she should have enough funds to sustain his/her livelihood without any job offer. Candidates who apply through the Canadian Experience Class and have a job offer are not required to have settlement funds. Following table shows the increase for 2020:

Number of family members	2019 amount (in Canadian dollars)	2020 amount	Increase
1	$12,669	$12,960	$291
2	$15,772	$16,135	$363
3	$19,390	$19,836	$446
4	$23,542	$24,083	$541
5	$26,701	$27,315	$614
6	$30,114	$30,806	$692
7	$33,528	$34,229	$701
Each additional family member	$3,414	$3,492	$78

The amount of funds required keeps updating every year and depends on the size of the family specified on an application for permanent residence. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) allows the following family members to be listed on the application:

The principal applicant;
Dependent children of the principal applicant;
Spouse or partner; and
Spouse’s dependent children

IRCC has encouraged applicants to keep themselves updated with the new figures in order to make sure that they meet the required settlement funds of the Express Entry class under which they apply for permanent residence.