Canada Study Permit: Sponsorship

Most applicants who apply for a study permit seek financial assistance from a family member or a close relative to help offset their educational expenses. A sponsor can be anyone; however, it is best when your sponsor is an immediate family member such as your parents, spouse, or siblings. If you plan to use a sponsor to aid your educational expenses, they must at least have more money in their bank account than what is required by The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for your tuition and living expenses. For instance, if your tuition and living expenses are CAN $25,000, your sponsor should have at least CAN $35,000 in their bank account. After giving you the CAN $25,000, they will have CAN $10,000 remaining.

Realistically, if the money in your sponsor’s bank account is the exact amount that you need for your educational expenses, the visa officer may wonder why this person would save up all their money and give it to you. When your sponsor gives you all the money in their bank account to study in Canada, what will they do if an emergency situation arises and they need some cash? Therefore, it will be more believable if your sponsor’s bank account reflects more than the required amount for your tuition and living expenses.

Likewise, it is best when your sponsor is your parent/s, spouse or a close relative. The reason for this is the visa officer may wonder why someone who is not a close relative would give you their life savings to study in Canada. Additionally, you must provide documentation to show your relation to your sponsor. For instance, if your mom is sponsoring you, you will need to submit your birth certificate so that the visa officer can see that your sponsor is your mom. In the event the relationship with your sponsor is not clearly established, the visa officer may ask himself, is it believable that this person who is a family member, friend or employer would give all this money to you to study in Canada?

When you are ready to submit your study permit application, your sponsor must give you a bank statement showing the amount of money they are sponsoring towards your educational expenses. Your sponsor will also need to provide a signed sponsorship letter that is notarized or stamped by a Justice of the Peace (JP). The purpose of the sponsorship letter is to show a commitment that your sponsor is willing to cover your tuition or living expenses while you are studying. If your sponsor cannot provide you with a bank statement with the required amount of money that they are paying towards your tuition or living expenses, it is unwise and often futile to apply for a study permit as it will be overlooked. Why would the visa officer grant you a study permit when it is not clear as to how you will be paying for the tuition and living expenses? Many applicants state that someone is sponsoring them, but fail to produce a bank statement.

When someone is sponsoring you, the visa officer will thoroughly review your application. The visa officer wants to make sure that funds will be available for the duration of your studies. Advisably, though someone will be sponsoring you, it is best to have savings available in your bank account, especially if you are traveling with your entire family. Please don’t rely on your sponsor for the entirety of your educational expenses. At least try to have some finances of your own, especially if your sponsor is not an immediate relative or extended family member.

The sponsor will need to provide a photocopy of the following documents:
• Bank statement/ 4-month transactional history.
• Passport (front page)
• Sponsorship letter
• A job letter, if employed
• Payslips for the past four (4) months (optional)
• Business registration, if the sponsor has a registered business.