Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced an increase in the cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants, effective January 1, 2024.

From January 1st, a single study permit applicant will need to demonstrate the ability to cover $20,635 for living expenses. This is in addition to the cost of the first year’s tuition and travel expenses, and it applies to applications received on or after January 1st.

This new requirement is a significant increase from the current $10,000 threshold, set in the early 2000s and unchanged since then.

IRCC acknowledges that the previous financial requirement has not kept pace with the rising cost of living in Canada, leading to situations where students find their funds insufficient upon arrival.

Furthermore, starting from January 1st, the cost-of-living requirement will be adjusted annually in line with updates to the low-income cut-off (LICO) by Statistics Canada. LICO represents the minimum income needed in Canada to avoid allocating a disproportionately large portion of income to basic necessities.

The new financial requirements will also be applied to the Student Direct Stream (SDS), which offers expedited processing for study permit applicants from 14 specific countries.

IRCC believes that updating the cost-of-living requirement will reduce student vulnerability and exploitation. However, it also recognizes the varied impact on potential applicants and plans to launch targeted pilots next year to assist underrepresented groups of international students.