Canada guide 路 verified 2026-07-04
Cost of Studying in Canada: Tuition, Living and Proof of Funds
Money & proof of funds
Canada does not have Germany's fixed blocked-account model. IRCC instead sets a minimum cost-of-living figure the applicant must document holding, on top of first-year tuition and travel, and that minimum has been raised twice recently and reset with the end of SDS-era GIC shortcuts.
Cost-of-living minimum, single applicant
MandatoryCAD $22,895 (applications filed on/after 1 Sept 2025)
Applications filed before 1 Sept 2025 were assessed against the prior CAD $20,635 figure (set 1 Jan 2024, itself a large jump from the pre-2024 CAD $10,000 figure that had not moved since the early 2000s). IRCC intends to review this figure annually against Statistics Canada cost-of-living data, always check the live number before advising a family on how much to show.
What counts as proof
Bank statements, education loan documents, GIC, scholarship letters
Must be in addition to (not include) first-year tuition and return travel costs. A GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) from a Canadian bank remains a common, though no longer mandatory, way to demonstrate funds, it was central to the now-discontinued SDS route but can still be used under the standard stream.
Study permit + biometrics fees
CAD $150 + CAD $85 (2026)
Health insurance (mandatory, province-dependent)
MandatoryNo federal student health plan, arrange per province
British Columbia: study-permit holders with a permit valid 6+ months must join the provincial Medical Services Plan (MSP); a mandatory International Student Health Fee applies, and there is a wait of up to 3 months for MSP coverage to start, so private travel insurance is needed for that gap. Ontario has no equivalent public plan for international students, most Ontario universities require a mandatory private plan (e.g., UHIP) instead. Always confirm the current provincial/institutional requirement.
BC MSP coverage-start gap, exact mechanics
Balance of arrival month + 2 full months (up to ~3 months) before MSP starts
The wait is calculated from residency date, not a flat 90 days: an arrival on 30 September starts the clock at 1 October, and MSP coverage begins 1 January, so a student landing early in a month effectively waits closer to 3 months, one landing late in a month waits closer to 2. Interim private health/travel insurance (commonly CAD $40 to 80/month depending on plan and age) must bridge this gap; going without it means paying the full cost of any care out of pocket.
Student transport, U-Pass (mandatory, discounted, city-specific)
Conditionale.g. Metro Vancouver CAD $46.90/month (TransLink); University of Ottawa CAD $240.52/term
Most Canadian campuses in Metro Vancouver (UBC, SFU, and others) and many Ontario cities (Ottawa, Toronto-area, Waterloo Region) bundle a mandatory, deeply discounted local-transit pass into student fees, students cannot opt out except under narrow, institution-set exemptions (e.g., online-only enrolment, living outside the service area). The pass, price, and transit network are set locally, not nationally: budget the local figure per campus, not a single Canada-wide number, and check the specific university's ancillary-fee page before arrival.
No Canadian credit history on arrival, renting friction
Landlords often ask for a guarantor or extra deposit; workaround exists
New arrivals have no Canadian credit file, which can make landlords hesitant. Ontario law caps any rent deposit at one month's rent, usable only toward the final month (not damages), landlords cannot lawfully demand more 'as security' for lacking credit, though some still ask informally. Common workarounds: a Canadian-resident guarantor/co-signer, a paid third-party guarantor service, proof of the GIC/bank balance used for the study-permit application, or an offer to pre-pay a few months' rent. The same lack of credit history also complicates getting a postpaid mobile plan, prepaid SIMs or carrier 'newcomer' plans sidestep this in the first few months.
Document the cost-of-living amount correctly
MandatoryGather bank statements (usually with a minimum balance duration), an education loan sanction letter, a GIC certificate, and/or a scholarship letter totalling at least the current cost-of-living minimum, kept separate from the tuition and travel amounts, which are shown independently. Indian 'affidavits of support' alone are weak; a bank-verifiable instrument is stronger.
Decide whether a GIC makes sense without the SDS incentive
RecommendedSince the GIC's main draw (qualifying for the fast-track SDS) no longer exists, weigh a GIC purely on its own merits: it demonstrates funds cleanly and gives the student a starter Canadian bank relationship and a monthly living-cost drawdown after arrival, similar in spirit to Germany's blocked account, but it is not the only acceptable proof and is not mandatory.
Budget for province-specific health insurance from day one
MandatoryBecause there is no federal international-student health plan, confirm the destination province's rule before departure (e.g., BC's MSP + International Student Health Fee, with a gap to cover by private insurance; Ontario's institution-run UHIP-style plans). Missing this leaves the student uninsured for weeks after arrival.
Do not assume 'Canada has public healthcare' extends automatically to international students, coverage, timing, and fees vary sharply by province.Budget the local U-Pass fee and plan the first rental without Canadian credit
ConditionalAdd the campus-specific mandatory transit fee to the monthly budget, it is compulsory at most Metro Vancouver and many Ontario campuses and is billed alongside tuition, not optional. Separately, brief the student that the first rental will likely need a Canadian guarantor, a guarantor service, or extra rent paid upfront, because there is no Canadian credit file yet; Ontario caps any deposit at one month's rent for the final month only, but landlords elsewhere can still ask for more informally, so having the GIC/bank documents ready to show a landlord speeds things up.
This number has moved twice in under two years (2024, 2025) and IRCC has signalled further annual adjustments. Never quote a figure from memory or from last year's file, check the live IRCC financial-support page before a student funds their account.
Sources
- Study permit: Proof of financial support, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- Citizenship and immigration application fees: Fee list, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- Health fee for international students, Government of British Columbia
- Coverage wait period for the Medical Services Plan (MSP), Government of British Columbia
- U-Pass BC, fares and mandatory student fee, TransLink (Metro Vancouver regional transit authority)
- U-Pass BC / Compass Card, mandatory fee and exemptions, University of British Columbia (Campus & Community Planning)
- Interpretation Guideline 11, Rent Deposits (max one month's rent, last-month use only), Landlord and Tenant Board, Tribunals Ontario
Where this fits
This is one step of the full Canada journey: admission, tests, application, visa, money, arrival and stay-back, every figure cited to an official source.
More on Canada
Bramica is independent and takes no commission from any university, recruiter or agency. This page is information, not immigration advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change; confirm the current requirement on the official source before acting on it.