IEC - Proof of Funds on arrival to Canada

Bouileb

Hi all

I will be travelling in Cuba/ Mexico for 3 weeks before arriving in Toronto in early September - therefore I will miss the whole having a valid bank statement/ letter issued within a week of arriving in Canada!

Anyone in a similar situation in the past have hassle on entry to Canada in terms of not having a bank statement less than a week old ? I also don't want all my money in my current account for fear my bank card will get skimmed as has happened me before while travelling - therefore would a savings account statement/ screen shot from on-line banking suffice?

Hate all these stupid technical questions !

Cheers for any advice

jaymcg91

I read somewhere on here that someone showed their online banking to the guy at immigration and they were allowed through!

krudler

Screenshot of your bank balance is sufficient, they didnt ask me for bank details or insurance and from what I've heard thats the norm, but better safe than sorry

SeaDaily

Just out of interest, how much is it that they require you to have in your bank account? I read somewhere that it is €1800ish?

goingitalone

SeaDaily wrote: »

Just out of interest, how much is it that they require you to have in your bank account? I read somewhere that it is €1800ish?

not being smart but there is a sticky with a faq and im sure its probably in there and i mean could ya not just googled . but yeah 2500 cad . and that just minimum requirements i wouldn't be going without at least 4 times that .

SeaDaily

goingitalone wrote: »

not being smart but there is a sticky with a faq and im sure its probably in there and i mean could ya not just googled . but yeah 2500 cad . and that just minimum requirements i wouldn't be going without at least 4 times that .

haha yeah it is in the faq, on the tenth line in fact, that is probably where I read originally I just totally forgot about the faq for a moment there. Im more wondering though if this is a hard and fast rule or is it just a recommendation. Like if you had 2499 cad in your account they are hardly going to turn you away are they?

SeaDaily

goingitalone wrote: »

and that just minimum requirements i wouldn't be going without at least 4 times that .

Sorry only just reading the end of your post there. 10000 cad?! Are you taking the piss? I'll be lucky to have 2500 cad never mind 10000 when i head over.

krudler

SeaDaily wrote: »

Sorry only just reading the end of your post there. 10000 cad?! Are you taking the piss? I'll be lucky to have 2500 cad never mind 10000 when i head over.

You'll blow through that in no time, especially in the big cities. Toronto is really expensive so unless you get a job and place to live within a few days of landing expect to wade through that in a flash. I got to Toronto on a Wednesday with 500 CAD in my pocket and it was gone by the Monday after, and I wasn't even going mental with it. That was food and a few touristy things, no shopping.

If you get an apartment first and last months rent is standard, so that could be a grand or more right there. I really wouldn't advice coming over here on the bare minimum, bring enough to cover you for a few months.

SeaDaily

krudler wrote: »

You'll blow through that in no time, especially in the big cities. Toronto is really expensive so unless you get a job and place to live within a few days of landing expect to wade through that in a flash. I got to Toronto on a Wednesday with 500 CAD in my pocket and it was gone by the Monday after, and I wasn't even going mental with it. That was food and a few touristy things, no shopping.

If you get an apartment first and last months rent is standard, so that could be a grand or more right there. I really wouldn't advice coming over here on the bare minimum, bring enough to cover you for a few months.

I plan on going to Vancouver with friends for the three months of next summer. We'll have accommodation set up before we head over and from what I hear it's relatively easy to get some low paid summer jobs when you arrive. I know for a fact I won't be going over with any more than 2500 cad so I guess I'll report back this time next year with how I got on!

goingitalone

SeaDaily wrote: »

I plan on going to Vancouver with friends for the three months of next summer. We'll have accommodation set up before we head over and from what I hear it's relatively easy to get some low paid summer jobs when you arrive. I know for a fact I won't be going over with any more than 2500 cad so I guess I'll report back this time next year with how I got on!

Vancouver renting wise too seems to be more expensive then Toronto too.but nope not taking rhe piss at all ya be surprised how much thing ya don't even think about add up. It's actually harder to get a job during the summer too . With allot of Canadian students taking up those lower paid summer jobs

SeaDaily

goingitalone wrote: »

Vancouver renting wise too seems to be more expensive then Toronto too.but nope not taking rhe piss at all ya be surprised how much thing ya don't even think about add up. It's actually harder to get a job during the summer too . With allot of Canadian students taking up those lower paid summer jobs

I just can't wrap my head around how you would end up spending almost 7000 euro in three months. Seems like a ridiculous figure. Also I know of people who went over for this summer and secured three jobs and came back having more money than they went over with. Where are the discrepancies between theirs and yours experiences coming from?

circular flexing

SeaDaily wrote: »

I just can't wrap my head around how you would end up spending almost 7000 euro in three months. Seems like a ridiculous figure. Also I know of people who went over for this summer and secured three jobs and came back having more money than they went over with. Where are the discrepancies between theirs and yours experiences coming from?

Put another way: would you come to Dublin with only 1800 euro in your pocket and no job or accommodation pre-arranged? It's a similar question.

Also, a lot of people going over are not necessarily looking for "low paid" work, they might be looking for something relevant to their course or career and in that case it's always worth having a contingency.

I guess your situation of being a student going over for three months is probably where the discrepancy is coming from.

CBCB2

SeaDaily wrote: »

I just can't wrap my head around how you would end up spending almost 7000 euro in three months. Seems like a ridiculous figure. Also I know of people who went over for this summer and secured three jobs and came back having more money than they went over with. Where are the discrepancies between theirs and yours experiences coming from?

I can't speak to your friends experiences but I agree with the poster about $2,500 not really getting you too far. If you think Dublin is expensive wait until you get to Canada, everything here costs money.

It will be at least $1k for first and last months rent, then transport is more expensive, food is more expensive, if you haven't had an account before typically you have to pay 12 months deposit for both electricity and gas.

Pay here is typically every 2 weeks but there is a time lag, so for example today I got paid for what I worked 14-25th July. It's always the two weeks behind, so you'll be waiting a month for your first pay check. When I started there was an issue with my form, so I missed the cut off, so I ended up being 6 weeks in before I got paid.

I got an 18 month contract so I'm kind of in a different situation, but even with applying before I left I was still here for 2 months before I got a job.

I came with 3-4 times the recommended and thought once I started work I'd have money left to buy a wee run around car. I had to save up after I started work.

So I'd say having as much as you can is good advice!

SeaDaily

CBCB2 wrote: »

I got an 18 month contract so I'm kind of in a different situation, but even with applying before I left I was still here for 2 months before I got a job.

I came with 3-4 times the recommended and thought once I started work I'd have money left to buy a wee run around car. I had to save up after I started work.

So I'd say having as much as you can is good advice!

Yeah you're in a totally different situation to be fair. As I said before I'm going over for the three months for the summer as an alternative to the J1. You mention you were saving for a car over there. This just couldn't be more different to what I plan on doing there which is renting a small place with 3 friends and working for the three months anywhere I can find work.

circular flexing wrote: »

Put another way: would you come to Dublin with only 1800 euro in your pocket and no job or accommodation pre-arranged? It's a similar question.

As I said before I will have accommodation and hopefully a job pre-arranged before I go over.

How much is rent generally per month in Vancouver? We plan on having 3 of us or more in an apartment and looking around online it looks as if this could easily be done for less than 600 cad each per month. So that 1800 cad for three months. That leaves 700 cad over from the 2500 I'd be bringing over. Then if I were to get a job somewhere for only 2 months let's say, at 10 cad an hour and I were to work for 25 hours a week that would give me 2000 cad over the three months. That would mean I would have 2700 to spend over there which seems like plenty to me tbh. On food I think I could easily get away with spending less than 100 cad a week which still leaves lots of money over to spend on other things.

Is there anyone here who can weigh in here as a student who only went over for three months in regards to how much you survived on?

CBCB2

SeaDaily wrote: »

As I said before I will have accommodation and hopefully a job pre-arranged before I go over.

Is there anyone here who can weigh in here as a student who only went over for three months in regards to how much you survived on?

Sorry I can't comment on Vancouver I'm in Ontario.

Just a quick question for you, what visa is it you're getting for the 3 months? I didn't know there was a Canadian equivalent of the J1. Or do you plan on getting the IEC and only using it for the 3 months? Just I know someone was planning to come here as a student this summer but the thought the only visa they could get was the IEC & they didn't want to waste the 2 years so they're waiting until they finish college & doing the 2 years then.

Crann na Beatha

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