Effective January 1, 2024, Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada will increase the cost of living requirement for study permit applicants. For single study permit applicants, the new cost-of-living requirement will be $20,635, in addition to the initial year’s tuition and travel expenses. This change applies to study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024.
The updated requirement represents a significant increase, more than doubling the previous amount of $10,000, which has remained unchanged since the early 2000s. Additionally, the department has announced that the cost of living requirement will be adjusted annually in line with Statistics Canada’s updates to the low income cut off (LICO). LICO serves as the benchmark for the minimum income necessary in Canada to ensure that individuals do not have to allocate an above-average portion of their income towards basic necessities.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that these new financial guidelines will also apply to the Student Direct Stream (SDS), a study permit stream designed to expedite processing for applicants from 14 specific countries effective January 1, 2024.
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