Canada will raise the financial requirement for international students applying for study permits from September 1, 2026, with a single applicant now required to show C$23,448 to cover living expenses.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced the increase on Friday as part of its annual adjustment of financial requirements, aimed at keeping pace with the cost of living and protecting international students from exploitation.
The amount required for living expenses is separate from tuition fees and transportation costs, which applicants must also demonstrate they can afford.
IRCC said the new requirement for a single student outside Quebec will rise to C$23,448 from September 1, up from C$22,895 for applications submitted between January 1, 2025, and August 31, 2026. This represents an increase of C$553, or about 2.4 percent.
For students travelling with family members, the required amount increases according to the number of family members accompanying them. The requirement will be C$29,192 for two family members and C$35,888 for three family members.
It will rise to C$43,572 for four family members, C$49,419 for five, C$55,736 for six, and C$62,054 for seven. For each additional family member beyond seven, applicants will need to demonstrate a further C$6,318 in living expenses.
These amounts cover living expenses only and do not include tuition fees or transportation costs.
IRCC said the financial requirements are reviewed annually to ensure they reflect changes in the cost of living in Canada.
“We update financial requirements for study permit applicants each year to keep pace with the cost of living and help protect international students from exploitation,” the immigration authority said.
Applicants must demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to cover tuition fees, living expenses, and transportation to and from Canada for themselves and any accompanying family members.
“For programs more than a year long, you must also tell us how you plan to pay for the full duration of your studies,” IRCC said.
Canada has been tightening its international student programme as part of efforts to reduce the number of temporary residents in the country.
In November 2025, the Canadian government reduced its 2026 study permit allocation to 408,000, comprising 155,000 permits for new international students and 253,000 extensions for existing students. The 2026 target was 7 percent lower than the 2025 target and 16 percent below the 2024 figure.
The government also planned to reduce new international student arrivals to 155,000 in 2026, down 49 percent from the 2025 target, before cutting the figure further to 150,000 in both 2027 and 2028.
In December 2025, the new international student arrivals had declined by 60 percent between January and September 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, representing 150,220 fewer students. The decline was attributed to measures including Canada’s cap on study permits and stricter requirements for international students.
By February 2026, Canada’s international student population had dropped by nearly 300,000 over two years. IRCC data showed that the number of international students fell by 273,570, or about 27.5 percent, between December 2023 and November 2025.
The latest increase in the financial requirement adds to the measures Canada has introduced as it seeks to reduce international student numbers and manage temporary migration.
The higher financial requirement comes as Nigerians continue to spend significant amounts on overseas education despite rising costs.
Nigerians spent $1.39 billion on foreign education in the first half of 2025, representing a 20 percent increase in dollar terms and a 38 percent rise in naira terms from the corresponding period in 2024, according to Central Bank of Nigeria data reported by Nairametrics.
The spending marked the highest H1 foreign education expenditure since 2021 and reflected continued demand among Nigerians for overseas education despite higher costs and naira depreciation.
