How Much Settlement Money an Express Entry Applicant Actually Needs, by Family Size
Six weeks before you plan to submit an Express Entry profile is the right time to check this, not the week of. IRCC’s settlement funds table changes most years, and building your savings plan around last year’s number is a genuine way to end up short.
The current table for Express Entry settlement funds by family size
As read from IRCC’s own table, the current figures are: $15,263 for a single applicant, $19,001 for two family members, $23,360 for three, $28,362 for four, $32,168 for five, $36,280 for six, and $40,392 for seven, with each additional member beyond that adding $4,112. These settlement-fund minimums scale steadily by household size rather than in even jumps, and the jump between a family of one and a family of four — from roughly $15,000 to over $28,000 — is the range most South African applicants planning as a couple with children need to hold in mind.
Who is exempt from showing proof of funds
You do not need to show settlement funds at all if you’re applying under the Canadian Experience Class, or if you’re already authorised to work in Canada and hold a valid job offer — even if the system would otherwise place you under FSW or FST. There’s a practical wrinkle here worth knowing: IRCC currently asks every applicant to upload a proof-of-funds document regardless, so if you believe you’re exempt, you still need to upload a letter explaining why, rather than simply leaving the field blank.
How to count your family size correctly
Family size includes yourself, your spouse or common-law partner, and all dependent children — including your partner’s dependent children from elsewhere. Critically, you must count family members even if they’re Canadian citizens, already permanent residents, or not planning to come to Canada with you at all. Under-counting your household to hit a lower bracket isn’t a shortcut; it’s a documentation error that can cause problems later.
Why borrowed money and home equity don’t count
Funds have to be legally accessible to you, both when you apply and again when a visa is actually issued. Borrowed money doesn’t count, and equity sitting in a property doesn’t count either — IRCC wants proof of funds you can genuinely draw on, not assets you’d need to sell or a line of credit you’d need to activate.
How IRCC updates the table each year
IRCC states it refreshes these figures annually, based on 50% of Canada’s low income cut-off totals. As at 2 August 2026, the published table still carried a “Updated July 7, 2025” stamp — meaning a 2026 refresh looks overdue and could land at any time. When it does update, candidates already sitting in the pool are given a window to update their own proof-of-funds figure without losing their place in the queue by date received.
Treat any number here as a planning figure, not a guarantee tied to your own file — a licensed RCIC can flag anything specific to your situation that a general table can’t.
Cape2Canada’s cost-of-immigrating guides break down settlement funds alongside the other real expenses of the move.