6-month average balance must exceed funds requirement? Declaration at the border.

[lampbreaker]

Here comes my problem. It is a big deal. My bank just told me, they cannot provide anything else than plain transaction-based statements. No averages or whatsoever. On top of that, all statements are in German only. My bank is not willing to provide "special" information, because they said, I would be the only one wanting something special. All they do is German bank statements. For 6 months this would be about 30 pages of statements spread over 6 PDFs.

Do you have any suggestions for this case?

Just not having 6 month balance in the letter or the way in which it is calculated is not a big deal.

Not having the letter at all and only having statements can be a big deal, depending upon the officer's discretion they may reject the application. I will advise explaining all this in a letter of explanation.

There is no workaround for translation. Translation does not need to be done by an 'official' person. A friend can do it, as long as they can provide all the necessary documentation like an affidavit. Also, being an European bank, if they can provide statements in French that will also work.

From https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5445-applying-permanent-resident-card-card-first-application-replacement-renewal-change-gender-identifier.html

Translation of documents
You must submit the following for any document that is not in English or French, unless otherwise stated on your document checklist:

• the English or French translation; and
• an affidavit from the person who completed the translation (see below for details); and
• a certified copy of the original document.

Important information: Translations must not be done by the applicants themselves nor by an applicant’s parent, guardian, sibling, spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, grandparent, child, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or first cousin.

Translators who are certified in Canada don’t need to supply an affidavit. A certified translator will provide both a certified translation and certified copies of the original documents.

An affidavit is a document on which the translator has sworn, in the presence of a person authorized to administer oaths in the country where the translator is living, that the contents of their translation are a true translation and representation of the contents of the original document.

The affidavit must be sworn in the presence of:

In Canada:

• a notary public
• a commissioner of oaths
• a commissioner of taking affidavits

Authority to certify varies by province and territory. Consult your local provincial or territorial authorities.

Outside of Canada:

• a notary public

Authority to administer oaths varies by country. Consult your local authorities.

Certified true copies
To have a photocopy of a document certified, an authorized person must (as described below) compare the original document to the photocopy and must print the following on the photocopy:

• “I certify that this is a true copy of the original document”,
• the name of the original document,
• the date of the certification,
• their name,
• their official position or title, and
• their signature.

Who can certify copies?
Only authorized people

Important information: Certifying of copies must not be done by the applicants themselves nor by an applicant’s parent, guardian, sibling, spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, grandparent, child, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or first cousin.

Persons authorized to certify copies include the following:

In Canada:

• a notary public
• a commissioner of oaths
• a commissioner of taking affidavits

Authority to certify varies by province and territory. Check with your local provincial or territorial authorities to learn who has the authority to certify.

Outside Canada:

• a notary public

Authority to certify international documents varies by country. Check with your local authorities to learn who has the authority to certify in your country.

 

[dr.josemrod]

You need to have the statements translated in English. I had the same problem with my German account. I ended up complaining to the manager and wrote a template for them with all the informations including the average balance (“Monatsendsaldo” for each month). After I complained they were finally able to sign it.

You can PMme if you have any specific questions how I handled it with that bank and the options you have
The Translation was about 10$ per page

This is a very good option.
You can always get the letter they provide and for the missing info get a bank statement for the balance under your account, if not a screenshot from your bank personal page (online).

For translations, do them yourself and offer a translator to just verify and certify for a lower price.

 

[flognity]

Just to give you an update for anyone, who has the same problems:

I called the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) of Germany to ask if a bank can refuse my request. They told me that the bank must consult with me about my balances, but it's not mandatory to hand out the information in a specific form. However, they advised me to write a letter or an e-mail to the board of directors and complain. This is exactly what I did and I told in the letter that I spoke with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority to generate some pressure. I googled the names and tried my luck with FirstName.LastName@CompanyName.de since the persons I contacted before had e-mail addresses with this pattern. It worked. The CEO (or probably his secretary) actually read my complaint.

Now, I'm holding a letter in my hand that apologizes and that states my monthly average balances and a 6-month-average balance for all my accounts.

The only drawback: It's in German. But I can get a translation.

 

[21Goose]

Just to give you an update for anyone, who has the same problems:

I called the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) of Germany to ask if a bank can refuse my request. They told me that the bank must consult with me about my balances, but it's not mandatory to hand out the information in a specific form. However, they advised me to write a letter or an e-mail to the board of directors and complain. This is exactly what I did and I told in the letter that I spoke with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority to generate some pressure. I googled the names and tried my luck with FirstName.LastName@CompanyName.de since the persons I contacted before had e-mail addresses with this pattern. It worked. The CEO (or probably his secretary) actually read my complaint.

Now, I'm holding a letter in my hand that apologizes and that states my monthly average balances and a 6-month-average balance for all my accounts.

The only drawback: It's in German. But I can get a translation.

Nicely done. This will be helpful to other people in your situation.