maran1976 said:
funds play a very important part. and they have to unencumbered.
visa officers are experts in profiling, whose funds are genuine, whose funds have been borrowed just to show for POF etc.
it depends on us to prove that these are unencumbered.
the best way to show this is through payslips, bank statements for over 6 months, which show your earning and saving capability, tax returns etc. Although, tax returns are not asked for in the checklist, I believe it helps, prove the point.
if you have used up your POF, dont put them back in one shot or a few shots of lumpsum.
build it back over months.
VO's ask for bank statements for past 6 months, when they ask for updated documents ( pre june 2010 and pre 2008).
"visa officers are experts in profiling, whose funds are genuine, whose funds have been borrowed just to show for POF etc."
Ah, I only wish this were the case. Sadly a great number of applicants still, fraudulently, borrow settlement funds and pretend it's their money, some of whom have even openly admitted to doing so on this forum. One guy a few days ago posted on here saying he was going to get a personal loan to show funds on landing because he admitted he didn't have the funds himself.
As you say funds DO play a very important part. It will likely take most immigrants several months to establish permanent professional work in Canada, and during that time the funds are needed to support them. If people turn up with borrowed funds then they are already arriving with substantial debt, which defeats the object of asking for the funds in the first place.
Anyway I digress
In response to the OP, proof of funds have to be shown with the other supporting documents when the applicant applies, and they may also be asked for when the applicant completes their record of landing (although not all applicants are asked at this stage, I believe it's something of a "spot check").
A good recommendation is too keep "most" of the funds available throughout the entire application's processing, since technically the visa office can ask to see proof of these at any time. Therefore if you do have to dib into the savings for any reason, try to make this only a small amount (up to 10% or so) which can easily be replaced if asked by the visa office to provide new proof of funds within 60 days.
The OP indicates their unencumbered funds are far more than the minimum required, in which case there is no problem. If they provide, for example, proof of $20,000 CAD with their application, when the minimum is say $15,000. If they then have to spend $4,000 CAD they can still show $21,000 when asked by the visa office. In other words, you only have to keep the minimum funds available, although it is strongly advised to take as much as possible when emmigrating.
Proof of funds are best as a bank letter backed up by at least 6 months statements to show that the money has not recently been deposited. Large recent deposits need to be explained.
Another frequently asked question is if funds can be provided by relatives/parents etc. The answer is yes, AS LONG as the funds are a gift and do not need to be repaid, and also in such circumstances the applicant should look into the tax applications of receiving such a large amount. Once again you can't borrow money for settlement funds (even from parents or relatives).
Erm, hope that helps!
Wayne.
