Can I use my husband's bank statement to apply for a visit visa to Canada. My husband is not travelling with me

Question

I am travelling with my daughter and mother-in-law. Can I use my husband's bank statement to show financial support for all of us while applying for a visit visa to Canada?

Answer 1

You Cannot Use Your Spouse's Bank Account if they Are Not Travelling with You

Unfortunately No. You can only use your partner's bank account as financial support for a Canadian visa if the partner travels with you. Ideally a better option would be for you to have a joint account. As always, make sure that the account supports your application by showing that your family leads a stable life at home. In addition, you will need to add supporting documents, including but not limited to:

• A letter from the bank indicating your ability to use the bank account at any time, in case of a joint account
• A letter from your partner stating that they are supporting you financially, in case of a separate account
• No Objection Certificate (NOC) signed by your spouse for the usage of funds
• Proof of relationship
• Proof of provenance of funds: tax returns, invoices, payslips, etc.

The documentation should detail the situation of all the applicants - you and your mother-in-law in this case. Quoting from the relevant Canadian Governmental website:

What we accept as proof

Funds must be readily available to you. For example, you can't use equity on real property as proof of settlement funds.

You also can’t borrow this money from another person. You must be able to use this money to pay the costs of living for your family (even if they aren’t coming with you).

If your spouse is coming with you, you can count money you have together in a joint account. You may be able to count money in an account under their name only, but you must prove you have access to the money.

The funds must be available both when you apply and when (if) we issue you a permanent resident visa. You must prove to an immigration officer that you can legally access the money to use here when you arrive.

For proof, you must get official letters from any banks or financial institutions where you’re keeping money.

Letter(s) must

• be printed on the financial institution’s letterhead
• include their contact information (address, telephone number and email address)
• include your name
• list outstanding debts such as credit card debts and loans
• include, for each current bank and investment account, the
  • account numbers
  • date each account was opened
  • current balance of each account
  • average balance for the past 6 months

What You Should Do

Since your partner is not travelling with you, you must use your own bank account. The same is true for your mother-in-law. If your spouse is paying for your expenses, then sufficient funds must be wired to your account, and an explanation of such a transfer must be provided with the application. Here is what the relevant Canadian Governmental site says about proof of funds:

Proof of funds

Purpose

To confirm whether the applicant meets the low-income cut-off (LICO), assessed by the amount of money they hold compared to the number of people in their family

Document requirements

• The applicant should provide an official letter(s) from one or more financial institutions that lists all current bank and investment accounts as well as outstanding debts, such as credit card debts and loans.

  • The letter(s) must be printed on the letterhead of the financial institution and must include the applicant’s name, the contact information of the financial institution (address, telephone number and email address), the account numbers, the date each account was opened and the current balance of each account as well as the average balance for the past six months.
• Other documents may also be requested, as necessary.

Individuals who must submit this documentation

• The principal applicant