R220 — you did not prove you can pay for your studies and living
Money refusal. The funds shown were not enough, not genuinely yours, or not convincingly explained.
Common refusal groundThis is one of the most frequently cited grounds. It is fixable.
What the law actually saysIRPR s. 220
An officer shall not issue a study permit to a foreign national unless they have sufficient and available financial resources, without working in Canada, to pay the tuition fees, maintain themselves and any accompanying family members, and pay for transportation to and from Canada.
Read the wording closely — the money must be both sufficient AND available, and it must cover tuition, living costs and travel, without you working in Canada.
Most R220 refusals are not about the total amount. They are about where the money came from. A balance that appeared shortly before filing tells the officer nothing about whether the funds are really yours or borrowed for the photograph.
Officers also check whether the person funding you can plausibly have that money. A sponsor whose declared income cannot explain the balance is a common failure point.
Why this gets written
These are the situations that most often produce this finding. Your notes will usually name the specific one.
A large deposit landing days or weeks before the application
Funds held by a distant relative or a sponsor with no clear obligation to you
Bank statements with no matching income trail — salary, business receipts, rent
Loan sanction letters without evidence the loan is actually disbursable
Total shown covers tuition but not living costs or travel
Sponsor's income tax returns inconsistent with the balance shown
What actually fixes it
Fix the thing the officer named. Changing everything else at once usually makes a file look staged.
Show a settled six-month history rather than a snapshot — steady balances beat big sudden ones
Explain every large credit with documentation: property sale deed, matured deposit, business income
Match the sponsor to the money — their ITRs, salary slips or business accounts must make the balance believable
Cover the full requirement including living costs and return travel, not just first-year tuition
Use a GIC where appropriate; it is clean, verifiable and removes a lot of argument
This is general information, not legal advice. Every file turns on its own facts. We have quoted the legislation above so you can check it yourself. For a misrepresentation finding under A40, speak to a Canadian immigration lawyer or an RCIC before you do anything.
Officers write several codes on one file, and only one of them is usually the real reason. Send us your notes and we will tell you which line actually decided your case — and what to do about it.
