GIC Account FAQ

GIC means Guaranteed Investment Certificate and it's an investment account. This account is offered by a Canadian Bank. There are many different types of GIC accounts and GIC account for international students in Canada is one among them.

Students would have to deposit a fixed amount of money in this account (CAD 20,635 + CAD 150 to CAD 200). This money is treated as proof of funds and would be released to the student every month for 12 months for their study abroad and maintenance expenses along with interest.

After giving your IELTS exam, and applying for admission to a Canadian University/College and receiving Confirmation of Enrollment.

Before applying for a Canadian Study Permit.

The in-between time period is the best time to apply for a GIC Account in Canada.

After reaching Canada, do the in-person verification at the nearest branch of the GIC Account bank.

Then to utilise the funds of your GIC Account, you’d have to open a bank account there.

Initially, CA $4,127 to CA $6,190.5 (this depends on your GIC bank) will be released to your bank account from your GIC account for your expenses in Canada.

Then every month CA $1,204 to $1,376 + interest amount (depends on your GIC bank) will be deposited in your bank account from the GIC account.

Your bank account will have an ATM card or cheque book etc through which you can withdraw these funds for use in Canada.

Yes, third party transfers to GIC accounts are possible from India. However, for a 3rd party to deposit funds into the GIC Account, prior authorization from the student must be submitted to the Bank.

Yes, ExTravelMoney can initiate money transfer from an Indian bank account to a GIC account in Canada.

We regularly facilitate such transactions for Indian students going to study abroad in Canada and are well versed with GIC Account transfers.

When you receive an account opening letter for a GIC account there will be a clause given.

If it’s mentioned that the first transfer should be directly from the student’s account or that parents or 3rd party transfers are not allowed to transfer, then the transfer should happen from the student’s bank itself (even in such cases, we’d be usually able to help).

However, after the first transaction, we would be able to make a transfer to a GIC account.

This varies according to the rules provided by the bank where you are having your GIC account.

1. Enter the amount (in CAD) you need to transfer to your GIC account and click on ‘Get Rates’.
2. Enter your location in India to get bids from RBI authorized exchange houses & banks in your area.
3. Choose any one bid, and place your order by entering your contact details. You can now upload the required KYC documents.
4. Once the KYC is verified, you can transfer the funds directly to the exchange house/bank's account as NEFT/RTGS transfer.
5. Your money will now be wired. Your GIC account will receive the credit within the next 48 working hours.

1. Indian Passport of the student
2. University Acceptance Letter
3. GIC Account Opening Letter
4. Any govt approved photo id proof of sender
5. Sender's Pan Card

Yes, your GIC amount will be refunded in case your GIC application or Canadian Study permit is rejected or you withdraw from your course for any reason whatsoever.

For the refund process, you must contact the GIC bank and request a refund of funds.

The balance amount will be refunded to you after the deduction of any applicable fees by the GIC bank and the sending bank in India (ExTravelMoney does not charge any fees for refund).

The Processing Fee (charged by GIC bank, usually between CAD 150 to CAD 200) and the Wire Transfer Charge (charged by sending bank when transferring GIC amount from India and charged by GIC bank when refunding this amount) are non-refundable.

Also, when refunding the amount in CAD, the receiving bank in India will be getting the amount after conversion to INR at the Outward Remittance Sell Rate (lower than Interbank rate) applicable for the day.

ExTravelMoney.com is not responsible for any fees or charges levied by the sending bank, correspondent bank/intermediary bank, and the GIC bank. ExTravelMoney.com does not take liability for any foreign currency exchange gain or loss resulting from processing, transferring, rejecting and returning of such funds.

The amount you finally get back after refund of your GIC funds may be different from the amount you deposited because of the above mentioned charges and foreign exchange conversion rate.

Your Canadian Study Permit could get rejected for any number of reasons. It is unfortunate but sometimes it happens.

Whatever the reason, in such a circumstance, you can request a refund of the funds in your GIC account.

All of you have to do is prove any one of the following;

1. Your Canadian Study Permit/Visa has been cancelled or rejected.
2. The Canadian University/College that you applied to is no longer inviting you to study there.
3. You are not a student anymore at the Canadian University/College because you have withdrawn your application.

Get in touch with your GIC bank for the refund. It may take up to 4 weeks to get back the funds.