An applicant with 6 years of foreign experience and 1 year in Canada couldn't get their Express Entry profile to show FSW as 'Met' after entering $0 and then $4,000 in the funds section. The diagnosis from members:
- Enter at least the required settlement funds for your family size. The FSW program has a minimum funds requirement that scales with the number of family members. At the time of the thread, a member quoted roughly CAD $13,757 for a single applicant — not $4,000. (The exact figure is updated by IRCC periodically; check the current table.)
- Working in Canada does not exempt you from FSW funds. The applicant assumed a valid Canadian work permit waived the requirement. Members corrected this: whether you apply FSW inland or outland, the funds requirement still applies. (The exemption for candidates with a valid job offer or applying under CEC is a separate matter — this thread's answers addressed FSW specifically.)
- Family size counts non-accompanying members. The applicant asked whether declaring 3 family members who are not accompanying still raises the required amount — the thread flagged this as a common confusion point when the 'Met' status doesn't update as expected.
- Allow time for the profile to refresh. After correcting the funds figure, the status may not flip immediately; the applicant was still waiting at the end of the thread.
If FSW still shows 'Not Met' after fixing funds, re-verify each eligibility field (language, experience NOC, education) for typos.