Quick answer: Some Mexican consulates want bank statements that are stamped and signed by the bank, or originals backed by an official bank letter, in the full name on your passport. An online-only bank has no branch to stamp anything, and its app may show a shortened version of your name. Find out what your bank can issue and whether your consulate will accept it before you book the appointment, not at the window.

Key takeaways

  • Vancouver is blunt about it: "we do not accept electronic statements as proof of economic solvency, unless they are accompanied by an original ink stamp from your respective bank or investment company."
  • Other consulates word it differently. Leamington says "All financial statements must be presented with stamp and signature" and that they "must contain your full name (as it appears on your passport)". San Diego asks for original statements "WITH OFFICIAL BANK STAMP OR OFFICIAL BANK LETTER".
  • A PDF you download from your banking app has no stamp and no signature. Where a consulate asks for one, a home printout is not the same document.
  • The name matters as much as the stamp. A missing middle name on the account can be enough for a consulate that asks for your full passport name.
  • There are three ways through: get something certified from your bank, get the consulate to confirm it will accept it, or use an account at a bank with branches.
  • Start early. Reissuing a year of statements or moving money into another account takes weeks, and a savings balance only counts once it has been there for the whole period the consulate reads.

Why online-only banks run into this

A consulate file is paper. The officer has no way to log into your bank, so the stamp, the signature and the name are how a statement proves it is real and that it is yours.

Online-only banks — Wealthsimple, EQ Bank or Tangerine in Canada, Monzo or Starling in the UK, Ally or SoFi in the US — are built around the app. There is no branch where you can walk in with your passport and ask for a stamp, and not all of them will sign or certify a statement on request. Many also hold your name the way you typed it when you opened the account, which is often shorter than your passport.

None of that matters at a consulate that accepts downloaded statements. It matters a great deal at one that does not.

What the consulates actually say

These are the statement rules from the consulate documents we have read ourselves:

  • Vancouver: "we do not accept electronic statements as proof of economic solvency, unless they are accompanied by an original ink stamp from your respective bank or investment company." It also asks for the "original and a photocopy" of your statements.
  • Leamington: "All financial statements must be presented with stamp and signature." They "must contain your full name (as it appears on your passport)". For Permanent Residency it also asks for a bank letter on letterhead, with an original signature and stamp, from the same bank as the statements.
  • San Diego: statements "must be presented in original (WITH OFFICIAL BANK STAMP OR OFFICIAL BANK LETTER)", with your full name and address — no P.O. Box.
  • Toronto: asks for the "original and a photocopy" of your bank statements.

Other consulates may have a rule like this too. Open your own consulate's requirements page and look for the words stamp, sello, original, signature or bank letter. If none of them appear, ask the consulate before you assume a download will do.

Three ways through

1. Ask your bank, in writing. Two questions: can it update the account to your full name exactly as it appears on your passport, and can it issue the statements your consulate asks for (six months for income, twelve for savings) signed and certified by the bank, or a letter on its letterhead confirming the balances? Get the answer by email so you have it.

2. Ask your consulate a specific question. With your bank's answer in hand, write something like: "My bank is online-only and can provide X. Will you accept that in place of a stamped statement?" A specific question tends to get a specific answer; "how do I get a stamp?" usually does not. Keep the reply and take it to your appointment.

3. Use an account at a bank with branches. If you hold money at a bank with branches, check whether that account clears your consulate's figure on its own for the whole statement period. If it does, a branch can stamp those statements and the online-only account stops mattering. Moving money there now only helps once it has sat there for the full period your consulate reads — and at a consulate that checks every month rather than the average, every one of those months has to clear.

Not sure your statements will pass?

Send us your statements. We check them against your consulate's own rules — the months, the balances, the name on each account and the stamp — tell you in writing what to fix, then go through it on a 30-minute call. $99, credited in full toward the plan.

Check my statements — $99

The name on the account

Your passport name is the one that counts. If your bank has you as "J. Smith" or leaves out a middle name, ask it to update the account, and ask whether it can reissue past statements under the corrected name — some banks can only change the name going forward.

Write your full passport name on the visa application form either way. That is the document that has to match exactly.

When to sort this out

Before you book. Consulate appointments can be weeks or months apart, and a file that comes back for an unstamped statement means booking again. The consulate appointment guide covers how the booking system works, and the savings requirements guide covers which accounts count and how the balance is tested.

Common questions

Will the consulate accept a PDF I downloaded from my banking app? It depends on the consulate. Vancouver says outright that it does not accept electronic statements unless they carry an original ink stamp from your bank. Leamington asks for statements with a stamp and signature, and San Diego asks for originals with an official bank stamp or bank letter; a PDF printed at home has none of these. Unless your consulate's own page says downloaded statements are fine, ask it before relying on one.

My bank account shows my name without my middle name. Is that a problem? It can be. Leamington requires statements in your full name as it appears on your passport. Ask your bank to update the account, and write your full passport name on the application form.

Can I use a bank letter instead of stamped statements? At San Diego, an official bank letter is the stated alternative to the stamp. Leamington asks for a letter in addition to stamped statements for Permanent Residency. Check your own consulate's wording.

Does this apply at US consulates too? Yes. San Diego's 2026 requirements ask for original statements with an official bank stamp or bank letter. It is not only a Canadian or UK issue, though online-only banking is more common there.

How long does it take to fix? Asking the bank and the consulate takes days. Reissuing a year of statements, or waiting for money in a branch-bank account to cover the full statement period, can take weeks or months — which is why it belongs before the appointment, not after.