Hi All,

I've joined the forum today in the hope I can glean some useful advice in terms of moving finances across to Canada from you knowledgeable folks

I am a British national who is married to a Canadian national currently residing in the UK. My wife is currently here in the UK and has ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain). It is our intention to move to Canada in the next year with our young son who was born here in the UK. Between us we have some savings that we aim to make use of to help us start our lives together in Canada.

What I am after is advice on the best way to transfer our savings across to Canada? I'm after the cleanest option that is the simplest to action and reduces any potential tax complications in Canada. I'm flying out next week to Canada and will be in a position to start the ball rolling and I am hoping you can help me in this process.

My thoughts currently are to have my wife open a savings account in her name and then wire the funds directly to it however I don't know if the funds would be treated as foreign income and then subject to additional taxes in Canada?

Any advice much appreciated.

Regards

I think the amounts will have a bearing on what the best route is.

Care to disclose rough figures?

If you'll both be in Canada next week there is nothing stopping you opening a joint bank account. Might need to supply a Canadian address though.

Also, a bit unrelated, is your son a Canadian citizen?

Without going into exact numbers the amount is substantial and not typically a sum one could withdraw in cash over the counter. In this case, what other methods are available?

Our son was born here and is not currently a Canadian citizen.

Was your wife born in Canada?

Yes she is from Alberta.

Then it appears that your son is Canadian by descent.

Open a bank account in Canada. Wire the money across. No tax implications.

Should I open in my name or spouses? If her name will it be considered as foreign income and then subject to tax? I wouldn't have thought so as she is already taxed here in the UK on her income but for sanity sake ask the question.

You will not even tell us how much is involved. How can any of us tell you what is the best way to invest the money in Canada? If the money was earned while you were tax-resident in the UK then there are no tax implications to transferring it to Canada.

Afterwards, then who knows?

Okay I hear you. The sum involved is circa 200k earned in the UK.

So a substantial amount of money. There is still no tax on sending it to Canada. The next questions are:

a) whose money is it?
b) what are your respective earnings expected to be in Canada?

Wire across. Check out bank rates to transfer and also brokers. Be aware brokers do not guarantee your cash while they hold onto it. HSBC may bean option as they tranafer UK to Canada so all safe. Or some other banks may have more favourable rates. You may want to consider increments over timeto even out fx impact. We are transferring over over a 15 month period. Tax wise you are fine to go across. Canada and UK have a reciprocle tax arrangement and you have already paid tax on your money. We haven't had any questions on what we have been transferring over but the recipient bank knows aware buying property. You may incur fees to receive however.

Nice, that makes sense. The money is ours collectively as a married couple and I plan to stage the transfer if possible versus one big bang.! My other half has family settled in CA and as a consequence I know we will not receive any static as we have the funds to sustain ourselves over there. I already meet the requirements as a skilled worker (points) although in this instance will be going down the spousal route because it makes sense. The bulk of the funds are to be used to acquire a home which will be in my spouses name until I have an "identity" in CA.

Oops, forgot to add that we plan to find gainful employment when we get there and based upon our present situation I envisage circa 200K if the stars and planets are in alignment

That'll give you a downpayment, but for most cities 200k won't go far. Not sure why you would put it in your wife's name alone, that could down the road causes all sorts of grief if for any reason she popped off before you. Also switching it back to joint names will be costly as well as triggering property purchase tax. You'll likely get dinged for property transfer tax when she buys and again for your half when you transfer ownership.

However if you want to protect assets, keeping them in the name of a spouse is one possible option.

Legal advice would be a good idea before making a decision.

http://estatelawcanada.blogspot.ca/2...in-common.html

http://www.plea.org/legal_resources/?a=311