In peoples experience is it better to change £ to $CDN in the UK first or once in Canada?
I'm aware that you can bring up to $10k without declaring. Is that per person, and what are the rules on bringing more than the 10k?

You must declare anything above $10,000 or else risk having it seized and paying a fine.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...f5052-eng.html

It is no big deal reporting $10k or above unless the funds are from dubious sources. If you transfer funds or deposit into a bank, the bank reports any deposits $10k+

You can bring as much as you like as long as you report it, also depends whether you are tax resident or not.

Do the FX in the UK or Canada, depends on the prevailing rate, sometimes it is, sometimes not. Set a target rate you want to achieve and exchange at that wherever you happen to be. I have done both and found no significant advantage to either.

Thank you both and could you confirm that the monies are per person, even if travelling together i.e husband and wife?

It is per person, but don't get in a knot over it, it is no big unless your funds are from illicite sources.

we use a company called currency solutions. Beware your 'very helpful' bank. HSBC Premier offered us free transfers, but the rate was significantly lower than obtainable from a specialist company. (although to be fair on everything else HSBC have been awesome!) You can pre-book a rate, so if the dollar hits 1.6 overnight you get it automatically. every penny counts eh!

Agreed, don't use a bank for an international money transfer. Make sure you use a foreign exchange broker or currency specialist. They'll have the best exchange rates and can even put in automated orders to protect yourself if the Canadian dollar doesn't move in your favour. 1 GBP is at 1.59 CAD today so hopefully it will push up to that 1.60 mark for when it comes to sending your money.

Not always the case. we do fX frequently, using a currency broker and our bank. For bill payment the currency broker is more convenient, for deposits it can go either way. Sometimes we can negotiate a better rate through the bank and depositing a FX cheque is very easy, with immediate access to funds.

use something like Canadian forex.ca

better rates than a shop or bank

Any recommendations of decent, reliable and reputable currency brokers would be greatly appreciated. We sent a few grand via HSBC the other day and got a really crappy rate, losing about $300 compare to the market rate. Got another payment ready to go, and would rather get a more competitive rate this time!

As other have said ... It's okay to bring more than 10k as long as you declare it
And if you do, it really helps to bring proof of where the money came from... i.e. sales receipt for a vehicle ... or bank statement etc.

They don't like you bringing drug or laundered money into the country ..

That amuses me; they seize all your money and then expect you to pay a fine...