Hi,

Lots of advice, I'm in the same boat so to speak.... However I attended a resettlement financial brief regarding pensions down in pompey, and they were quite informative, they gave me the relevant answers regarding the tax issue etc....Money wise we set up a UK sterling account in canada within our CA$ HSBC account, and we can pay pounds directly into this account and it will stay in that currency until we decide to move it across into our CA$ account....No charge for this service either.
Initially to open these accounts you have to do it in person, and as the banks are very efficient, you will require various documentation to prove who you are etc.
I purposely have not gone into great detail, as I plan to settle in Alberta, and provincial requirements for BC may be different.
Anyway good luck, your fact finding mission will probably answer all those questions.
Regards
Al

When I investigated the 60 month tax haven last year, it cost a lot to set up and was only worth it if you had million(s) to invest.

Don't you mean the wet bit??

As a completely separate piece of advice to your original question. I have always kept a British bank account and found it invariably useful.

It's great to mail order things directly in pounds, or to just write a cheque for a quick present to a niece and nephew - or if someone wants to give you some money in the UK, it's easy. And if you go back one day it's one less worry.

Offshore accounts often demand a large minimum balance, often don't issue chequebooks or cards and limit the amount of withdrawals or ask for notice. They are often more like a savings account. They're fine for a nestegg to earn a bit of interest, but keep a UK account open for everyday banking. If after a few years here you find you're not using it fine - but I've always been glad I have the option.

Al (frankieforehead). If you have a sterling account set up in Canada does that imply that you leave any savings you have permanently in the UK and that your service pension is paid into the same UK account (subject to UK tax and interest rates) and that when you actually emmigrate and need money you just transfer it from your HSBC sterling account into your HSBC $ account and then you can get your hands on it. Thats what i'm really after and sounds ideal. When you say you have to set it up in person do you mean in the UK or CANADA. If it is CANADA i'll set it up when I go over there in June. With regards to resettlement you can judge from the questions that I haven't had a chance to do anything yet (primarily because I'm still at sea!!).
Thanks for all your advice everyone.

Hi dexdaw,

I have a Uk lloyds account, Current and savings....When I was house hunting in Canada, we set up an account with the HSBC in calgary....initially we thought all we could get was a canadian dollar account....however the girl who dealt with us asked at the time if we needed a sterling account...She explained everything to us and we agreed it was a good idea because we can simply send a lloyds UK cheque to it (have not tried via the internet yet), and we would have the same amount in the canadian sterling account (hope that makes sense)....Now we have deposited quite a bit into it already....such as the 35% required for the house and other bits and bobs, and when the exchange rate is favourable we can use the internet and transfer from the sterling account into the CA$ account, and as I said no charge. with regards to setting it up you need to be face to face with the bank in Canada (Roger so far...). With regards to the pension, I'm undecided at the moment...still serving until April...but you have to pay tax in one or the other country, as it will be my only source of income in the Uk, I may opt for it to be paid into my UK account, as the tax may be lower...Pension normally taxed at base rate, however married allowance £4700 something, before this comes into effect.
Anyway good luck on the ocean waves...yo ho ho and a bottle of rum... and all that stuff.
Regards
Al

To transfer money regularly from the UK to Canada - we write a cheque on our UK HSBC account and pay it directly into our TD (Canadian $) account - no fee incurred.

Mrs G

Brilliant, thanks Al, that sounds ideal.

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