Moving to Canada...some questions..
 

Hello,

I have an oportunity to move to BC, but I'm not sure what I should be aware of. First question I have is about cars. Can I bring my leased car into Canada? Second question, how do you pay US bills that you may still have once you are in Canada? Third, is there anything else I should be aware of?

Thanks!

Re: Moving to Canada...some questions..
 

squall1 wrote:
    > Hello,
    > I have an oportunity to move to BC, but I'm not sure what I should be
    > aware of. First question I have is about cars. Can I bring my leased
    > car into Canada? Second question, how do you pay US bills that you may
    > still have once you are in Canada? Third, is there anything else I
    > should be aware of?
    > Thanks!

You cannot import a leased car ... your lessee will not permit it.

Keep a US bank account and put money into it by mailing a US$ money
order as a deposit and write cheques on it, or open a US$ account at a
CDN bank, and you can write cheques on that to your creditors.

Lots! Start with http://www.cic.gc.ca

Re: Moving to Canada...some questions..
 

What if I plan to maintain a residence in the US and Canada, can I drive the car in Canada if its registered to a US address? Thanks for the reply!

Re: Moving to Canada...some questions..
 

squall1 wrote:
    > Originally posted by Stuart Brook:
    > > squall1 wrote:
    > > > Hello,
    > > > I have an oportunity to move to BC, but I'm not sure what I should
    > > > be
    > > > aware of. First question I have is about cars. Can I bring my
    > > > leased
    > > > car into Canada? Second question, how do you pay US bills that you
    > > > may
    > > > still have once you are in Canada? Third, is there anything else I
    > > > should be aware of?
    > > > Thanks!
    > >
    > > You cannot import a leased car ... your lessee will not permit it.
    > >
    > > Keep a US bank account and put money into it by mailing a US$ money
    > > order as a deposit and write cheques on it, or open a US$ account at a
    > > CDN bank, and you can write cheques on that to your creditors.
    > >
    > > Lots! Start with http://www.ci-
    > > c.gc.ca/http://www.cic.gc.ca
    > >
    > What if I plan to maintain a residence in the US and Canada, can I
    > drive the car in Canada if its registered to a US address? Thanks for
    > the reply!

I would go to great lengths to avoid establishing "residence" in Canada
if you can, especially if you hit 183 days, because you become a tax
resident then and your life just got more complicated!

You can drive the car in most places for up to 12 months as a *visitor*
(that can be as a visitor for work as well as a visitor for pleasure).
The way to ensure "visitor" status is to live in what would be called
"licensed" accomodation ... like long term hotel, or boarding house.

Stuart

Re: Moving to Canada...some questions..
 

Well, I plan to be there at least a year, my place of employment would handle everything for me as far as a work visa would go. I would probably rent an apartment while working in Canada. How does it get more complicated?

Re: Moving to Canada...some questions..
 

squall1 wrote:
    > Originally posted by Stuart Brook:
    > > squall1 wrote:
    > > > Originally posted by Stuart Brook:
    > > > > squall1 wrote:
    > > > > > Hello,
    > > > > > I have an oportunity to move to BC, but I'm not sure what I
    > > > > > should
    > > > > > be
    > > > > > aware of. First question I have is about cars. Can I bring my
    > > > > > leased
    > > > > > car into Canada? Second question, how do you pay US bills that
    > > > > > you
    > > > > > may
    > > > > > still have once you are in Canada? Third, is there anything
    > > > > > else I
    > > > > > should be aware of?
    > > > > > Thanks!
    > > > >
    > > > > You cannot import a leased car ... your lessee will not permit it.
    > > > >
    > > > > Keep a US bank account and put money into it by mailing a US$
    > > > > money
    > > > > order as a deposit and write cheques on it, or open a US$ account
    > > > > at a
    > > > > CDN bank, and you can write cheques on that to your creditors.
    > > > >
    > > > > Lots! Start with
    > > > > http://www.cic.gc.ca/http:/-
    > > > > /www.cic.gc.ca    "]http://www.ci-
    > > > > c.gc.ca/http://www.cic.gc.ca[/url]
    > > > >
    > > > What if I plan to maintain a residence in the US and Canada, can I
    > > > drive the car in Canada if its registered to a US address? Thanks
    > > > for
    > > > the reply!
    > >
    > > I would go to great lengths to avoid establishing "residence" in
    > > Canada
    > > if you can, especially if you hit 183 days, because you become a tax
    > > resident then and your life just got more complicated!
    > >
    > > You can drive the car in most places for up to 12 months as a
    > > *visitor*
    > > (that can be as a visitor for work as well as a visitor for pleasure).
    > > The way to ensure "visitor" status is to live in what would be called
    > > "licensed" accomodation ... like long term hotel, or boarding house.
    > >
    > > Stuart
    > >
    > Well, I plan to be there at least a year, my place of employment would
    > handle everything for me as far as a work visa would go. I would
    > probably rent an apartment while working in Canada. How does it get
    > more complicated?
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

OK, for tax purposes you will be a Canadian tax resident. If you're
actually staying that long and renting an apartment, you'll probably be
considered resident. Get your employer to go to a relocation service to
see if they can help you with these things and cross border taxes. Your
car will be a problem absolutely.