kingskid

Hi All,

Looking to pick your expert brains again.

Just thinking, will be arriving in Calgary in July and started making bits and pieces of preparations.

Now thinking of bank accounts. Will it be better to open one before arrival or after arrival? What are the benefits / disadvantages of both options and will any of the options be beneficial for getting credit facilities, mortgages, etc

Also, when landing, guess I will be requested to declare if I have enough funds, how do I go about this if I had transferred my money before landing?

iaink

The advantage is you can transfer funds over ahead of time and have cleared funds available right away to use in settling in.

The disadvantage is the hassle of setting it up and the fees charged, plus the danger that apathy will hold you back from switching to a more economical choice of bank for day to day use once settled.

If they ask for proof of funds have a statement printed out to show them.

Sam-in-Okotoks

Hi
If you want to open an account before you arrive in Calgary send me an email and I will put you in touch with somebody who will do this for you.
The account can be opened whilst you are in the UK and their are no setup costs. I would not bother opening the account until 4 weeks before you arrive and the whole process is very quick and straight forward.
Sam

JamesM

Hi Guys

I went into Scotia Bank last week. They have a special account for skilled worker PR's. They have waived my monthly fee for 12 months and also given me a $1000 limit unsecured credit card of the bat. They said as long as I clear the balance each month after a year I should get a reasonable credit score. The interest on this is 19.9% so it's not too much of an arse rape either. They said I can increase it but they would have to hold the increase amount equivalent in cash from me.

They have also given me a safety deposit box free for a year.

They also gave me some books on settling in Canada etc.....which was abit far but it did educate me on the tax free financial products in Canada which is handy.

Everything was set up in an hour.

I'm not sure what the other banks offer but as I say they did seem switched onto helping new skilled worker pr's. Obviously because they know you should be profitable down the line.

JonBeaches

Try HSBC passport account.

There are five major banks in Canada, "The Big 5":

TD Canada Trust
RBC (Royal Bank of Canada)
BMO (Bank of Montreal)
Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia)
CIBC

You might find a it a bit annoying that day to day banking with these guys is not free! You have to pay for cheques!

There are some other banks though that will offer "fee free banking" like PC Bank/Financial (Presidents Choice) dont know how they are with opening accounts for new immigrants but you can always give them a call:

http://www.pcfinancial.ca/

kingskid

Thanks very much Sam, will definitely keep in touch and will contact you shortly before arriving.

The downside I foresee though is that I will not have "been in the system" and may open with a bank that may not be flexible enough to meet my needs as a new immigrant, e.g thinking about mortgage, credot facilities, etc

kingskid

Thanks Jon, the list will definitely come in handy. Will research.

Sam-in-Okotoks

The bank is TD Canada Trust and they have always been very accommodating to new immigrants. Many of the people I have helped with their move to Canada are still with TD and have mortgages, lines of credit and credit cards. Opening an account from the UK months before you arrive will not change your credit rating in Canada or ability to get finance. Lots of people like HSBC but I would not pay the fees they want to setup accounts. The main advantage of opening the account before you arrive is you can transfer money over and the account is ready and waiting for you from day one.

iaink

They werent for me! They jerked me about several times over credit availability when I first arrived on a work permit. PCfinancial were my first stop after my PR came though, Ive been a happy customer ever since.

Sam-in-Okotoks

The OP wants to open an account before arriving in Canada and PC Financial won't do this, which means they are not very accommodating either. If the OP wants to open an account from the UK then TD will do this for free and it only takes a couple of emails. When you have settled you are free to bank where you want.

iaink

Given the choice of TD or no account, I was so pissed off with them that I would go for no account, thats how happy I was with them. Of course YMMV. Its interesting the Scotia now offer a service tailored to the needs of new arrivals though, I guess the banking landscape has changed a little in the last ten years.

Sam-in-Okotoks

I'm actually going to see Scotia to see what they can do, when I last spoke to them which was over 12 months a go they were not interested. I have spoken to BMO as an expat on this site now works for them but they were not able to help. I think the service varies according to individual branches.

johnh009

Remember that the exchange rate is fixed on the date you arrive, if you transfer your money before or after you arrive, you may be liable for a capital gain/loss on the exchange rate.

bgeorg

Quick question; are you here on a permanent residency, or a temporary one?

Thanks

kingskid

Me? Permanent Residency. Why?