Mrbadguy

Me and my family are traveling out to Vancouver on the 20th January for 3 months. (initially)

Can anybody tell me how much money i would be expected to take with me? And i have been told that it can be hard to get through customs and immigration at the airport, is this correct? We are only going out for an extended holiday, and my husband is having some interviews while we are there.

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

Thankyou
x

johnh009

Canada Customs and Revenue agency states:

"If you are importing or exporting monetary instruments equal to or greater than CAN$10,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency), whether in cash or other monetary instruments, you must report it to the CBSA when you arrive or before you leave Canada. For more information, ask for a copy of the publication called Crossing the Border with $10,000 or More? or select "Publications and forms" on our Web site at www.cbsa.gc.ca."

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publicati...-eng.html#P003

Otherwise, how much you will need is more or less the same as you need in the UK, plus a car probably.

jericho

I wouldnt tell them you're here for interviews. Just keep to the extended vacation story.

montreal mike

why bother hauling around cash?

don't debit cards work internationally?

jericho

Most machines do, as long as they have Cirus or something on them, but I found that even though I told the bank I was coming to Canada, they put a block on me using my card. When i got home, I had a dozen automated messages telling me someone had tried to use my card abroad.

Mrbadguy

Actually our bank HSBC recommended we just open a canadian bank account and transfer our money out there, then we wont get charged every time we use our card.

When i asked the question about money, i thought there was a certain amount you had to bring with you, but we have around £6000 for 3 months, and have accommodation booked already.

J-A-UK

With respect "BULL SHIT" .......... EEekkk is that allowed?

That was the line the Nat West gave us before we emigratted last year. I wanted to set up all the transfers etc in the Uk before we left but couldn't because we didn't have a Canadian bank account. We couldn't open a Canadian bank account unless we had a Canadian address with Canadian ID and was in Canada.

So we brought with us $25,000 in cash to see us through the initial set up period (rent, buy a car, food etc) that $25,000 lasted a week because we bought a new car instead of secondhand and other stuff which was fine!

It took some running about but we got our bank account open in Canada and then contacted the Nat West to transfer some of our money........... They "couldn't" because we needed to go into the branch to sign some forms!!!! Forms we should have signed before we left !!!! Oh yes........ Now the manager remembers we couldn't fill the forms before we left because we didn't have the bank details in Canada. We acctually ran out of money, the credit cards got stopped (even tho they knew we were here) and we could not get a dime from anywhere even though our Nat West manager knew us personally and knew that we were emigrating etc...

Don't get caught - Get a Co-signer on your UK account NOW - One that you can trust obviously, get here and open a Candian account straight away and then your co-signer can send the money.

Internet banking wont work, Phone banking wont work....We had all that - Our bank manager told us to do it on line!

You should be able to show a "worth" at customs (bank statement or cash) which for us we had to show at least 1800 pounds each - But if you have more than 10,000 CND just make sure you tell them at customs - We told them we had the 25k and they just tick a box!

I would have no hesitation in saying "bring some cash with you" in dollars

God luck with your trip

shelley748

Hi from someone who has opened an account in Canada from the UK.

You need to go to your local HSBC bank in the UK and you need to explain to them that you need to open an account in Canada with HSBC.

You should get a letter of reference from your existing UK bank, which you will present to the UK HSBC, this shows that you are off good standing.

We were with Nat West for years and we too tried to get their help re opening an account in Canada, but they could'nt do it, this was the way we got around it.

We then transferred by wire transfer the amount of $ that we wanted to have over here.

We still maintained our Nat West accounts and have set up a direct debit to pay our NWB access card bill from our UK bank account...that way you don't have to worry about paying a bill late- just get them to debit it direct...

Once you get to Canada- you can only get a credit card by having a "secured" card, and any branch of Scotiabank can do this for you if you open an account withthem.

J-A-UK

Ditto = The Maestro debit card is the most popular company for the UK most of the UK bank operate through Maestro.

In Canada the same company is "Cirrus" and only the BMO Bank of Montreal work "Cirrus" So effectivly you need to find a BMO to get cash but expect your card to blocked immediately.

Banks in Canada open at 10am ........ At 10am US Central time it's 4pm in the uk - Work it out, how long do you get to sort things out with your bank? Some do have 24hr help lines but they cannot unblock your debit cards.

That's how it was for us anyhow.

J-A-UK

Well I'll be!! - We thought HSBC "the worlds local bank" and went to our local HSBC in the UK......... They couldn't help!

Did you have an HSBC account before hand maybe?

Or people are people the world over, some know, some think they know and others are bank managers!! LoL

shelley748

Hi there- no actually we did'nt have an account before we came....we just got a letter of reference from Nat West ( I was staff at Nat West but that did'nt make any difference). Try contacting an HSBC in Canada and they might be a bit more helpful. see link below I just went to their website, and there seems to be an online application that you can do before you get to Canada!!!

http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/en/personal/i...l-services-new

shelley748

You can- just go to HSBC Canada site and go to the Newcomers and Immigration tab under "personal"-then go to the link that says accounts for newcomers and you will see the accounts that you can apply for before you come to Canada!!

shelley748

Just noticed your place as Poole- I came from Poole in 2002!!!

Mrbadguy

We already have a bank account with HSBC, and basically what we have done is upgrade the account to a bank account plus, then the bank will open an account for you in canada for free, and transfer out funds. They can also send out your credit rating, for a small fee.

Anyway thats what we decided to do, makes things easier, since getting charged 2.25% every time we use our cards abroad would cost a fortune over 3 months. Lets hope customs don't have a problem with that?!!

To Shelley748, where abouts in Poole did you come from? We are at Holton Heath, nice place but damn expensive!! Thats why we are trying to get to stay in Canada, we are looking for a better way of life for us and our 2 small kids!
We already nearly have a pnp approval for a job in Richmond, but it was halted until the new year as work had slowed, so here is hoping that it will work out!!

adele

Hi Mrbadguy

Just wondered if you might be on the same flight as me?! The 17.05 BA flight from LHR, arriving YVR 18.40?

(I'll be getting a connecting flight down from Manchester in the morning so will HOPEFULLY have lots of time to check out Terminal 5 before the flight to YVR!)

Adele