cheesycheese

Hi,

The company transfer I've been working on for the past 18 months has now all been sorted (at last! ) and we've got a recce trip sorted for the end of April before we land properly in Toronto at the end of May.

However, I'm a bit stuck with something that I'm sure most people that have moved to Canada from the UK have dealt with. If anyone who's 'been there, done that' can advise, I'd really appreciate it.

On our recce trip, we need to open bank accounts and find rental accommodation. I've already got a realtor on the case to save some time but she has advised me that I'll need to pay the first/last month's deposits and also give them 10 postdated cheques. For anyone who's been in that situation, how did you work your way around the cheques problem as I'm assuming it takes a while for a cheque book to be printed and issued even if we open accounts on the first day of our recce trip? Certainly longer than the week we're there for anyway.

Just thought as well, how do you open an account if you don't have a permanent address?

Also, I want to make sure that I'll have everything with me that I need and just in case, I asked my bank today to give me a letter of introduction. They've refused as 'it's not something we do'. Marvellous! Reading around, it seems that this letter isn't always needed but I just want to make sure before I go back to my bank and demand they give me this letter, that I'm not wasting my time.

I'm not the first to emigrate to Canada so I know there'll be answers to the above but I keen to avoid any hitches during that week's visit.

Thanks all.

R I C H

You can use your UK address initially. I walked into a branch or RBC, made a deposit and within 30 minutes had a debit card issued and a dozen 'temporary' cheques to take away with me. Just take ID along with you (your passport is fine).

You could always ask the landlord if he's happy to accept Interac email deposits, or a direct debit. That's what I do for my tenants, it's far easier than depositing cheques each month.

JonboyE

I don't think you need a letter of introduction from your UK bank. In Canada you can walk into almost any bank and open an account on the spot with just your passport as ID. Why not use your firm's Canadian office as your mailing address until you get your rental sorted?

It takes a week or so for personalized cheques to be printed but the bank should be able to print a few temporary cheques to get you going. Ask to make sure before you open an account.

Edited to add: the only issue might be getting cleared funds into your new account. A wire transfer from the UK takes a few days but many UK banks will not take instructions from you while you are overseas. If you deposit a UK cheque it can take weeks to clear. Some banks (RBC for sure, and I think Scotiabank) allow you to open an account while you are still in the UK. You can't "use" the account account until you have visited the branch and shown them your ID etc, but at least you will have a Canadian account where you can wire money in advance to be sure you have cleared funds available to you to pay deposits.

cheesycheese

Perfect! Cheers chaps.

JB0591

Hey Cheesycheese, when you walk into a bank, explain straight away what you need to leave with as they can tell you if it is possible.....if they say they cant do it, leave and go a different bank brand.

When we opened an account with BMO (to get away from HSBC) I was very surprised to find that we walked out with debit cards in hand and ready to use.

Novocastrian

On my recce I opened accounts, got cheque book / debit card, pre-approval for a mortgage, all based on ID and a letter offering me the job which showed my salary. (Oh, and bought a house). This was all actually before I'd received PR (although only a few weeks before and in those days it was all a bit different than today).

MarylandNed

Getting money into the Canadian account quickly can be done with traveller's cheques on the day the account is opened. Since Canadian banks deal with USD all the time, I think USD would be just as quick as CAD. Traveller's cheques are better than cash because they can be quickly and easily replaced if lost or stolen.

However, if you're bringing in more than $10,000, you have to report that fact:

http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5052-eng.html

boybiskit

+1 for instant bank account. I did it last time we moved there... And now wish is kept the account!

cheesycheese

All sorted!

Spoke to RBC and I've arranged an appointment on the first day of our recce trip. She'll open an account there and then, let me make a $5k deposit using travellers cheques and will then give me certified cheques and temp cheques to use for deposits/post-dated cheques for renting a property.

Then when we land, I need to call back in with my TWP and she'll activate my account and give me a client card plus a credit card.

Job's a good'un.

Thanks for your help all.

BristolUK

And yet as recently as 2005 (having already bought a home and a rental property) BMO (actually in Montreal) TD and PC were all turning me away until I'd actually got PR.

JonboyE

Excellent. Now, today's challenge is to do the same in reverse. As a Canadian resident try and open a bank account in the UK.

cheesycheese

Think I'll leave that one to you Jonboy!


To add a bit more meat to the bone, the first person I spoke to seemed to work from some kind of call centre and told me the RBC couldn't help me at all! So I put the phone down and dialled the branch direct where they were more than happy to listen to what I needed and offer a solution that worked.

Amazing how these things work the same overseas as they do in the UK!

MarylandNed

My wife and I couldn't even open a UK bank account IN PERSON when we moved back to the UK! We had a bank draft to deposit but couldn't prove our address. We were living temporarily at my in-laws. Multiple banks told us to go get a letter from my in-laws stating that we lived there. In the end we went to the Yorkshire Bank because we knew someone who worked there. She vouched for us with the bank manager and we were able to open an account. So don't close your UK bank account when you leave!

R I C H

I closed mine. Or at least I thought I did - visited a branch of Barclays, withdrew all the money by bankers draft, signed paperwork, got a confirmation that the account was now closed. I emigrated a couple of days later.

Three months went by, and I got two threatening letters to say that there was insufficient funds to pay the account fees, for the account I'd closed. They suggested I dropped into a branch to resolve it. I suggested they paid more attention to face to face meetings with their clients.

In the end I had to give power of attorney to a relative to act on my behalf and to close the account again.

Novocastrian

I had no difficulty doing this with Barclay's 18 months ago. Admittedly an offshore account based on the Isle of Mann, but perfectly functional for my needs.