SIN - appointment needed?
 

Hi,

We arrive in Vancouver on 17th August and I start work the following week. Do I need to make an appointment beforehand to get my SIN or just turn up?

Also where do I need to go? I read the Wiki but the link doesn't work.

I will be on a TWP initially while application for PR goes through if that's relevant.

Also, how far down the process of opening a bank account is it possible to go from the UK? Should I set up an appointment for that for the day after we've arrived too?

Thanks in advance!

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

No appointment. You need to go to Service Canada in Vancouver

Vancouver - Sinclair Centre (Downtown) Service Canada Centre

Bring your TWP and passport. You will be given a temp SIN starting with a '9'

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Thank you! That's a great help :thumbsup:

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Don't bother trying to open a bank account from the UK.

Just turn up at the bank and they will sort you out there and then. An Interac debit card can be issued in the branch, so you will walk out with it as soon as you open your account (this is true for Scotiabank, so probably other banks too).

You can deposit a UK cheque, but they will not release it for a month. Costs for this are very small in Canada.

If you set up an account with HiFX, you can transfer money at a good rate in about 4 days (from placing order to money arriving in your Canadian account). It's all done online and you sent them the money by BACS.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Really?

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Depositing a sterling cheque is fine at any bank. The time it takes will vary depending on the bank and the relationship you have with it. I get cleared funds the same day, but of course the bank (RBC) reserves the right to recall the funds if the cheque doesn't ultimately clear. There's no fee for the service.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Great to know I have my uk cheque book out here so I can do it that way to start to move money over that way

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

As a brand new customer you would get a 30-day Hold though - that was my point.

I've not had any holds for a very long time, except for a random one on a Rebate cheque - maybe they have problems with those!

There is a fee. It is usually built in to the exchange rate, however these costs are much lower than a UK bank would charge for doing this the other way round...

I've never been charged a specific fee for banking a UK cheque, however you always pay $15 approx for an EFT because this is what the banks charge to report your money import to the Canadian Government.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I wouldn't bank on there being no fees (pun intended).

As Rich says it depends on the bank and your relationship with them.
He gets cleared funds the sum day which sounds very much like privileged customer status and the "no fee" may well be for him.

I just did a bit of googling and plenty of results including RBC suggest a fee.
This from Scotiabank for example:
Cheque processed in foreign currency on a Canadian Dollar account where the Canadian equivalent of the cheque amount is
Under $1,000: $10.00
$1,000 and over: $15.00

From PC Bank - Note that transactions in foreign currency are subject to additional fee(s).

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I'm with PC and CIBC so probably a similar fee. I was using PayPal but then they kept holding my funds.

I have an account with Hifx but I need to send over around $40k from the UK so always worried somewhere they will lose it or it will take longer to come through

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Back in 2005 I transferred two large sums for house purchase and rental property purchase to the lawyers' account. The fee was a % but to a maximum £12 or £15 and the exchange rate was typical.

It all worked super smoothly.

Later I transferred a few thou to a PC account. Done similarly and no receiving fee.

If foreign currency cheques were free to deposit you can't imagine why anyone would pay for a transfer, other than speed.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

was that through Hifx or a similar banking transfer service?

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

No just an ordinary (on-line) current bank account. Swift transfer IIRC.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I know this topic has gone off the rails a bit, but Paypal is a horrendous way to transfer money over anyway.

As for HiFX, I get what you're saying as I'm the same, but they're a reputable firm. Provided you put in all the details correctly for that sort of money you're probably looking at a few days.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I use HiFX and recently transferred a 'test amount' (£GBP200) to my newly opened Canadian bank account.

It worked fine and arrived in Canada about 2.5 working days later. Was then going to transfer a much larger amount, but BREXIT put all that on hold for now!!!

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

HiFX are fine.

They will call you if there are any issues whatsoever with your banking details.

Better exchange rate than your UK bank.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I get charged $15 by Scotia every month when I get paid (via electronic transfer). I bitch at my banking officer and it gets refunded.

Having a healthy bank balance with Scotia, lots in RRSP with Scotia and a couple of easily transferable mortgages possibly helps;)

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Did you do this all online or did you call them to arrange the transfer?

I might try a small amount like you did as a test

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

The website suggests it can be done on line.

Just out of curiosity I had a look and the $/£ rate quoted is the same one as on xe.com. and that's the rate I get when I withdraw on my UK card, which I can do at three nearby banks :thumbup:

The fees for that are about £5 for every £100 worth of $$.

The HiFX site says flat fee of £9 for under £3k and free for over £3k.

So, for me, a cash withdrawal from my UK account up the road is better value if up to about £200 and above £200, HiFX might be better depending on the fee charged at the receiving bank.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I see what you are saying with withdrawing the cash

I'll have to check how much my 3 banks charge to receive the money

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

From the amount you mentioned though HiFX (or similar) would definitely be the way to go. A better rate and free.

Unlikely a receiving fee would cancel those two advantages.

I do remember there was no receiving fee when I did the transfers to the PC account. Perhaps they just charge if its a deposit in foreign currency, after all they have to work on it then whereas the work has already been done and paid for by the fee (or free for over the £3k) at the starting end.

Maybe one day I'll have a tidy sum to transfer again and find out :thumbsup:

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

We were able to fully open the hsbc account in Canada from the uk (even had the debit card posted and in our hand before we left the uk) - HSBC in Canada are not that great so we didn't keep the account as our main one for long but it was very useful for getting us sorted as we got there.

Neither hsbc or td have charged any receiving few to us.

For transferring money we have used Transferwise a few times for $1000 here and there and had no issues at all. In the account within 4 days as cleared funds.

For a large lump sum we used globalreach who were superb - on the phone for everything and step by step guidance, they also worked with us to get the best exchange rate (this was a bonus for them as it made them more money so it worked both ways). I found them very professional and would def recommend.
Google for fx transfer companies and it will tell you what to check (I can't remember the exact terminology to search for off the top of my head) and search for to increase the security of your transfer.

I personally wouldn't be transferring bank to bank (have offer a "preferential" rate for direct transfer uk to Canada but it really isn't that good a deal compared to the fx firms), cheque, PayPal for large sums as you will be paying thousands in fees/poor exchange rates. I would also be tracking the exchange rate now to monitor spikes.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Also, I find Transferwise and other fx firms are about the same for exchange and fees so I use their app all of the time for an accurate quote on how much I will get when comparing it to banks and PayPal etc

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I used Paypal once for a CAD-EUR (CAN-MLT) transfer, then my Maltese bank card got compromised via PayPal on xmas day, not a fun thing to wake up to. So since then I shut the Maltese paypal (I use paypal here as I sell stuff on eBay and buy stuff with it), last transfer I did with CIBC's International Money Transfer, which was good in a pinch but I am not sure on the exchange rate. It was basically 1.50 CAD = 1 EUR. I transferred 150.00 CAD and got 100.03 EUR in my account on the other end.

I signed up for a transferwise account for kicks, so we'll see. Haven't got a need to transfer any cash as yet but will test it out when need arises :) A little wary on uploading a copy of my passport or driving license to it as it says though.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I haven't had to upload any documents to Transferwise I don't think (maybe it happened in one of those memory block moments!) ...we did with global to ensure we weren't money laundering so it's fairly normal to do so I believe.

Make sure you check to the actual exchange rate (xe) and not the banks advertised exchange as that may distort things as well.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Ive just had to upload a document with proof of address on hifx as it had my old address on it.

One thing i was confused about was that it asks for the SWIFT/BIC code of the bank which i have found (11 letters/digits) but where does the branch code go for Canadian banks? Is it part of your account details?

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Hi Bert,

Can I ask how long it took? We leave our house on 10th Aug?

Thanks!

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I did it all on-line myself. My Canadian bank knew what I was trying to do and made sure they gave me all of the stuff I needed (TD Bank).


I have in the past made similar transfers to my sister (USA), which is quite a bit more complicated. In that instance I sent a scan of the details she gave me to HiFX and they set the payment destination up for me (and yes, it worked perfectly).

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I want to say about a month but you can do most of it here and then have the card delivered to Canada address (they fedexd it to the uk). They have some info online about it, I think oh spoke on the phone with them initially.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

I googled it for my bank at the time I think - I remember a lot of swearing and ringing the fx group as all the phrases were so confusing.

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

:lol:

And when you find it and know it works, save it somewhere. :thumbup:

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

:goodpost:same way I did it

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Re: SIN - appointment needed?
 

Thank you!