rebecca1986

Hi everyone,

Just hoping for a little bit of advice. I have searched the forum but cannot find anything specific for this that has been answered.

My husband is here in Canada with me at the moment on a visitor visa until the end of October, I am a PR in Canada and we have sent off for sponsorship for PR for him. We are going to apply to extend his visitor visa within the next few days, but just have a question.
It states that he must provide proof how he will support himself. When he came to Canada with me in April, he withdrew all his savings so he could support himself in Canada for the six months he would be here at present. He still has most of this money left, as I am paying for most things with my income. So since all his recent bank statements from the UK will only have around £100 in it, and he does not have a bank account in Canada, how are we going to prove this?
Would it be viable for me to put my bank statements/payslips in and show that I will be supporting him?

Thanks for any advice anyone can give me

tron08028

Hi rebecca1986,

I couldn't find anything on wiki either. I think it would be okay to say you are supporting and sponsoring him as his spouse (it may be easier if you have a joint bank account set up - not sure if you have time to do this before sending off your application). Sorry, don't have much advice/experience, I am sure some one will come along with (alot)more knowledge.

rebecca1986

Thanks for the reply! I did think about the joint bank account but he is not allowed to open up a bank account/be joint on mine as he is only a visitor in Canada so the banks will not let him

christmasoompa

I seem to recall that the amount is $10k for 6 months (although do double check that), but I'm not sure that an account in your name will work.

It seem odd that he cannot open an account though - check out the Wiki page on bank accounts in Canada to see which banks would be happy for him to do so, it's very common so shouldn't be an issue.

rebecca1986

Really?
We tried three different banks (Scotiabank, CIBC and RBC) and all 3 said they unfortunately do not let visitors open bank accounts, and I understand their reasons why. Each bank said they would need proof of legally being allowed to live and work here and wanted proof via visa's and SIN's. Hence keeping a lot of cash in the house not by choice!

wolstie

As I've said on previous threads, I opened a bank account with RBC on a visitor status - absolutely no problem at all.

Just told them that I had been offered a job and wanted to set up a bank account. They didn't ask for proof.

mariar

I applied for a visitor extension in June as my visa expired in July. I am in the same circumstances as you are, waiting to hear about spousal PR. In my application to extend I included a copy of bank statement from the UK (which didnt have ten grand in but was close) and stated that my partner in Canada was able and willing to support me and i included 3 of his payslips. I havent heard back yet so i'm still on implied status and don't know if this was sufficient, but thought i'd share and let you hear someone else's experience

carrin

Hi there.. same situation for us. My husband is on the 6 month visit (with a lot less than 10k in funds!) He easily opened a chequing account at CIBC with only his passport and birth certificate. Talk to the bank manager though because the tellers don't always know exactly what's what.

mandymoochops

Hi - again same situation as all the above.

My hubby supports me (bless him!) and we sent in payslips / bank statements / and last years T4 as proof of his income.

The banks will open an account for you, they only ask for your sin number so they can run it through the computer and match you up if you are on the credit database to see if they can 'offer' you any products upon account opening, also they need it if you are opening a savings account for tax purposes - if you are not doing any of the above then all you need to say is 'sorry i'm not giving out my sin'.

They absolutely cannot refuse to open a bank account on that basis. when I worked for BMO a couple of years back the only criteria is that you have two forms of id - on their list would be a passport (foreign is absolutely ok) and maybe his drivers license / birth certificate / credit card.

Whilst strictly speakng you are a visitor (or sorry he is) he is applying for pr so it's in process.

Don't be afraid of the banks they are normal people doing a job, and it may well be that some of the account opening staff are not familiar with immigrants (I used to get all the newcomers to Canada and then would end up telling them how to get SINS / cell phones / cheese )

Check out the criteria online for opening new accounts with the banks you will go to and make yourself aware of what they need, good luck x

rebecca1986

Thankyou for all your replies, they ae always extremely helpful.
We are going to go to a couple of banks again tomorrow and try to open another account again, hopefully this time with more luck!

BrennaBoo

Hey - we used my pay stubs as proof of funds.


As well - we opened a CIBC joint bank account with no issues whatsoever.

CANADIAN CARPERS

Try HSBC Canada, I opened an account with them over the phone from Liverpool, England. The ATM card, cheque book etc arrived 6 days later, no problems.

britsnake

I opened an account with the CIBC when I came as a visitor. They even sent the statements to my address in the UK whilst I was waiting for PR.

To open a CIBC account you just needs 2 pieces of ID whcih could be a UK passport and a UK driving Licence.

You can even go in with just your passport and a CIBC customer in good standing who then recommends you (That is what I did).

Sometimes the first person you speak to does not know what they are talking about, but if you do your research and sometimes just speak to someone else or try a different branch you can get through.

victorfoxtrot

I extended my visa and just sent copies of my UK savings accounts. I don't think we even bothered sending in any of my partners payslips. Presumably if your partner withdrew all his savings then he must have it somewhere...but if it is under the mattress, then I don't suppose that will suffice (maybe a photo of it?

Regarding bank accounts, I too thought I couldn't open one and was told to try TD Canada, which I did, and I opened one successfully in February this year. So I would give them a shot. Think I just took my passport and Ontario driving license along. My partner had a BMO account when I first moved out and then switched to Presidents Choice - neither of which would add me as a joint account holder based on my visitor status.

If you can't be bothered waiting to set up an account for your application, I would just send your payslips in with an explanation that you are supporting him.