Leaving Canada/Who to Notify

[MellySuzanne 0]

Hi everyone - I'm hoping for a little guidance. Hopefully these aren't silly questions! :-)

When leaving Canada on a K1 Visa and moving to the US, who should I notify? Do I need to file a change of address with the Canadian government somewhere? Do I cancel my MSP? Should I have all of my current statements (i.e. student loans) sent to my new home in the US or can I continue to have them sent to my previous address in Canada (my parents' home).

Thanks for any help you can offer!

- Melissa

[thetreble 19]

To be honest, I did not notify ANY ONE. Then I found VJ and saw people notified just about every service involved in their lives and felt silly. However, to be honest, I've not had any problems in the 3 years I've been away so I guess it's a ####### shoot. I was also very young so I didn't have anything being given to me that I had to have stopped.

Many people contact their provincial healthcare provider as when you become a US Resident you are no longer eligible for the benefits. If you are receiving any money, like GST checks, from the government, you must also have that stopped. It appears that any money you take from the Canadian government once you are no longer a resident will have to be re-paid at some point.

I also think on your last tax return you could check something that told the Canadian government you won't be returning as a Canadian resident next year?

I'm not the best person to reply to this post but others will give you lots of great advice.

[JillA 2]

I just made sure to cancel my GST cheques, as I didn't want to keep getting those and have to pay them back. I also changed my address with the government, just so my tax package, etc. would be sent here. I notified OHIP with a written letter to advise them I was no longer an Ontario resident, and I cut up that card along with my Ontario DL. As for other stuff, I just changed my address with my magazine subscriptions, credit card, etc. the usual stuff!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If you have any pension contributions to CPP you will want to notify them; if you have any income and have paid income tax during the year, you will want to notify Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as they will mail the income tax form you need to do you exit taxes next April to your new address. If you are receiving any CRA benefits (GST, CTB, etc.) you must also notify CRA so you don't continue to receive these benefits as you are ineligible for them outside of Canada. If you have any benefits in an employer based pension plan you will want to notify them so they will know where to send your annual pension summaries; if you have any sort of utilities in your name that you are paying (ie internet, phone, etc.) you will want to notify them with the cutoff date for service as well as an address to send the last bill or any refunds; you will want to do the same for any insurance you have; you will want to notify your bank of your new address so they will mail you your statements, and you may wish to set up an internet account with your bank so you can still manage your account in the US. If you have any direct deposits into that account (ie. income tax refunds, etc.) you will want to leave that account open until after next year's income tax year as it is much easier to have a refund direct deposited than trying to find someone who will cash a cheque in Canadian funds. For ease, you can probably still have your student loans info come to your parents and continue to pay them from the US. As JillA mentioned you will want to notify any subscriptions and credit card holders. As your mail will still be coming to your parents they will be able to see if there is someone else who you should have notified when they receive the mail:-) and you can do it at that time.

[TimandJoyce 1]

Hi everyone - I'm hoping for a little guidance. Hopefully these aren't silly questions! :-)

When leaving Canada on a K1 Visa and moving to the US, who should I notify? Do I need to file a change of address with the Canadian government somewhere? Do I cancel my MSP? Should I have all of my current statements (i.e. student loans) sent to my new home in the US or can I continue to have them sent to my previous address in Canada (my parents' home).

Thanks for any help you can offer!

- Melissa

Thanks, as I was thinking about this too, but since I'm not leaving for 6 weeks, I knew I'd have a wee bit of time. Being a resident of Canada this month, I'm assuming the GST is mine, but I know I won't qualify for the one in Oct., so I thought I'd call closer to the end of the month. I also receive survivor's benefit, and will contact them once I have a US account. (thankfully they will deposit into one) I'm keeping my CIBC account open, and still going to deposit into RRSP's as they're not up for maturity until 2011. I've already set up a phone/fax agreement so that my bank can act on my behalf if I need them to do anything. You may want to check into your bank for something like that too. Also, I ordered a US dollar visa, so that I can use it in the States, and not worry about extra fees, etc. The downside to that is not being able to add it to my online banking accounts. I have to either go to branch or send a cheque, (in US dollars) to pay my statements. I'm hoping the phone/fax agreement will help with that.

Hmmmmm not sure of anything else we need to do..If you're banking online, you should be able to change your address through there too.

Best wishes for everything!

Edited July 6, 2009 by TimandJoyce

[Sprailenes 47]

You might want to let your friends and family know as well... they may miss you.

[Rirruto 0]

I tried to change my address with the bank, but they needed to see proof that I moved, so I waited until I had some mail... still need to change that.. haha..

I haven't informed the government or the healthcard people or my student loans... I probably should do that this week. I wanted to wait until I knew I was getting mail here and that everything was a-ok.

That will be my project tomorrow!

[MellySuzanne 0]

Thank you SO MUCH for all your words of advice everyone! I appreciate your help! :-)

[Carlawarla 1]

I tried to change my address with the bank, but they needed to see proof that I moved, so I waited until I had some mail... still need to change that.. haha..

I haven't informed the government or the healthcard people or my student loans... I probably should do that this week. I wanted to wait until I knew I was getting mail here and that everything was a-ok.

That will be my project tomorrow!

While you might want the student loan people to know of your new address, a good idea would be to keep your Canadian bank accounts open. This will allow you to have immediate funds there if/when you visit Canada! As well, your student loans can come out of that account while you're living in the US, and you don't have to worry about mailing cheques.

[SapphireDreams 71]

I tried to change my address with the bank, but they needed to see proof that I moved, so I waited until I had some mail... still need to change that.. haha..

I haven't informed the government or the healthcard people or my student loans... I probably should do that this week. I wanted to wait until I knew I was getting mail here and that everything was a-ok.

That will be my project tomorrow!

While you might want the student loan people to know of your new address, a good idea would be to keep your Canadian bank accounts open. This will allow you to have immediate funds there if/when you visit Canada! As well, your student loans can come out of that account while you're living in the US, and you don't have to worry about mailing cheques.

Yup, that's what my plan is. (That was me posting under my hubs' name)

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I would go with everything/ everybody from whom you receive mail - utilities is obvious of course since you'll be moving, if you have them - but it's a good start - plus any Government agency and any creditor to whom you owe $$$. Provincial Healthcare probably has instructions on their website about what do to when you're leaving the province (in this case the country of course!)

Notifying Canada Revenue Agnecy doesn't necessarily mean that GST knows so watch out for that loop - if you've gotten a recent statement from them indicating the upcoming year's alotment - call the number on the back and send in that address change form - trust me - just because you provide an American address does not mean they'll cancel your GST deposits (or Child tax benefit if you happen to get that).

I was lazy about updating my address with GST, CTB and CRA and I was bitten in the butt by $$ I shouldn't have received and then had to pay back - learn from my experiences if nothing else

Edited July 6, 2009 by Udella&Wiz

[domegirl1978 1]

What if you just sent the GST checks back to them as a return to sender once they arrive at your home?

Then would they know to stop sending them?

And if you write on your taxes that you no longer want the GST checks wouldn't that also stop them from coming to you?

[Hugglebuggles 60]

What if you just sent the GST checks back to them as a return to sender once they arrive at your home?

Then would they know to stop sending them?

And if you write on your taxes that you no longer want the GST checks wouldn't that also stop them from coming to you?

I talked to someone from GST on the phone about this. I changed my address when them, but he said that he cannot stop the payment from coming to my house for the month of July. He said that if i simply do a "return to sender" that the system still considers the payment has gone through, then I would be responsible for paying back money you didn't actually receive. He told me to have my parents mail the check back with the letter saying I no longer live in Canada and that I'm no longer eligible for GST benefits, just to insure there is no confusion.

I think writing no on your taxes stops the payments. I wasn't smart enough to think about that option. You can always call them just to make sure you don't get anymore payments.

[JillA 2]

What if you just sent the GST checks back to them as a return to sender once they arrive at your home?

Then would they know to stop sending them?

And if you write on your taxes that you no longer want the GST checks wouldn't that also stop them from coming to you?

That won't work though if you have direct deposit, as many do.

[minnew 4]

Humm something to consider when I move in Sept..there will be a GST payment in October...but mine are direct deposited to my chequing account.

Huggles when did you notify them that you were no longer eligible? Did they say how much notice they would have needed to stop the payment from coming to you? Shoot, why did I set up direct deposit for GST! *Gets the chequebook ready for Oct*

Edited July 6, 2009 by minnew