When I leave Canada do I have to let the government know?

[Shadowess 13]

I'm curious, I just got a letter that I need to renew my health care (still got my old red and white, but I guess they are OFFICIALLY phasing them out now - just about made it out in time) and on the letter it said:

I understand that if there is a change in my name, address, citizenship or immigration status, I will tell the Ministry of Health and Long term Care, or its agent Service Ontario, within 30 days.

This got me thinking about all my other ID, my drivers licence isn't set to expire until 2017, but what about my SIN card, or my credit cards, my bank accounts?

I'll also have a small amount of income in 2016, so I imagine I will have to file taxes in Canada for that amount, but I saw on another thread that there is some form you are supposed to fill out?

At what point do people cut these ties, or do you just change your address (maybe to a family or friends house so they will get your mail, or maybe a mail forward into the USA??)

Your thoughts or experiences??

[tdotca 41]

Hello, don't you wish things are clear cut so no confusion is present? :-)

From what I know, SIN is for life . I don't believe I have come across anyone changing address for this.

You can have credit cards/ bank accounts with a US address. My DL too expires 2017 and I have not changed that either .

Same with RRSPs, you can have a US address listed. Note: if you have TD RRSPs held with their Financial Planning branch, you need to move them from that branch ( this is what I have been told by my ex-financial planner. I guess since you won't be making her/him any more money, they don't want you). To get them moved is a whole different ball game and best to be done in a branch and that is part of my xmas home visit soon. I see you are listed as CA and have not POE'd as yet so, since this state does not have any TD related branches ( including TD Ameritrade) , do this function before you leave Canada to avoid headaches.

Filing taxes - This is one scary area that I don't want to be in violation of. I worked Jan/Feb 2015 so I know that I will have to file Canada taxes. From some posts, I believe on the tax form, there is a field that has to do with if you are filing for the last time as a Canadian resident. Sorry someone else does/did my taxes so I am not familiar with the exact field/terminology.

OHIP - I have read where some people notified and where some people did not notify and nothing happened. Me personally, I did not notify.

Bottom line: before you leave, cancel any and everything that you can think of. If important and/or you still need it, change to your US address, provided that that company is ok with that.

[Shadowess 13]

Thanks tdotca! That was helpful. I should ask my banks if there is any problem switching to a US address. I didn't even think that was an option so thanks for that!

I also have an accountant who does my taxes so I will see what he has to say regarding taxes for next year.

I see you're in Los Gatos, I'll be settling in Mountain View/Sunnyvale area. Did you arrive by plane or drive? I'll be making the drive from Ontario to California.

[NikLR 13,228]

I think the amount of ties people cut depends largely on a) if they plan on returning to Canada at some point, b) if they have investments including RRSP's in Canada, and c) how much effort they actually put into things like this.

I closed most of my bank accounts and my credit card. I kept a joint account open that has zero fees but I'm sure the bank will eventually close it. And I have one that allowed me to get EI and transfer the money to the USA easily with a similar account in the USA. This was also my way of starting my credit history in the USA because RBC will look at your Canadian credit so you can get a US credit card without having to start at the very bottom with a secured card with a very low limit.

I made sure to do my exit taxes. There is a box to check off to say when you stopped being a resident and also some extra schedules to fill out.

I didn't bother with my DL or AB health care, but because I was receiving CCTB and GST cheques I made sure to cancel those. The GST cheques I had to continue to cancel for quite some time. You'd think that manually sending them to a US address would have clued them in but didn't obviously. I still have my AB driver's license because I used it to drive until I was able to get a Colorado license. How long you can do this depends on each state. I think innately we obey the rules as immigrants better than most Americans do. I know several people who keep their registration and license in other states because it's cheaper even though legally they are a resident here and should have changed everything over, often years ago.

[Lemonslice 4,915]

I think the amount of ties people cut depends largely on a) if they plan on returning to Canada at some point, b) if they have investments including RRSP's in Canada, and c) how much effort they actually put into things like this.

That pretty much sums it up. It depends a lot on your personal situation; could be very easy and non-consequential to quite complicated and with big fines involved (FBAR, etc.). If you have continuing income in Canada or from Canadian sources, visit often, keep a residence or anything like that, you might want to consult with a competent accountant to make sure you file your taxes properly the year you leave Canada, but also in the future. In some situations, you might have to file Canadian and American taxes every year.

[mrs thb 331]

re:DL My understanding it is illegal to have 2 permanent drivers licences (similar to you cannot have 2 permanent residences). This was discussed with me both at the DMV in Reno, NV and with getting auto insurance in the US. When i got my DL in Reno, I did not have to surrender my Ontario DL like some states do but they needed it to check ID and driving history and just prior to my picture being taken in NV, they placed my ON DL into a machine which poked VOID in it so it is useless in ON should I get pulled over. since my ON DL did not expire until the end of 2016 I wanted the reimbursement...best be $ in my pocket than the ON government. Once I got my NV DL, I put my ON DL in to the mail for the reimbursement.

If you were a driver in ON you must have been paying auto insurance....so you'd want to cancel your policy. If your like me and paid a year upfront for cheaper rates, then you'd want that reimbursement too. When i cancelled my policy because i was moving...they wanted to know why...they asked for my new DL #. I guess this was their way of protecting themselves should i be attempting fraud. I should note that I didn't entirely cancel my policy, I took myself off but left my kids on as I was leaving my vehicles behind for their use.

SIN is for life. There;s no need to change that....even for name changes.

As for OHIP. I didn't bother notifying them. All my physicians know I moved so I figure take no effort in sending OHIP an "i'm gone" message.

As for change of address, I'll be mail forwarding and using my mom's address once my lease expires. Since I plan on returning to ON frequently to visit my grown kids I'll pick of the mail when I visit family and see about making formal address changes to my new NV address when the time comes.

I like NLR's comment about staying with her Canadian bank in the US for credit rating. I think I will investigate that here. Probably a good thing to do....

Edited December 2, 2015 by mrs thb

[tdotca 41]

Shadowess, re " I see you're in Los Gatos, I'll be settling in Mountain View/Sunnyvale area. Did you arrive by plane or drive? I'll be making the drive from Ontario to California" - I have since moved from Los Gatos . You are going to drive?! I flew as I don't do long drives - I can barely do Toronto to Ottawa to visit my sister :-)

For my auto insurance, I told TD that when my renewal date arrives, don't renew it ( they had my credit card on file) . I also asked them for a letter of experience which did not say much. I am still waiting to get my CA DL as I couldn't get it when I 1st landed as my K1 visa expired in less than required 2 mths and then had to wait until I got 1 of EAD or GC to show legal presence. Be aware that in CA , you will need to redo/pass vision,written and driving tests in order to get a DL here. Even though I don't have a CA DL, I am currently covered under my husband's auto insurance, who did ask for documentation from Service Ontario to show if I was a good driver or not.

This K1 visa process does not end for about 3yrs ( once you get that GC, it is valid only for 2 yrs - like you are on probation - then you have to do Remove of Conditions ).

Credit rating .. yeah that would be great provided that the state you settle in has the same bank or affiliate. Trying to establish credit here is a bxxxx. If you have a Cdn Amex, no issue

[NikLR 13,228]

It's odd but CO didnt void my AB driver's license. Both of my hubs old learners motorcycle license and reg license was voided when he got the full annotation on a new one. Maybe they messed up with my AB license and forgot.

Btw i do not have RBC in my state. I do all my banking online or over the phone. The nearest branch is in Georgia. I had ZERO issues getting the credit card.

[Shadowess 13]

NLR did you get and RBC credit card in Canada and then had them transfer your Canadian credit?

Did you have to wait to have a US address before you made an account in the US (how did you get an out of state bank account?)

[NikLR 13,228]

NLR did you get and RBC credit card in Canada and then had them transfer your Canadian credit?

Did you have to wait to have a US address before you made an account in the US (how did you get an out of state bank account?)

I opened a savings account in Canada and a checking account in the USA while in Canada. There is a special form called a w8ben that allows you to open accounts in the US from Canada. Once in the US I changed the addresses on both accounts. After I got my job I applied for the credit card in the US. They approved me over the phone with my credit limit and apr%. I also sent all my accounts, my RBC checking, a joint account with hubs, and the credit card, a w9 that changes the status from the w8ben (so changed it from a non resident to resident for tax purposes.) I did not need an SSN to open either the RBC USA account or credit card. RBC USA reports to all 3 credit bureaus. You have to make sure to give them your SSN and/or w9 so that they report here though. I had thought the cc would change with my checking account but it had not, so they were still reporting to the Canadian credit bureaus for a couple months. That was just my bad.

Opening accounts not in the same state isn't an issue. Signature cards are just emailed. I already had a joint account with my husband with USAA which is mostly online. They're used to foreign spouses as a military bank so I knew the process and had seen the forms before.

Edited December 3, 2015 by NLR