# Going the other direction



## Rox (Oct 17, 2010)

Dear masters,

I needed some advice, and I do believe this forum is able to help me out here. Have been reading this forum for the last few weeks with keen interest, and I must say the finance experts here do come with quality.

I am currently outside of Canada, a non-resident. Plans have been made, and will soon be moving to Canada in a year or two.

I am thinking of putting in some investments in Canada to start off, and perhaps when my nest egg in Canada is big enough to generate me substantial monthly cashflow for my living expenses, I may just retire when I go there later.

I see some retirees making plans to leave Canada, on the other hand, I am preparing to go to Canada, hence my title as in the above : going the other direction.

On the investments, I am keen to go for Stocks and Income Trusts. 

Would appreciate advice from the kind people here,... and thanks in advance,...


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## Rox (Oct 17, 2010)

Would really appreciate some help from the folks here, saw many reads but still no reply,... hoped it's not because I'm a non-resident,... thanks again in advance,..


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Since this is a Canadian discussion forum, there aren't likely to be too many non-residents on it. But I will take a stab at a couple of comments.

Tax rules for non-residents can be complicated. See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nnrs-eng.html for information from Canada Revenue Agency. Also talk to the tax authorities in your present counry of residence to determine their tax treatment on your (proposed) Canadian income.

From other posts I believe Canadian Mutual funds cannot be sold to non-residents, except inside an RRSP (which you would not be eligible for with no Canadian employment experience.)

I believe you may be able to find brokers who will handle CDN stock investing accounts for non-residents. I know little about the subject, but search on this forum and on Google for info.

It is not clear to me why you would want to move money in this fashion ahead of immigrating, unless it is to hide assets from some government. You should be able to invest in CDN market in some form through a broker or financial institution in your own country.

Your post also sounds suspiciously contradictory about your plans. On the one hand you say "Plans have been made, and will soon be moving to Canada in a year or two." Then you say "... and perhaps when my nest egg in Canada is big enough to generate me substantial monthly cashflow for my living expenses, I may just retire when I go there later."

So which is it?


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## Rox (Oct 17, 2010)

OhGreatGuru said:


> Since this is a Canadian discussion forum, there aren't likely to be too many non-residents on it. But I will take a stab at a couple of comments.
> 
> Tax rules for non-residents can be complicated. See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nnrs-eng.html for information from Canada Revenue Agency. Also talk to the tax authorities in your present counry of residence to determine their tax treatment on your (proposed) Canadian income.
> 
> ...


Great Guru, many thanks,... your comments have been most helpful.

I've read up on the taxation for non-residents in that CRA website, things are very clear now,.. I am moving money out because since my plans are to immigrate to Canada, I was thinking why do I not start to accumulate my instruments there. Should be the natural thing to do, and by the way, I've quite some instruments at where I am situated currently, hence, investing in Canadian assets would act as a method of diversification for me too.

I'm sorry for the confusion ! What I meant to say was : I am sure to move to Canada. If my nest egg is big enough to generate me substantial income for my living expenses when I am in Canada, then I guessed I wouldn't have to work after I have migrated. Otherwise, I may need to take up a job there.

Do you think my plans above are sound ?

I don't really need to buy any Canadian Mutual Funds at this moment before I am there, but surely I can start to build my portfolio of Canadian Income Trusts and Dividend Stocks, right ? 

One more thing to add, I don't really want to buy Canadian stocks from a local broker at my place here, their charges are quite high. I am thinking more like me going up there to Toronto (or anywhere else in Canada) and open up a brokerage account. My buying activity will be done over the net.


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## Karen (Jul 24, 2010)

If you're an American citizen planning to move to Canada at some time in the future, I highly recommend a book called _The American in Canada: Real-Life Tax and Financial Insights into Moving to and Living in Canada_ by Brian D. Wruk and Terry F. Ritchie. It was recommended to us when my late husband moved to Canada and became a permanent resident here. We ordered it online through Amazon.ca, but you may be able to buy it at book stores as well.

There are many complications for an American making such a move; we would have been much better off and saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we were properly prepared for them. This book will help.

(There's another one for people going the opposite way called, can you guess: _The Canadian in America_)


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## Rox (Oct 17, 2010)

Karen said:


> If you're an American citizen planning to move to Canada at some time in the future, I highly recommend a book called _The American in Canada: Real-Life Tax and Financial Insights into Moving to and Living in Canada_ by Brian D. Wruk and Terry F. Ritchie. It was recommended to us when my late husband moved to Canada and became a permanent resident here. We ordered it online through Amazon.ca, but you may be able to buy it at book stores as well.
> 
> There are many complications for an American making such a move; we would have been much better off and saved ourselves a lot of trouble if we were properly prepared for them. This book will help.
> 
> (There's another one for people going the opposite way called, can you guess: _The Canadian in America_)


Karen, appreciated the information,... but I would like to add here too that I do visit Toronto and Vancouver regularly, and loved to camp-out at the national parks around Jasper and Banff.

I have had some sessions with Tax Consultants and ordinary taxpayers, some high-worth individuals too, some conversations on very personal bases ,.... the tips provided were great.

Hence, I think it would not be too difficult to adjust,...


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Rox said:


> ...
> 
> I'm sorry for the confusion ! What I meant to say was : I am sure to move to Canada. If my nest egg is big enough to generate me substantial income for my living expenses when I am in Canada, then I guessed I wouldn't have to work after I have migrated. Otherwise, I may need to take up a job there.
> 
> ...


Suggest you re-state your question on the Investing topic. It's not specifically related to retirement. You are looking for an on-line discount brokerage that will accept accounts from non-residents. Someone there might know.


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## Rox (Oct 17, 2010)

OhGreatGuru said:


> Suggest you re-state your question on the Investing topic. It's not specifically related to retirement. You are looking for an on-line discount brokerage that will accept accounts from non-residents. Someone there might know.



Yeah, okay,... I posted this disc in this section because I wanted to retire in Canada when I moved there later, 

Guessed there are more to the mechanics of doing this.

I " have bullets, now I just need to know how and where to shoot them " to guarantee my future expenses.


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