When you apply you must show that your enough funds to support yourself and your family when you arrive in Canada. Here is the link to the Canadian Immigration page that outlines the amounts required.

When you are showing your available funds it is perfectly alright to count in the value of property - house, car, jewelry, your grandma, anything at all that you can sell and have access to the money to support yourself at the time of landing. But you must have the funds when you land.

Also if you have a job already lined up you do not have to show proof of settlement funds. However getting a job offer before you land in Canada is extremely rare so don't bank on that happening.

Once you have the visa then these questions arise.....

How do I get my money into Canada?

This can be a bit of a problem for new immigrants. You obviously don't want to wander around with a suitcase of cash but on the other hand you need access to your money as soon as possible after landing. Canadian Banks do not recognise credit or financial history outside of Canada nor do they recognise bank drafts. Electronic credit transfers from some banks outside of the country are accepted but even then it may take several days before you can access the funds.

• Many Canadian banks have offices or branches throughout the rest of the world. You can open an account and put your money there. Then have it transferred to the Canadian branch when you get here. BUT you cannot open a Canadian bank account in Canada ahead of time because you have to have a Social Insurance Number in order to open the account. And you can't get a S.I.N. until you have landed.

• You can buy travellers cheques and bring your money in that way.

• We made the mistake of getting a bank draft (certified cheque) from our bank in Iowa, throughout the US this would be regarded as good as cash but typically the Canadian banking system refused to recognise it and refused payment on the cheque for three full weeks!

• We tried getting the cash transferred electronically. I had done this many times between the UK and the USA with no problem whatsoever. The transaction taking a matter of minutes. OH but not in Canada! Here they insisted on treating like a regular cheque being cleared internationally. A ten day wait this time. Since we landed it seems that the Canadian banking system has started to recognise the rest of the world and you can now get money transferred electronically a little faster. But you may have to explain it to the bank teller. Note: Since the events of September 11th, 2002 banks need to see full details of where the money is coming from as well as details of your account here in Canada.

How do we establish a credit history in Canada?

As we all know to qualify for Canadian Immigration we are prodded and examined in every nook and cranny and aspect of our lives. Health, criminal history, work history, educational history and financial history. We pass all those tests but the Canadian banking system doesn't care. You can be a corporate giant with a perfect credit history going back decades but as far as the Canadian banks are concerned you simply did not exist before you landed on Canadian soil. So you put your hard earned and saved money into one of their banks, which they accept of course, but can you get a credit card? Not a chance! They won't give you a card until you have established a credit history in Canada and you can't establish a credit history until you have credit!!

What can we do about this?

• If you already have a credit card with a US or European bank you can continue to use it in Canada. They will send you the bills here. We did this with our American Express account. Amex seemed to be perfectly happy to trust us even though we now live in another country. As did Visa from a US bank. We simply paid the bills by mail. We could even pay them in Canadian dollars and they make the exchange - and the rates aren't bad either.

• Canadian Tire has a store card. They will accept new immigrants provided you have proof of i.d., resident and preferably a credit card - it can be foreign.

• Car Dealers will extend credit - you may have to pay a slightly higher interest rate but they will make foreign credit checks - takes a matter of seconds through their computer systems which are linked to credit agencies. Makes you wonder why the banks can't figure out how to use the system doesn't it! Note: If things have changed and there are any bankers out there reading this who would like to comment do please drop me a line.

Can I get a mortgage to buy a house?

Surprisingly the banks will give you a mortgage. BUT you will have to put down 25% of the purchase price as a deposit. You can put down as little as 5% but it is quite costly because of higher premiums. It's up to you. There are quite strict rules too and you may not qualify.

What about taxes?

Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents have to pay tax on their world-wide income from the date of landing. US citizens and Permanent Residents have to pay US taxes on worldwide income from the date of landing/birth. So does this mean you have to pay twice if you are a US citizen and a Canadian Landed Immigrant?

No. You do have to file returns in both countries but there is an agreement in place that you only pay one tax bill. Canadian tax is higher than US tax. You have to pay the higher amount. Sorry about that.

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