Opening Canadian bank prior to arrival in Canada.

Phily72

Hi all,

I am moving to Canada in June on the IEC and want to open a bank account before I depart.

I have been researching opening a bank account but it seems that this service is not offered by most Canadian banks.

Can anybody tell me if this is possible?
And if so how does one go about it?

Thanks.

COYVB

Don't think it's possible. Just open it when you get there

Oh, and I recommend President's Choice - they have no fees

Calgary22

Not possible as you need a sin number and can't this till you get your work permit which you need to be in Canada to get:D

COYVB

Calgary22 wrote: »

Not possible as you need a sin number and can't this till you get your work permit which you need to be in Canada to get:D

I opened mine without a sin in 2009

Calgary22

A lot has changed in 4 years;-)

againstthetide

A sin is not a requirement of opening a bank account.
Having two forms of ID and an address in Canada is the requirement

See the following link

http://www.cba.ca/en/consumer-information/40-banking-basics/83-opening-a-bank-account

Income tax reporting requirements
The Income Tax Act requires banks to ask you for your Social Insurance Number (SIN) when you open an interest-bearing account, so the bank can report your interest income to the government. Any account, however, can be opened without your SIN.

The only thing you will have in the beginning to satisfy the Part A requirement is the work permit stapled in your passport

Part A
A drivers’ licence issued in Canada, as permitted to be used for identification purposes under provincial law
A Canadian passport
A Certificate of Canadian Citizenship or Certification of Naturalization, in the form of a paper document or card but not a commemorative issue
A Permanent Resident card or Citizenship and Immigration Canada Form IMM 1000 or IMM 1442
A birth certificate issued in Canada
A Social Insurance Number card issued by the Government of Canada
An Old Age Security card issued by the Government of Canada
A Certificate of Indian Status issued by the Government of Canada
A provincial health insurance card, as permitted to be used for identification purposes under provincial law
A document or card, bearing the individual’s photograph and signature, issued by any of the following authorities or their successors:
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
Alberta Registries
Saskatchewan Government Insurance
Department of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
Department of Transportation and Public Works of the Province of Prince Edward Island
Service New Brunswick
Department of Government Services and Lands of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Department of Transportation of the Northwest Territories
Department of Community Government and Transportation of the Territory of Nunavut

Part B
An employee identity card, issued by an employer that is well known in the community, bearing the individual’s photograph
A bank or automated banking machine or client card,issued by a member of the Canadian Payments Association in the name of, or bearing the name of, the individual and bearing the individual’s signature
A credit card, issued by a member of the Canadian Payments Association in the name of, or bearing the name of, the individual and bearing the individual’s signature
A Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) client card bearing the individual’s photograph and signature
A foreign passport

Calgary22

Omg I got told: D haha..

Phily72

Thank's for the info lads.
I guess I'll just have to wait until I get there.

MP_Calgary2012

BMO- open before you arrive! Hope this helps

http://www.bmo.com/home/personal/banking/everyday/newcomers-to-canada/open-account/steps

againstthetide

Seems like a lot of work to save you an hour of your day when you arrive

Calgary22

But when you arrive and set up an account how long does it take to get an ATM card:-/

MP_Calgary2012

I know, but if an account needs/wants to be set up prior to arrival, it is possible that's all. You will get your bank card and set your PIN on the same day as you open your account which is super handy

Manitoban

We opened a TD bank account when we arrived here, very simple and we were handed debit cards there and then.
If you are looking for a credit card I'd suggest looking at Scotia Bank, TD would give us a credit card with a limit of $5000 but froze $5000 from our current account!

montreal2011

Everyone should get an ING account as a secondary account.

They offer the best interest rates and unlimited debit purchases.

They don't offer credit cards.

They also don't have branches like other banks, which helps them have the lowest fees and best interest rates. They do have a location in the major cities, but they don't offer much more than replacement ATM cards.

They offer free atm withdrawal at National Bank.

They have recently being bought by Scotia Bank so they might offer more free ATM soon.

Keep an eye out for special offers when joining. I got $50 to open a checking account and $100 to transfer may payroll. My employer allows splitting payroll between banks, so I have half going to ING and half going to BMO.

BMO have higher charges than most banks I think, but I need them for credit card, which is good for building credit.

COYVB

PC financial will give you a credit card, and they've got no fee banking

Interest rate isn't great though

dealhunter1985

I went to TD this morning here in Toronto and in less than an hour (without a SIN number) I had an account setup , a debit card and online banking already activated.

They made it very easy. All I needed to give was my passport and my address. When asked for the visa, i showed the LOI and he just made note of the document number.

Oh and its completely free banking if you have at least 5,000 CAD in your account so i couldnt say no really.

COYVB

dealhunter1985 wrote: »

Oh and its completely free banking if you have at least 5,000 CAD in your account so i couldnt say no really.

Until, of course, you use more than 15 debit transactions a month that is :P

Ah no, TD's not the worst of them tbh

dealhunter1985

well the particular account type I'm on is unlimited transactions.. It was one of the more premium plans. There were more basic ones that offered an element of free banking if you had a minimum of like 2500 in your account. The plan I'm on is 29.99 if you don't have a minimum of 5k in your account each month.

Bonhomme

www.scotiabank.com/startright

This site has a bunch of information on banking, currency, credit, etc in Canada, and they also offer banking packages specifically for newcomers.

COYVB

My business uses Scotiabank. Wouldn`t recommend them tbh

tommyombomb

Setup the infinity account with TD. Get a free net book in aug when I do certain things.

Also CC for 1k. No hassle

NewsMeQuick

To open a bank account you have to have your apartment/house share set up right? I really want to get access to a CAD bank account as fast as possible upon arrival.

fergusb

Yeah, you need to have your Visa which you will only get on arrival, and canadian address. I arrived on a Monday and on Wednesday I had a Bank account set up with Scotiabank and had a debit card. They required a copy of Passport, visa and proof of address..... this was a bit tricky as we were staying in an Airbnb place, but they seemed happy with the email booking.

It was all pretty painless, that said they still won't give me a credit card! I only got around to applying for one during the summer (you need to have regular income to apply) and at that stage my visa had less than 6 months left. I'll apply for one as soon as I activate my new visa.

Gonzo_Reporter

Some good info here thank you.
This Seems a good a place as any to ask... What did people do with their old accounts in Ireland? Close them or leave them Open ( paying the bank fees ). l don't want to pay fees for an idle acc but obviously i need to access money before l open a Canadian acc. is there a way to achieve this?