How much cash you can carry with you to Canada when you land for this first time?
We are a family of 4 and I have accounts in local Indian banks but I am thinking should I transfer all my money in a bank like citi ( which has branches in Canada) where I can request wire transfer online OR should I also carry some funds with me in form of cash or travelers checks, is this preferred way to carry cash or there are some other ways?
1) If you carry anything beyond C$10,000 (whether cash, Traveler Cheques etc.)., it has to be declared to Canadian customs. There is no upper limit on how much one can bring to Canada but it just needs to be declared.
2) You can carry few thousand dollars in cash for initial settlement . For rest amount you can carry UPDATED proofs (like Indian bank statement, FD receipt etc.) that shows the availability of remaining funds in liquid-easy to transfer form.
3) Another option is to open proper Canadian Bank account in Scotia Bank right from their branch in New Delhi. There might be branches in other Indian cities as well. They will open your Canadian account, transfer your funds into it and give you a statement that you can show at Canadian airport. They even issue a Canadian credit card and debit card right here in India .
Personally, I plan to carry 10,000 in cash and remaining in ICICI Bank visa travel card. Advantage with visa card is you can withdraw cash from any canadian ATM. Also, family in India can reload the card, if we run out of money in Canada. Disadvantage is it costs about $2 per ATM withdrawal transaction and Canadian bank restricts the amount that you can withdraw per transaction. Also, ICICI bank is not known for giving good currency exchange rates.
I think the bank option is the easiest, wouldnt you agree? Just curious as to why you are using ICIC bank credit card when the bank you mentioned gives you the credit and debit card?
I was talking about ICICI Bank Visa Travel card. It's different from a credit card. It's a prepaid card that they load with foreign currency and which we can use just like a debit or a ATM card in a foreign country.
I agree the bank option is easiest but the province where I intend to land (ontario) doesn't seem to have good network of Scotia ATMs . Every ATM transaction from another bank will cost will me money so I will have to open account with TD Trust bank anyhow.
In Canada, banking is expensive, we cannot afford to maintain several chequing accounts there. All banks offer 6months to one year free banking to new immigrants but after that they charge hefty monthly maintenance charges . If I remember correctly, scotia doesn't offer an option to waive off monthly fees even if we maintain some minimum balance.
But lets see plans change .... Not all Canadian banks offer facility to open account from India. For first 6 months at least Scotia is a good option, as we won't have to carry lot of cash from India.
