Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Preparing your Landing IV - Money



It might cost more than you think. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) asks you to show “proof of funds” when you arrive. You have to prove that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada.

But the amount of money CIC wants you to have is probably not enough for you to have a life like you had before you came to Canada. Many newcomers don't find a job for many months. It will take time for you to make your new life here into the life you want.

As I mentioned in the Housing post, when you rent an apartment or house, you must pay the first and the last month’s rent before you move in. Some rental apartments and houses have furniture, but most do not. You must buy furniture. You might have to buy winter clothes. You have to pay for transportation, telephone, food, medicine, entertainment … The list of things to pay for is long.

So for a family of three - as in my case - you will need around $17,000 CAD to survive for the first 6 months. here are the items that you probably would need to pay for monthly ... the costs are not the same in all cities, so I will try to make ranges:

I have posted an updated detailed Cost of Living Table at:

Cost of Living


I hope you have a clearer picture about what your spending would be in Canada :) Feel free to post any comment or question.

As an answer for the comment below about the TAX: Everything Dollar you bring to Canada is subject to TAX, you claim it at the end of the year as income.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does the money we bring in upon landing to Canada is already subject for tax? is any amount as cash to bring in is ok?

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Pls tell me how much money can be carried from India to Canada. I think there is a limit of us$ 10,000 per head. So two of us can only carry $20,000. What if I have a net worth of $ 2,00,000 and want to bring it to Canada with me ?

Unknown said...

You can bring more than $10,000 to Canada on your first landing.

However, if you are carrying more than CDN $10,000, when you arrive, tell a Canadian official when you arrive in Canada. If you do not tell an official you may be fined.
Here is the CBSA web site:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5052-eng.html

You are not taxed on the money you bring with you when you land.

Anonymous said...

Hi Nabil,
how can I carry my money to Canada? I mean I would not like to travel with 10K CAD in my wallet...
Thanks!

Unknown said...

I have posted details about how to bring money to Canada here:

http://www.immigrationexpertise.com/2008/08/how-to-bring-money-to-canada.html

Check it out :)

Anonymous said...

Hi.
Please tell me when we are landing to Canada how much money we need to carry (show to the immigration officer)for My self ,wife and two children.Please help.

Anonymous said...

Is there a minimum amount of money to show the immigration officer besides proof of funds.
Just staying for 5 days with relatives
Entering Canada to get passport stamped for Pr

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