I want to become non resident but keep some secondary ties to canada including my rrsp, one bank account, drivers licence and passport. I have been told that it's too many ties to keep and I should get rid of all bank accounts but keep the rest on my list. Any advice on what to keep?
Many thanks.
secondary ties I can keep
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
How few ties you keep depends on which country you are going to.
If it is a non-treaty country (or a country for which the treaty does not allow you to become a resident easily), then your passport is about all you can have.
If it is to a treaty country that has a residence ie-breaker clause which is easy to satisfy (like US), you need not get rid of anything, so long as you have MORE ties in the other country. So, certainly if moving to US you should keep a bank account and credit card, and there is noneed to cash in RRSPs (altough you will probably eventaully want anyways).
That said, one cannot 'keep" their drivr;s license once they move -- even from one province to another let alone to another country. If you move away, your DL is no longer valid within days or weeks. So, youaren't really keeping a DL at that point. same is tru for health cobverage, unless you have pre-arrangement wih province.
If it is a non-treaty country (or a country for which the treaty does not allow you to become a resident easily), then your passport is about all you can have.
If it is to a treaty country that has a residence ie-breaker clause which is easy to satisfy (like US), you need not get rid of anything, so long as you have MORE ties in the other country. So, certainly if moving to US you should keep a bank account and credit card, and there is noneed to cash in RRSPs (altough you will probably eventaully want anyways).
That said, one cannot 'keep" their drivr;s license once they move -- even from one province to another let alone to another country. If you move away, your DL is no longer valid within days or weeks. So, youaren't really keeping a DL at that point. same is tru for health cobverage, unless you have pre-arrangement wih province.
After 20 years, I am severely cutting back on responses. Do not ask specifically for my help. There are a few others on this board that can answer most questions. All the best