canadian abroad tourist?

[canphil]

Can someone clarify this.. if a canadian citizen travels out of country, in my case philippines, and stays there for one year to sponsor his girlfriend common law to canada, is he considered a "tourist"? I am confused if I would enter my canadian address or temporary philippine address on whatever application forms I would have to fill and for doing income tax for the year abroad

 

[canphil]

no one knows???

 

[DBHC]

What's your visa status there?

 

[canphil]

tourist but I've been living here for over a year on extensions. Canada is my home, have my house and family there.

 

[canadianwoman]

You can use either address. You want to be able to get mail, if CIC sends you anything, so if you use your Canadian address, make sure there is someone there who can collect the mail for you and forward it. If you want any mail to come to you in the Philippines, then use that address at least as your mailing address. Since the fact you are living with your spouse or partner will help to prove that the relationship is genuine, I would use your Philippine address as your residential address. In any case, you can explain your situation somewhere in the application - say that you have maintained your residence in Canada, but have been living in the Philippines for 18 months on a tourist visa.

Once you have been living in another country for a year, CIC will regard you as not residing in Canada, so you will have to provide proof of your intent to return to Canada with the sponsorship application. For this, it does not matter what kind of visa you are on in the Philippines.

For taxes, to be considered a non-resident for tax purposes, you should be out of Canada for two years or more. You are also supposed to declare this before you go - for example, by canceling your provincial health coverage. Since you will have been out of Canada for less than two years, you can just file your taxes normally. Again, you can use either address - CRA won't care; if they have questions, they will send you a letter about it and you can explain your situation then.

 

[canphil]

You can use either address. You want to be able to get mail, if CIC sends you anything, so if you use your Canadian address, make sure there is someone there who can collect the mail for you and forward it. If you want any mail to come to you in the Philippines, then use that address at least as your mailing address. Since the fact you are living with your spouse or partner will help to prove that the relationship is genuine, I would use your Philippine address as your residential address. In any case, you can explain your situation somewhere in the application - say that you have maintained your residence in Canada, but have been living in the Philippines for 18 months on a tourist visa.

Once you have been living in another country for a year, CIC will regard you as not residing in Canada, so you will have to provide proof of your intent to return to Canada with the sponsorship application. For this, it does not matter what kind of visa you are on in the Philippines.

For taxes, to be considered a non-resident for tax purposes, you should be out of Canada for two years or more. You are also supposed to declare this before you go - for example, by canceling your provincial health coverage. Since you will have been out of Canada for less than two years, you can just file your taxes normally. Again, you can use either address - CRA won't care; if they have questions, they will send you a letter about it and you can explain your situation then.

Thanks for the info, wasn't aware of all that but what proof do I need to return to Canada?? Canada is my home, I have my house there and all my ID is my canada address. I am not working but I have some money banked and will be less than a year away from pension by the time we finish.

 

[canadianwoman]

Think of what you will do when it is time to leave the Philippines and go back to Canada with your partner. What will you have to do to leave the Philippines, and what will you have to do to reestablish yourself in Canada? Then get proof of whatever you can. For example, if you can only stay in the Philippines for two years, you can show this as proof you will be leaving. If you plan to ship household goods back to Canada, get quotes from companies who do this. Then show proof of what you will do when you two are in Canada: where will you live, what will you use for money, where will you work, what are your plans for work for your partner, etc. Proof of home ownership, money in the bank, investments, and a Canadian pension are all good evidence you will return. You can also get letters or affidavits from family members and friends stating they know of your plans to come back. If any are going to be helping you when you first return, they can mention that as well.