Transfer money from India to Canada being NRI

[Arihant]

Hello Everyone.

Has anyone recently tried transferring INR To CAD after becoming PR? I am in need of it to show as pof , most probably in Scotia bank I would open account. I am more interested in bank transfers or transferwise experiences. Is it all okay for Scotia bank to get money via transferwise route since I read something about 3rd party route not permitted on their site.

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

Hello Everyone.

Has anyone recently tried transferring INR To CAD after becoming PR? I am in need of it to show as pof , most probably in Scotia bank I would open account. I am more interested in bank transfers or transferwise experiences. Is it all okay for Scotia bank to get money via transferwise route since I read something about 3rd party route not permitted on their site.

There isn't a specific issue listed in your post. But I'd address what I learned from yours. You don't need to transfer money to show POF. Get your bank statement from India instead.

But if that for some reason isn't an option...you can...

You can easily wire money. There's not a lot of issues to deal with, except of taxes. Indian govt will presumptively withhold 5% of the amount. You'll get it released once you show that taxes were paid on this income. You'll be charged for exchange rate, expect to lose 3-4% here.

You can also get a banker's cheque from your bank in India. You can simply use this banker's cheque with Scotiabank and get the money deposited. You'll be charged for exchange rate, expect to lose 3-4% here too.

The best way to transfer INR from India is apparently through SBI, they offer the best and cheapest rates. If you got ICICI as a bank, use their Canadian branch instead.

Do you really need to move the funds to show POF from your own account in India to Scotiabank? It would do nothing but waste capital for you.

 

[Arihant]

Thanks for revert.
My intent to show funds was at Canadian Entry point but at the same time these funds will be transferred to right type of checking / other registered accounts once we are settled.. I completely agree I can use bank statements and stuff instead but having something already settled electronically sounds better.
I was more interested in using transferwise as a service for outward remittance, inr to cad as it has better rates but I found its restrictions already and it seems it cannot be used for such moderate amount of money and also not available for NRI's.

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

I was more interested in using transferwise as a service for outward remittance, inr to cad as it has better rates but I found its restrictions already and it seems it cannot be used for such moderate amount of money and also not available for NRI's.

Just noticed that I totally skipped the part where you mentioned to show POF upon port of entry.

Since I only talked to my banker, Transferwise (TW) never came up. I have received payments from out of India through TW and the exchange rates look good. I'm unsure of what those rates would be on sending from India to Canada. If you look into TW, do update me as well. If I look into it, I'll update you too.

 

[Arihant]

Thanks for revert again. I have raised queries to TW . But few things are sure, They allow only INR 700K transfer to abroad, say Canada and that too for educational purposes, for other purposes like immigration, it is half of it so effectively it prohibits itself from being chosen for such use like transferring moderate (30/40/50K CAD) transfers.
Also I tried choosing 30K something for test and found the fee was exorbitant, prima facie it appeared more than bank transfer. On top of that they too are charging 5% TCS on transfer so effectively and holistically they are more expensive then bank, imo.

 

[Rohit Chhabra]

Thanks for revert again. I have raised queries to TW . But few things are sure, They allow only INR 700K transfer to abroad, say Canada and that too for educational purposes, for other purposes like immigration, it is half of it so effectively it prohibits itself from being chosen for such use like transferring moderate (30/40/50K CAD) transfers.
Also I tried choosing 30K something for test and found the fee was exorbitant, prima facie it appeared more than bank transfer. On top of that they too are charging 5% TCS on transfer so effectively and holistically they are more expensive then bank, imo.

By the way, TCS is increasing to 20% from 1st July onwards.. @iSaidGoodDay.. applies to you too in case you're planning to move in July.
Also, we won't be considered NRIs before landing in Canada..
(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/budget/from-studying-abroad-to-holidaying-overseas-how-foreign-remittance-will-be-taxed-from-july-1/articleshow/97713626.cms?from=mdr)

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

By the way, TCS is increasing to 20% from 1st July onwards.. @iSaidGoodDay.. applies to you too in case you're planning to move in July.
Also, we won't be considered NRIs before landing in Canada..
(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/budget/from-studying-abroad-to-holidaying-overseas-how-foreign-remittance-will-be-taxed-from-july-1/articleshow/97713626.cms?from=mdr)

wtaf!

I'll go through it and see if I need to do something asap.

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

wtaf!

I'll go through it and see if I need to do something asap.

Talked to my CA, he said this shouldn't go through by July. Talked very late so couldn't get too much into details.

But, he said even for the 5% withholding, I'll file my yearly taxes before landing so that 5% withholding will get released faster.

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

By the way, TCS is increasing to 20% from 1st July onwards.. @iSaidGoodDay.. applies to you too in case you're planning to move in July.
Also, we won't be considered NRIs before landing in Canada..
(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/budget/from-studying-abroad-to-holidaying-overseas-how-foreign-remittance-will-be-taxed-from-july-1/articleshow/97713626.cms?from=mdr)

This is super serious shit. CA told me that they'd actually go through with 20% TCS withholding that would be released by end of tax year (2024 in our cases). So, we will have to transfer everything before July. I'm considering a home purchase in July and this 20% reduction would definitely annoy me. I might move in June to do 5% TCS instead.

My CA will get back to me with more info tomorrow or day after on what's the best thing to do.

 

[alok4best]

Thanks for revert again. I have raised queries to TW . But few things are sure, They allow only INR 700K transfer to abroad, say Canada and that too for educational purposes, for other purposes like immigration, it is half of it so effectively it prohibits itself from being chosen for such use like transferring moderate (30/40/50K CAD) transfers.
Also I tried choosing 30K something for test and found the fee was exorbitant, prima facie it appeared more than bank transfer. On top of that they too are charging 5% TCS on transfer so effectively and holistically they are more expensive then bank, imo.

For proof of funds, you do not need money in a Canadian account. Even at port of entry, a stamped bank statement from an Indian bank account is sufficient.

However, you will need access to your funds once you are here. which is why you are planning to move money around.
There are a few options
> You can open a Canadian bank account and then wire the money to it. If I recall correctly, you can open an account in Scotia Bank from India itself. Even at ICICI. Once you are here, you walk in to a branch with your ID and they will unlock the account for use.
> The second option is buy a prepaid card with 4-5K CAD balance on it. This will allow you to help go by while you settle down.
> Another option is to simply use your Indian debit card for purchases here. Some bank in India have international transactions disabled by default for security. So verify this before you go this route.
> Though not so popular anymore, but traveler's cheque is still an option to bring in a bank draft from India.

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

For proof of funds, you do not need money in a Canadian account. Even at port of entry, a stamped bank statement from an Indian bank account is sufficient.

However, you will need access to your funds once you are here. which is why you are planning to move money around.
There are a few options
> You can open a Canadian bank account and then wire the money to it. If I recall correctly, you can open an account in Scotia Bank from India itself. Even at ICICI. Once you are here, you walk in to a branch with your ID and they will unlock the account for use.
> The second option is buy a prepaid card with 4-5K CAD balance on it. This will allow you to help go by while you settle down.
> Another option is to simply use your Indian debit card for purchases here. Some bank in India have international transactions disabled by default for security. So verify this before you go this route.
> Though not so popular anymore, but traveler's cheque is still an option to bring in a bank draft from India.

Any suggestions on moving $200k+ as a newcomer? Wiring by opening a bank account pre-landing is a good idea?

 

[alok4best]

Any suggestions on moving $200k+ as a newcomer? Wiring by opening a bank account pre-landing is a good idea?

Talk to the banks. You can definitely open a Canadian account while you are still in India.
However, they might have limits to how much you can transfer.
For example Scotia has a limit of 50K.
https://startright.scotiabank.com/international-application.html

May be you can have an account at Scotia and one at ICICI if that helps.
From a legal perspective, there is no restriction on how much funds or goods you can bring to Canada when you first land.
In fact, during your first landing, you can also provide a list of "goods/funds to follow" and then bring the rest the next time you come back from India.

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

By the way, TCS is increasing to 20% from 1st July onwards.. @iSaidGoodDay.. applies to you too in case you're planning to move in July.
Also, we won't be considered NRIs before landing in Canada..
(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/budget/from-studying-abroad-to-holidaying-overseas-how-foreign-remittance-will-be-taxed-from-july-1/articleshow/97713626.cms?from=mdr)

So, went through this in a bit more detail.

Sad news: If we moved the funds before end of March, there'd be no TCS as we filed taxes on these funds.

Other news:
1. After 6 months, you'll become an NRI and there would be no TCS on you. This is super shitty and does nothing to prevent money laundering (which is why they brought in TCS!)
2. We can move upto $50k in Scotia through the newcomer program and $100k in ICICI through Hello Canada program. I'm going to use both.

This TCS of 20% is extremely stupid.

 

[Rohit Chhabra]

So, went through this in a bit more detail.

Sad news: If we moved the funds before end of March, there'd be no TCS as we filed taxes on these funds.

Other news:
1. After 6 months, you'll become an NRI and there would be no TCS on you. This is super shitty and does nothing to prevent money laundering (which is why they brought in TCS!)
2. We can move upto $50k in Scotia through the newcomer program and $100k in ICICI through Hello Canada program. I'm going to use both.

This TCS of 20% is extremely stupid.

I was kind of offline for the last week or so.. thanks for all the updates. So basically, one should be aiming to transfer funds by end of June to avoid 20% TCS.
Since you plan to bring in a substantial amount, do checkout TD bank and RBC as well.. if i recall correctly, they also allow to open accounts before landing..

 

[iSaidGoodDay]

I was kind of offline for the last week or so.. thanks for all the updates. So basically, one should be aiming to transfer funds by end of June to avoid 20% TCS.
Since you plan to bring in a substantial amount, do checkout TD bank and RBC as well.. if i recall correctly, they also allow to open accounts before landing..

Thanks, I'll checkout TD and RBC too. Couldn't find anything on the upper limits of transfer? Do you know how much I can transfer?