Options on How to Bring Your Settlement Funds to Canada

Bringing the big amount of money with us in Canada was risky.  We are not talking of hundred of dollars here, it's thousands of dollars.

The settlement fund is the fruit of an immigrant's labor and maybe the only asset that had accumulated for many years of employment and/or a small business.

After the Visa, an immigrant was tasked to bring the settlement funds to Canada to be able for her/him to survive for at least 6 months without a job.

How will someone bring the settlement fund?  

It's an email that brought me to make this post, which came from Mr. F.

Here's his concern.

Hi Sir Ben,

It's me again. 
Good news! We have received our visas last week! Praise God!:) 

Now we are preparing for our transition there, and one matter that is not yet clear to me is bringing our settlement funds. 

How did you do it sir? is it through demand draft? traveller's cheque? or cash?  

If it is through demand draft, do you have any idea how long will it take for a Canadian bank to clear/encash it?  

Thank you very much! 

Regards, 

Mr. F. 

To Mr. F., thanks for this inputs cause this is one of the issues that immigrants encounter. It will give you an idea on how to bring the hard-earned settlement funds to Canada.

Options on Bringing the Funds to Canada
There are few options on bringing your settlement funds to Canada.  In this post, I will only give you two that I know. It is in the form of cash or bank draft.

Bank Draft
At first, I planned to bring a bank draft or demand draft.  It is a piece of paper and usually a cheque, depends on the bank.

To get this, you have to inquire at your local bank.  You will then deposit/pay the money, your settlement fund, with the bank and in return they will give you a signed cheque with the value equivalent to that amount.

It is just like buying a piece of paper.

If you have an existing account with that bank, it will be easier for them to do the transfer from your account and write the cheque.

Now, you can bring the bank draft with you on your way to Canada.  It is safe because if you happen to lose it, it can't be withdrawn from your account.

Disadvantage
When you arrive in Canada, you have to open a bank account and deposit that cheque.  But, the bank will hold it for 15-30 days.  You can not withdraw any amount until the end of the holding period.

The following are the banks that you can open an account in Canada.  You can click each link to know how long will be the holding period is.

TD Canada Trust

CIBC

BMO

RBC

Scotiabank

The reason of the holding process is because the bank draft is issued from a foreign bank and the Canadian bank had to verify that it is legitimate, the local bank and the cheque.

So, I recommend that you only get a bank draft or demand draft from a reputable bank in your country.

Cash
I had chosen this option.  I exchanged some of my Singapore Dollars to USDollars while I was in Singapore.  It was easier there rather than in Philippines.

When I went back to Philippines, I changed all my Philippine Peso savings to USDollar currency.  Why?  It's because US Dollar is widely used currency in the world economy.  The exchange rate of a US$ does not fluctuate that much compared to a Canadian Dollar.

So, I brought along a small bag full of cash.

For your information: A US$10,000 worth of cash with a US$100 bill denomination is approximately an inch thick.

The cash was placed in a sling bag and I put it around my neck down to my chest. This way, someone needs to kill me first before they can get my hard-earned cash.

As we arrived in Canada, we went to the bank to open an account and deposited the cash in it.   It's fast and easy to withdraw anytime.

Disadvantage
It can be taken from you anytime and will be lost forever...

How to bring the fund is up to you.  There may be other options out there, but the important thing is to have a liquid asset with you so you can use it as soon as you need it.

Once you're here, the expenses will increase exponentially for the first few months of your stay.

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How Do You Feel After Having the VISA

Spring Time: Photo taken when I was on my way home after sending SAM to school (memovingtocanada.blogspot.com)

Federal Skilled Worker Program process is difficult, it burns out your time, money and effort.  Then all of these will turn out to be rewarding once you receive the much awaited VISA.

For the first few days of having the VISA in your hands, you feel like your in the state of nirvana.  When the excitement subsides, it will get you to a point of asking yourself, like what my readers emailed me.

Dear Ben, 

Glad to hear you are doing well :) I just received my visa, I want to write to you and ask if you think we should be leaving. You see, we are terribly afraid now, how did you do it?

You see, we are quite comfortable here, do you think we should be living. Appreciate it if you could give me your most honest opinions on whether we should stay or leave. We are Singaporeans without relatives there, are we really better off here? If i move, what should I expect? Can you share more about your wife's experience? Now, i am really scared @#$!%!

Ms. P. (let me know if you want to state your full name here)

*****************

Dear Ben

How are you? I hope you are doing great. Thanks for all the info in your web. It was informative and useful.

Btw, I just received my Passport request email from Singapore Visa Office today, I feel bless for that.

I'm planning to arrive at Toronto at around October 2015 from Jakarta.

How is life out there Ben? At the land of your dream.

Now that I got the passport request, how come I have such fears in my heart. Do you have that kind of feeling as well?

Can you share, how did you handle it?

Mr. D. (let me know if you want to state your full name here)

The fear of going out of your comfort zone now kicks in.  Going to a place and not knowing how your life will be, needs a lot of courage and a tough character.  This will be a life-changing journey, for better or for worse.

Here were my replies...

Hi Mr. D., 

First of all, I'm glad to hear such a good news.  This is a life-changer for you. 

You're not alone who feels anxious after receiving the Visa.  I too had felt it after I got the Visa in my hand.  It gave me mixed emotions, leaving my relatives behind and bringing my family to Canada. 

Having my whole family with me to Canada made me worry more. I'm afraid if I don't get a job or my wife does, what will be the arrangement.  Another thing, my Proof of Fund was just enough for us to survive in months. 

Lucky enough, God helped and blessed us a lot.  Got a fine job here with good benefits.

Setting up your mind is what you'll need here.  If you've read my post about my life here in Canada, it emphasized my feelings and what I did. This is to give you and idea on how's life once you get here.  You have to accept the fact that you will start from scratch "0".  

Coming from a tropical country, seeing the zero degrees from National Geographics on your TV screen is peanuts. But, wait until you get here and experience the -22degC temperatures.  You will tell yourself, "What the H.... am I doing here in Canada?".  

You feel like you're tortured when the cold weather touches your skin and penetrates into your bones.

But, you see, with perseverance, discipline, and a proper mindset, we survived the harsh weather and learned that Canada is not bad at all.   

You feel the joy once the spring comes, seeing the real beauty of Canada.

**************************************

Hi Ms. P, 

We really don't know how our lives will be once we got here.  As long as you're prepared and accepted the fact that you will start at level 1 or even "0", you'll be fine. Don't be discouraged for there will be blessings to come sooner than you think.

I also felt the same way as soon as I received my Visa. I then realized and asked myself, "This is it? Then what?".   

I prepared my mind before coming here... even the thought of having a janitorial job in a stablishment.  As soon as we arrived here, I opened all my options, saying yes to all the offers of my friends and the friends of my friend.   

Now, here I am, working with the same NOC, the same work I had in Singapore with higher salary and benefits. 

When people get out of their comfort zone, there's always the feeling of fear.  It's normal, you're not the only one having this kind of feeling.  But, once you get here and will get to know the place and environment, you'll begin to like it.  For me, this is the best place that I've ever been to.  

If you need help when you're here in Toronto, just give me a shout.  I'm willing to help and guide you to the best that I can.

This opportunity comes once in your lifetime, grab it! 

Don't be discouraged when you hear bad things about Canada.  We have different preferences, goals, and mindsets.  It's up to you to see and experience it yourself.

Our only common denominator is to have better lives for ourselves and our family.

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