Canadian Expats - Insurance & Taxes

[westcoastfunky]

There are probably threads already about this but I searched and could not find...admittedly I do not really know what terms to search for other than "canadian expat" which did not give any results.

I really have no idea where to find this info so any help, even pointing me somewhere else (but please don't say "revenue canada" because their website is useless), is muchly appreciated!

I am planning to leave Canada for several years. I will be travelling around the world, going through many countries. I remember being told that if you do not enter Canada for 12 months you are considered non-resident though I don't entirely know what that means. Here are my questions:


1) I will be working for myself, under my name (not a business name) and paid directly by clients, do I pay income taxes to the country I am in at the time of each sale? (I will be mailing paper documents to clients and that is all, I am a clothing pattern maker...)
2) If I do not return to Canada for years do I file taxes? What if I am gone but return for a funeral or something for a few days? What if my bank account is Canadian and my pay is deposited directly into it, will that mean I need to file taxes in Canada?
3) I read an insurance thread that made it sound like I won't be able to get insurance for more than 18 months and have to give all my destinations. Is it not possible to buy the insurance as I go?
4) Do I have to be in Canada in order to secure visas for other countries? I will have a plan to a point but I'd like to be open to change along the way.
5) Can someone please tell me what it means to be non-resident?

Thanks for answering my questions...I'm pretty lost as I have never done an extended travel before!

[worldwidemike]

Can't help you on most, but visas can be obtained in a number of places...often in bordering countries. So, say that you're in Thailand and want to go to Myanmar. You should be able to get a visa for Myanmar in that country's embassy in Bangkok, for example. Of course, a lot of that depends on where you're going, which country, and so on. You should be able to find out that info in the consulates of the countries you're planning on visiting.

So, no, you don't have to plan every stop on your itinerary out in advance...

As for travel insurance, I would give them your skeleton itinerary. Then find out what you have to do to add countries...I'm sure they've dealt with that kind of thing before.

worldwidemike

[westcoastfunky]

thanks for your help Mike!

[Esterina]

I don't know anyone who traveled for so long, but I can help you a bit.


2) If I do not return to Canada for years do I file taxes? What if I am gone but return for a funeral or something for a few days? What if my bank account is Canadian and my pay is deposited directly into it, will that mean I need to file taxes in Canada? You will be working free-lance throughout your travel? Unless you want to keep your activities under the table, you'll need to produce the yearly tax report. I mean each year, otherwise you'll be penalized. You won't have to pay much tax though, because you are not spending your money in Canada. Sorry to say this, but the best will be to call Revenue Canada, as they'll summaries the laws your activities operate under. *don't hate me*

3) I read an insurance thread that made it sound like I won't be able to get insurance for more than 18 months and have to give all my destinations. Is it not possible to buy the insurance as I go? I had difficulties finding insurance for a 12-month trip. Didn't know you could have until 18 months, but beyond that period of time, you're just not interesting enough for them. Too risky I guess. However, maybe you could see if you'd get longer if you registered your business.


4) Do I have to be in Canada in order to secure visas for other countries? I will have a plan to a point but I'd like to be open to change along the way. Mike answered already, but I wanted to add that some visas take forever to have, some demands a letter of invitation prior to sending the visa request, some countries have no embassy/consulate in all countries. I guess you need to plan a little bit ahead if you don't want to be stuck somewhere.


5) Can someone please tell me what it means to be non-resident? It means you are losing the priviledges given to the residents of Canada. I think the most important one is the universal health insurance. And you only get it back once your return home and file the form again. Every province has difference on that issue, so you'd better call your government. If you are from BC or Quebec, there's a discussion about it here.

Courageous project, I hope you'll keep us updated !

[westcoastfunky]

thanks! great responses and cleared up some confusion for me...now at least I have enough understanding to know where to start looking.

I don't mind paying taxes, I've been paying them my whole life, lol, I just wanted to have some knowledge before I called Rev Canada because I wanted to know if I was being given proper info...I've heard different things from different agents and it gets frustrating.

It is a good idea about looking into registering the business for insurance. What do people who do a 2 year working holiday in the UK do? Do they buy their insurance from a UK dealer even though they most likely leave the country to go to neighboring ones from time to time?

Is that all being a non-resident means? That is not so bad :-D

[Esterina]

My pleasure !

I'm no expert at all, but I did lots or research before going abroad
for a year. Regarding the working holidays, they usually take place within a set program, that provides the insurance. Otherwise, I doubt you would be able to get insurance from local companies if you are only registered in the country as tourist. But I could be wrong.

I've found more ! Being a non-resident Canadian Expat Asso

[westcoastfunky]

thanks! I tried to register on the canuckabroad forums but it kept saying I was typing the code wrong and then locked my ip address out lol