As our flight date is nearing, we are now busy with the preparations for our departure. One of this is preparing our funds that we will be bringing to Canada. Of course, it will be a lot easier if you will be bringing in cash in CAD but due to security concerns, we looked at other ways to bring in our Funds during our landing.

Of course the fun part of this journey is doing research; this time, on how we can bring in money to Canada. As per settlement.org’s site, you can bring in money in the following forms:

  • Cash
  • Securities in bearer form (for example, stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills)
  • Negotiable instruments in bearer form (for example, bank drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques, money orders)
  • Transfer of funds between your bank and a Canadian bank

Cash is the easiest to carry so we are bringing in funds partly cash, and partly bank draft. Why did we opt for this option? First, we can’t be bringing a minimum of $18,617 (Which is the required proof of fund for a family of 3, and take note that any amount exceeding $10,000 should be declared)in the form of cash; this will definitely be dangerous, so we decided to bring at least $4000 cash for our immediate needs because drafts will take 2-3 weeks clearing, then the rest of the amount needed as a draft.

We also explored other options such as opening an account in Canada and eventually wire transferring our funds there before landing; however, this is only available to HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank’s priority clients. Another option is to get a statement of account (preferably at a date near your departure date) from the bank where your funds are currently stored and show it to the immigration officer in Canada, this is not a fool proof solution and it’s too risky so we didn’t proceed with this one.

Once we have decided to use bank draft and cash, we look at how we can maximize the funds that we have. Since I’m working in Singapore, most of the funds that we have are in SGD. Doing a little bit of forex (not an expert) computation, we have the following options:

  • Convert SGD to PHP then buy the draft in USD from the Philippines
  • Buy USD Draft
  • Buy SGD Draft
  • Buy CAD Draft

The best choice is to buy a CAD Draft in Singapore. We did some computations, if we are to convert SGD to PHP then buy USD draft (the only draft available for my bank in the Philippines), we will be losing at least PHP 15,000. Buying USD and SGD drafts, then depositing it to a bank in Canada will also result to lesser CAD overall so we also ditched these options.

Now that we know that what we need is a CAD draft purchased in Singapore, I need to ensure that banks like TD, RBC, Scotia Bank (some of the major banks in Canada) accepts draft coming from banks in Singapore so I messaged each bank one by one through Facebook /Twitter (yes, they answer questions through Facebook/Twitter) and fortunately they do and informed me about the fees and the clearing time it takes which is something we have expected.

I started looking for banks in Singapore that offers Canadian dollar drafts. Surprisingly, only Standard Chartered is offering this service. I went ahead and opened an account with them, then purchased the draft putting my name as the recipient. I will deposit this draft to my chosen bank once I’m in Canada.

In a few days, we will be flying back to the Philippines to spend time with our families and secure the remaining documents before flying to Canada mid-April. I’m getting nervous now, but excited at the same time.

God bless everyone. Until the next post.

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