Posting Policy-Out of Canada (OUTCAN) [MERGED]

[TQMS]

My biggest take away from all this is:

1. OUTCAN postings are complicated. Read up; and
2. Living in Quebec means attaching a vice to your nuts.

1. The screening is a pain. Im OUTCAN  now from APS 17. The package alone, before you start filling it out and adding stuff is 16 pages long.

 

[AKa]

I'll offer one particular piece of advice to those posted to the US. Seriously consider using Royal Bank; open both a Canadian account and US accounts.  My co-worker went with TD, while I used RBC.  My experience was much smoother.

Before I left Canada, I had a functional US bank account and credit card.  Transferring money between my Canadian and US account was easily done online and I never had any difficulties other than the usual sort of banking errors. My international brethren were green with envy.

Cheers,

AK

 

[Rifleman62]

Get a Amazon.ca VISA card. They do not charge the exchange surcharge that banks do for changing funds from Cdn $ to foreign $.

TD is currently charging $0.035 per Cdn/US $ exchange. I live in the US during the winter and all my purchases (gas/groceries/restaurants/etc) and automatic utility bills are paid with this card. If the utility company will not take VISA, a work around is  Xpress Bill Bay. Put your utility bill on auto pay with Xpress Bill Pay with the Amazon.ca VISA card as the payment method. Used this for years with no problems. https://www.xpressbillpay.com/#/

https://www.chase.com/content/chasecom/en/credit-cards/mobile/canada/amazon.touch.html

Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card from Chase by Chase
Foreign currency transactions are converted at the exchange rate set by Visa International, without additional surcharges
Earn 2% cash back per $1 spent on Amazon.ca1
Earn 1% cash back per $1 spent everywhere else your card is accepted1
No Foreign Currency Transaction Fees*
No annual fee*

 

[kev994]

I'll offer one particular piece of advice to those posted to the US. Seriously consider using Royal Bank; open both a Canadian account and US accounts.  My co-worker went with TD, while I used RBC.  My experience was much smoother.

Before I left Canada, I had a functional US bank account and credit card.  Transferring money between my Canadian and US account was easily done online and I never had any difficulties other than the usual sort of banking errors. My international brethren were green with envy.

Cheers,

AK

+1. RBC uses PNC bank machines, which are everywhere in my area. I think the nearest TD machine is 1,000 miles away.

 

[vonGarvin]

Your mileage may vary, but in my own personal experience, TD was the better option.  I booked off the first morning of my House Hunting Trip to set up my TDBank account (the US account).  I walked in when they opened and then walked out with my account all set up, bank card and check book in hand some 20 minutes later.

My TD Canada Trust and TD Bank accounts are linked, I was able to get a US credit card from TD Bank with a nice balance (they did the credit check in Canada) and I'm able to, as required, shift money between countries.  I also have 2 branches within 2 miles of where I live. 

So, in short, check out where you are posted to and determine which is better for you.

 

[dimsum]

I used HSBC on my OUTCAN posting.  Of course YMMV as I was lucky to have branches somewhat near me (everything was done online anyway) and I kept the $ from the sale of my house in Canada in the account to quality for HSBC Premier.

 

[high_octane]

My screening for OUTCAN was tougher than any of my deployment ones, and more so for families.  That being said, and maybe it was just the Brookfield rep I had, I had amazing support from Brookfield on my move there and back.

Like screening dependents, your experience with Brookfield probably has a lot to do with how many things/people you try to move. They booked me a $5000 flight and when I pointed out better options for $1000 on HRG, Brookfield chimed in that I wasn't entitled to do that.. I keep that email chain! Blatant waste of tax money for the sake of blindly following poorly written policy..

I got my rep's go ahead to extend my rental while waiting for my primary vehicle to be repaired from moving damages. Later I couldn't claim any vehicle related expenses because of this.  :facepalm: I wrote a memo but after seeing the mountain of complaints they deal with and hearing some of the real horror stories, I decided to spend my energy elsewhere

Dealing with an insurance company in NY that doesn't read German receipts nor French estimates is another joy I won't get into. I got the money in the end but it took about a year and they tried very hard to get me to sign for much less. Still not sure if they are as incompetent as they appear or pretending to be in hopes you will sign for less.

1. The screening is a pain. Im OUTCAN  now from APS 17. The package alone, before you start filling it out and adding stuff is 16 pages long.

Yea 16 pages for the "checklist" not counting the annexes and printouts to be attached. I made a binder. Not having dependents lets you skip most of it though

I got through it in about 2 weeks if you don't count block leave and holiday slumps, mostly waiting for the medical appointments. Having a printout of your last security clearance request will help. Having very recently completed APRV for HR helps a lot as well.

Get a Amazon.ca VISA card. They do not charge the exchange surcharge that banks do for changing funds from Cdn $ to foreign $.

This has been my go to card on TD in the US and online shopping especially in USD.

Sadly will be killed off 15 Mar 18 see: https://www.chase.com/online/canada/amazon-ca-home.htm

Here's an alternative you might want to check out soon http://www.hometrust.ca/preferredvisa.aspx

My TD Canada Trust and TD Bank accounts are linked, I was able to get a US credit card from TD Bank with a nice balance (they did the credit check in Canada) and I'm able to, as required, shift money between countries.  I also have 2 branches within 2 miles of where I live. 

So, in short, check out where you are posted to and determine which is better for you.

Thanks I will check out TD and RBC. I already have a TD Canada account so leaning towards that.

I discovered on recent TDs my Canadian Visa's don't work at some US gas pumps anymore, even with all the postal code-00/00000/99999/12345 tricks. Seems to be a regional/brand specific thing. US seems to be very slow with getting modern chip cards

 

[RubberTree]

Whether you can get away with a TD account is, in my experience, highly dependent on where you live. They don't have any brick and mortar banks west of North Carolina I believe. I found their method of moving cash between accounts tedious and cumbersome. I even had to place a phone call to complete a transfer. My experience with RBC has been much better. Again, your mileage may vary depending on location.





(edited because I don't know my compass points)

 

[kev994]

I discovered on recent TDs my Canadian Visa's don't work at some US gas pumps anymore, even with all the postal code-00/00000/99999/12345 tricks. Seems to be a regional/brand specific thing. US seems to be very slow with getting modern chip cards

Try the three numbers in your postal code followed by any 2 other numbers

 

[high_octane]

Try the three numbers in your postal code followed by any 2 other numbers

Yea.. I tried all those tricks over a month TD and seems to depend on the state and brand.

They are supposed to convert to accept chip cards by now but many seem reluctant to upgrade

 

[kev994]

So I just cleared customs in Canada and have a couple points of interest. Firstly: the inventory that US Customs didn’t care about on the way down was important on return to Canada (just the updated one with your current goods), customs went through it line by line.
I had taken a number of rifles with me to the US and was nervous about bringing them back. I showed the US ATF approval as both a list of firearms and proof that they were a temporary export, Canada customs was happy with that along with my acquisition license.

 

[RubberTree]

Kev, have you received your goods to follow yet? How did that work out?
We too just crossed the border and the agent at Pierson looked through every page of the inventory as well. She stamped them all and stated "you can check off every item with customs when your truck arrives..." We'll see how that works out  ;D

 

[kev994]

I came from the US and filled a small truck so my goods were waiting when I got to Winnipeg. After the paperwork was done the customs officer asked that my shipment be moved to the loading dock where he cut the seal. I wasn’t there but it sounded like he had no intention of actually looking at the shipment, my truck beat me out of the parking lot so if he looked it wasn’t for long. When we loaded we figured that if they wanted to see anything it would be the rifles so they were by the door. I’m pretty sure I declared everything so unloading would have been a hassle but that’s about it.

 

[RubberTree]

Sounds pretty easy...I'm not sure where are goods are going to pass through customs and unless it happens in Trenton I'm hoping not to have to be there for the seal cutting...time will tell.
Welcome home!

 

[garb811]

...
We too just crossed the border and the agent at Pierson looked through every page of the inventory as well. She stamped them all and stated "you can check off every item with customs when your truck arrives..." We'll see how that works out  ;D

I came from the US and filled a small truck so my goods were waiting when I got to Winnipeg. After the paperwork was done the customs officer asked that my shipment be moved to the loading dock where he cut the seal. I wasn’t there but it sounded like he had no intention of actually looking at the shipment, my truck beat me out of the parking lot so if he looked it wasn’t for long. When we loaded we figured that if they wanted to see anything it would be the rifles so they were by the door. I’m pretty sure I declared everything so unloading would have been a hassle but that’s about it.

And on the other side of the coin, I know a guy who had his entire shipping container laid out on the dock in Halifax when it arrived...

 

[kev994]

And on the other side of the coin, I know a guy who had his entire shipping container laid out on the dock in Halifax when it arrived...

I was wondering about that, I assumed they had to go through some of them. I wonder if they have the random light similar to airport security.

 

[Pusser]

I've moved back to Canada twice.  In neither case were my goods laid out on the jetty.  Both times (once in Victoria, once in Ottawa), the shipping agent informed me when the goods had arrived.  I then had to pick up the paperwork from the agent, go to Customs to have it cleared (they looked at and stamped the forms).  Once I returned the paperwork to the shipping agent, my goods were delivered to my house.

I think the key to dealing with Customs is to have all of your paperwork (inventories, receipts etc.) laid out in an organized fashion.  If they can see the logic and it appears complete, they are less likely to want to dig further.  Keep in mind that for the most part, families returning to Canada from postings overseas (be they military or Foreign Affairs) are not their targets.

 

[AKa]

I think the key to dealing with Customs is to have all of your paperwork (inventories, receipts etc.) laid out in an organized fashion.  If they can see the logic and it appears complete, they are less likely to want to dig further.  Keep in mind that for the most part, families returning to Canada from postings overseas (be they military or Foreign Affairs) are not their targets.

I think Pusser has it right.  CBSA was happy with my paperwork and signed me off without an inspection when I moved back last year.

That being said, I would recommend constantly updating your inventory throughout your posting to save you time and trouble.  I had a false sense that it wasn't too important based on my move to the US, but they paid close attention to it upon my return.

 

[kev994]

Has anyone tried to sell their previously-Canadian vehicle when they came back to Canada? Customs is telling me that I need to hold onto the car for a year or else pay duty on it. I bought the car in Canada before I moved South so this just seems wrong, though all of the info on vehicles refers to the date of import so technically I believe they are correct.

 

[SupersonicMax]

Has anyone tried to sell their previously-Canadian vehicle when they came back to Canada? Customs is telling me that I need to hold onto the car for a year or else pay duty on it. I bought the car in Canada before I moved South so this just seems wrong, though all of the info on vehicles refers to the date of import so technically I believe they are correct.

Did you fully export your car into the US or did you use the NATO SOFA provisions?