New bank Account before landing in Canada

[tauro]

Hi
i have my landed immigrants visa stamp on the passport.
is there any way to open a bank account in canada before landing.
which can help me in showing the proof of funds at the airport on arrival instead of taking bank draft etc.

[Bevdeforges]

As you know, all countries have beefed up their requirements to open bank accounts, thanks to the "War on Terrorism." If you open a bank account from outside Canada (or any other country) you will be restricted to certain types of accounts and certain terms. Banks are required to "know their customers" - which makes opening an account from outside the country all that much more difficult.

It should be easier to open a new Canadian account as a local (with a local address) when you can sit down with a bank officer, give him or her a "permanent" address and present your passport and other id documents with a nice big smile on your face.

And it should be possible to prove your financial situation on entry with a letter from your home country banker and/or a copy of your most recent bank statement. Your new Canadian bank can then handle the wire transfer of the funds from your home country bank account. Saves physically transferring a bank draft. (And if you're coming from or through the US, you have to declare the fact of travelling with > $10,000 to the US Treasury Dept.)
Cheers,
Bev

[Mike]

Check out HSBC, they seem to be the only UK high street bank with a joined up international operation. If you've enough cash to qualify (can't remember if it's £35k or £50k) you can open a premier account in the UK and they'll open overseas accounts for free at the same time, which includes transferring your credit history. Once you have UK and overseas accounts running you can access them over the internet and transfer money between them at better than tourist exchange rates, when it was $2.05 I transferred £10 to Canada and got a $2.02 exchange rate. If you don't qualify for the premier account they'll still open overseas accounts for you but charge something like £100.

[tauro]

I will try this out with fingers crossed.
Anyway thanks for your kind advise