moving money in advance of our arrival

[gulogulo]

Firstly, I deeply appreciate the existence of this site and the desktop-friendly phbb forum, thanks Ben!

So, with spouse visa in hand, I’ll be entering japan in the next few months together with my Japanese wife.

We both hold a few bank accounts that that were opened > decade and a half ago and were not closed on our departure after living there for a few years. They’re still active and have been used whenever we’ve visited.

With the advent of the onerous My Number - something neither of us have, is it going to be impossible or problematic if we were to try and remit money from our accounts over here (in Canada) in advance of our arrival?

Thirdly, right now we are preparing for our move. This is a super-broad question, but back when you were preparing to make the move yourselves, what advice (financial or otherwise) do you wish you had known before you arrived in Japan?

[Kanto]

Thirdly, right now we are preparing for our move. This is a super-broad question, but back when you were preparing to make the move yourselves, what advice (financial or otherwise) do you wish you had known before you arrived in Japan?

General advice: Use all your TFSA space (and RRSP if applicable) if you can BEFORE you come. You can not contribute as a non-Canadian resident. (It is technically possible but taxed at a huge rate, so it is basically pointless)

Let your credit card providers know your plans.

Check your passport expiry date!

Do you drive? Pick up an IDP. You can use it for a year. After that, Canadians can convert their licenses with little issue here.

[RetireJapan]

I transferred money from Singapore while I was there prior to our coming back. We did not have a MyNumber but there was no issue to move money.

That is very interesting. When was this?

It was my understanding that it is basically impossible to send or receive money internationally now in Japan without providing your My Number. But maybe I am wrong (again)

[RetireJapan]

Okay, that makes sense. I think the current rules around My Number were implemented after that. I would imagine OP will run into trouble if they try to make transfers into an account with no MN registered. Definitely best to check the the bank first.

[TBS]

@gulogulo: Do you hold any investments with Canadian brokers? If so, the timings of when you make remittances (before arriving or in the 5 years that follow), crystalize any capital gains, receive dividends and distributions, make reinvestments etc. become very important.

[gulogulo]

Thanks for the responses.

Do you hold any investments with Canadian brokers? If so, the timings of when you make remittances (before arriving or in the 5 years that follow), crystalize any capital gains, receive dividends and distributions, make reinvestments etc. become very important.

I do (both registered & non-registered accounts), but what i would be remitting is from accounts independent of those. Important how? can you point me to any info that elaborates on what you're saying?

[Jake]

If you both have live Japanese bank accounts then "financially" you haven't actually left Japan?

Which begs the question, why are you asking if you lived here before?
2 posts and talk turns to "brokers"

Nice forum, but something fishy going on

[Kanto]

If you both have live Japanese bank accounts then "financially" you haven't actually left Japan?

Which begs the question, why are you asking if you lived here before?
2 posts and talk turns to "brokers"

Nice forum, but something fishy going on

Really? A lot chances in 15 years. It seems reasonable to ask. 15 years ago Japanese banks were even more analogue.

Some information is also hard to come by.

For instance non-resident Canadians cannot and should not contribute to registered accounts.

Also, most brokers will not want you trade as a non-resident, Questtrade is an exception.

[Beaglehound]

Thanks for the responses.

Do you hold any investments with Canadian brokers? If so, the timings of when you make remittances (before arriving or in the 5 years that follow), crystalize any capital gains, receive dividends and distributions, make reinvestments etc. become very important.

I do (both registered & non-registered accounts), but what i would be remitting is from accounts independent of those. Important how? can you point me to any info that elaborates on what you're saying?

Basically if you remit cash to Japan while a resident of Japan, then you are on the hook for any income gained overseas in that tax year. This is regardless of which account you send it from. E.g. if you realise capital gains and also send money from an unrelated Canadian savings account, the capital gain is deemed to have been remitted. So it probably makes sense to find a way to get money to Japan before you are actually resident.

[TBS]

I do (both registered & non-registered accounts), but what i would be remitting is from accounts independent of those. Important how? can you point me to any info that elaborates on what you're saying?

You have 5 years grace after you move to Japan during which you are a "non-permanent tax resident". This means tax office here will not tax dividends you receive in your Canadian accounts, or any capital gains you realize from stocks you bought prior to moving to Japan. However, as Beaglehound says, if you make any remittance to Japan during the same calendar year as one where you make investment profits, those profits will become taxable in Japan (up to the amount you remit).

Some more points to be aware of:
- Even as a non-permanent tax resident, capital gains will be due on any stocks purchased via your Canadian brokerages after moving to Japan, e.g. because of reinvesting dividends.
- Japan doesn't recognize the tax-free status of TFSA. Tax will be due here if the above scenarios apply.
- Capital gains and losses need to be calculated using the yen purchase and sale values. In an extreme circumstance, CAD capital losses could actually be JPY capital gains (or vice versa) depending on the exchange rate history.

I would recommend looking at the Canada-Japan tax treaty to understand whether Japan will allow you to deduct Canadian taxes from your Canadian investment profits, if those profits will also be taxed by Japan.