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On Thursday 8th June I got
a letter from the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, NY saying my application
was now complete and to send them my passport <YEAH!!!>
And so form completed and
the three extra passport photos included along with details of my height
and eye colour and into the envelope they provided and asked me to use to
send it back along with the letter and stamped addressed reply envelope
and that has been done.
I thus presume that in
around 4 weeks or so I'll get my passport back with the visa stamp in it
and any final instructions on what to do. So looks like I am nearly
there. Mind you it sure takes time to get your post to its destination in
the USA as you can see below.
They expect Xpresspost to
actually deliver the packet on 16th June and as you'll note it was posted
on 8th June and so 7 days to get there.
On 13th June I got my first
tax bill for Canada which is in fact my first filing and for the 2005 tax
year. Apparently the first filing must be on paper but after that can be
filed electronically. My accountants got all the forms completed and so
the visit today was to sign all the forms and find out what my final tax
bill was to be. Having now returned from the accountants I've been
able to pay the bill online which I have now done.
My USA company accounts for
2005 need to be completed by September and when I get those accounts back
and find out what the tax bill is there the idea is to have another
meeting with my accountants in Canada to figure out the best way forward.
It's a touch complex as
being 55 I don't really have enough time to build a Canadian pension.
I also need to figure out the pluses and minuses of having a USA company
as opposed to a Canadian company. The Canadian accountants will do an
analysis for me once they get to see the audited 2005 accounts for my
Electric Scotland company and then I can make some decisions.
I also noted that here in Canada I can set of
some of my mortgage interest against tax and also if I keep my prescription
receipts I can also set these off against tax. I can also put the business
use of the car against tax as well as a proportion of my house expenses.
The bill from the
accountants for doing my personal tax was $315.65 but they did point out
that it will be lower next year as this year they did need to collect a
lot of information due to this being the first year for filing. I also got
a bill for $107.00 for filing my Canadian company zero return. This
last bill is one the accounts will check on to see if I need the Canadian
company.
One of the issues is that
most of my income is actually from outside Canada and it is thought that
with having to invoice for GST and PST with a Canadian company I might end
up doing a lot of extra paperwork. Also the accountants fee for filing for
a Canadian company will be much more expensive that doing just the zero
return.
I also had to sign a form
about my "overseas" earnings and company ownership. The accountants still
need to view my company accounts to complete that return but they can file
an interim statement until those are available. They say that Canada
Revenue feel more comfortable getting at least an interim filing on this
rather than nothing and so this will be filed as well.
This all reminds me that I
need to go find old pensions from the UK as I did once have a pension with
Carnation Foods in the UK so somewhere I do have a pension from them.
I also have some years worth of pension from my old computer company so
also need to get that organised as well.
So... still lots of admin
work to sort things out for the future :-)
I've also been doing more work on selling my
micro buttons. I was pleased to get a communication in from the
Scottish Executive saying they'd like to take out an advert for their
"Friends of Scotland" program. Also Nova Scotia got in touch saying they'd
like to take out an advert around mid July for their Gathering of the
Clans event. I do also have another 2 companies that said they'd
like to advertise so need to follow those up. Should they both come
through that means I just have 2 buttons left to sell and so very pleased
with that. And so I
have a feeling that everything is coming together nicely and I'll soon be
able to focus back onto content for the site.
I also received a cash
donation from an excellent organisation (they requested I not name them)
which in effect pays for a brand new web server. I now have the
money in but due to wire transfer costs will purchase the new server
around the last day of this month. That means I should have it built by
the second week of July and in operation. This will give us lots
more storage and should certainly be much faster than the old one which
has lasted five years.
Part of the new money raised from advertising
will go towards an additional T1 leased line. These usually cost
around $840 a month so not cheap and goes to show the costs of running a
large web site.
I headed to Toronto on 13th June to attend a
Knight Templars meeting and also a meeting with the Scottish Studies
Foundation meeting. Seem to have got things a touch mixed up as both
were in fact on the same day and time so I only attended the KT meeting.
The Templars do arrange regular social
meetings at each others houses to promote a sense of community and this
was the first one I'd managed to attend. While the event is held at each
others homes they do arrange for the event to be supported and so folk
from the Templars appear before hand to bring food and drink :-)
And this was the nice wee spread they put on
:-)
I forgot to take my power cord for my notebook
computer and so I got minimal work done while I was away as my battery ran
out on me <sigh>.
It was a lovely day on the Thursday before
heading back to Chatham and even the dogs were out sunbathing :-)
So as at 15th June that brings us up to date
with things in Canada :-)
On Thursday June 22nd I received my passport
back with the visa from Buffalo...
I also received a wee postcard along with the
documents
This essentially gives me until 28th Sept.
2006 to exit the country and then come back in to register for my
permanent landed status. The documents do state that when I come
back in to Canada to present my visa the Canada Border Services Agency
Officer will begin the application for my Permanent Resident Card.
They also advise that I should wait until I have the Permanent Resident
Card to travel outside Canada. They also point out I need to provide proof
of funds at this time.
On Monday 26th June, 2006 I exited Canada for
the USA and then turned right around and re-entered Canada to get my
Permanent Landed Status...
I was advised that it will take 6 - 8 weeks
before I will receive my actual card and in the meantime I should apply to
have my SIN card replaced to reflect my new status in Canada and also to
get my Health card replaced as well. I was advised that I need to take
great care of this form as I can't get a replacement if I lose it.
On my way back to Chatham I again took the
scenic route and discovered I have no sense of direction. I got onto
Highway 40 but decided I must have missed the road that would take me down
the river towards Walpole Island. I thus decided to make a right
turn thinking that would get me to the river. After driving some
distance I saw a sign for the US Bridge and yes that was me back to where
I came from in Sarnia. And so off I went again and this time found the
correct road :-)
It was a cloudy day but I stopped off again at
the Baldoon Settlement and McDonald Park to have some lunch and took a few
pictures...
It really is a lovely spot to have a picnic
Lots of birds all around the park
Next to the Baldoon settlement is a wild life
sanctuary
I met a local man who told me that these swan
had hatched out the signets on a wee island of grass in the middle of this
pond and they are clearly waiting for the signets to get a wee bit older
before departing for other climes
When I first saw the swans they all had their
heads under water and at first I couldn't make out what they were.
And the dog found a turtle of which there are
many in the area or so I am told.
And so I just need to complete some more forms
to get my new OHIP and SIN cards and hopefully this will be the last time
I need to do this. I'll endeavor to get this done quickly and this is
really the final part of the paper work to complete my permanent landed
status. I have to admit to a certain sense of achievement getting this far
:-)
For those interested in knowing more about
what the SIN card is all about here is a leaflet I picked up when I
applied for my new card...
I would note just for interest that if I spend
3 years in Canada out of the next 4 years then I can apply for Canadian
citizenship and if I wish can also apply for dual citizenship. On this
subject it might interest you to view the .pdf file about Canada and for
Canadians it would be interesting if you know all the answers to the
citizenship test that they give at the end of the .pdf file :-)
You'll find it at
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/look.pdf
I did notice that you apparently do not need
to complete this test if you are 55 or older! :-)
The final task done this month was to place
the order for my new web server.
And so at end of June 2006 this completes my
Canadian Journal. As I said at the beginning this journal was to
document my progress towards obtaining my Permanent Landed Status in
Canada and be a reminder to me as to all that I had to do towards that
goal. It's been quite an experience and I'm sure I'll look back at this
from time to time just to remind me of all the things I got up to. I
hope you have enjoyed reading along with me and seeing all the things I
had to get up to and what I have experienced.
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