Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Stan Rogers]

The great thing about not having a health card in Canada is that you will never get called for jury duty.

Yes, that's where the list comes from.

[ren546]

I gave up residency status once, and I'm reluctant to do it again, especially since I don't really want to be stuck here in the event of a medical emergency (I wouldn't want to have to wait for 3 months to qualify for health care again back home).

I'm a "full-time student" (still working on the dissertation for my PhD), so I can maintain my residency status, claim my foreign income, and not have to pay additional taxes (since thankfully, unlike in the US, students are not taxed).

Why is this relevant? In my case it works because I only have research credits left, which I can complete anywhere, but it could also work if you take online classes. Maybe consider taking some online classes through a university if you have some free time. This will allow you to keep your ties, and substantially decrease the amount in tax money that you would have to pay.

[nalj]

Thank again all, again very many helpful and useful replies here. How would one go about trading a Canadian driver's license for a Korean one? Is it easy? How long does it take to turn around?

And let's say if I were to return to Canada for a couple weeks, etc and renewed my driver's license instead of letting it lapse, would it be a terrible thing? I'm not worries about heath insurance, I'll call and cancel that since I have private insurance that will cover that.

Any one with experience trading their licenses?

Thanks again!

[stever1000]

How does it work if I only plan to be gone for the 12-month contract...i.e. March 2013-Feb 2014?

I will cancel my medical insurance. Do I still have to contact CRA or can that EASILY be done when I return?

Taxes are very confusing for me, this will be the first year it will be different (i.e. the last 5 years I was a student, so it was easy to fill out)

Thanks

[Stan Rogers]

[nalj]

On this note, I just got a letter in the mail today from International Tax Services Office of Canada determining that I am a non-resident.

Could anyone interpret the following paragraph for me? As far as I know S. Korea and Canada have a reciprocal tax agreement:

"As a non-resident, you may be subject to a non-resident withholding tax on interest, dividend, rental and pension income received from a Canadian source. The Canadian payer is responsible for withholding 25% of the gross amount of these types of income. However, if the country where you live has an international tax agreement with Canada, the provisions of that agreement may reduce the rate of withholding tax."

I'm not receiving any income at all from Canadian sources so I'm good for that, but what does the rest mean?

Thanks for all help again, much appreciated!

[nalj]

On this note, I just got a letter in the mail today from International Tax Services Office of Canada determining that I am a non-resident.

Could anyone interpret the following paragraph for me? As far as I know S. Korea and Canada have a reciprocal tax agreement:

"As a non-resident, you may be subject to a non-resident withholding tax on interest, dividend, rental and pension income received from a Canadian source. The Canadian payer is responsible for withholding 25% of the gross amount of these types of income. However, if the country where you live has an international tax agreement with Canada, the provisions of that agreement may reduce the rate of withholding tax."

I'm not receiving any income at all from Canadian sources so I'm good for that, but what does the rest mean?

Thanks for all help again, much appreciated!

[nalj]

On this note, I just got a letter in the mail today from International Tax Services Office of Canada determining that I am a non-resident.

Could anyone interpret the following paragraph for me? As far as I know S. Korea and Canada have a reciprocal tax agreement:

"As a non-resident, you may be subject to a non-resident withholding tax on interest, dividend, rental and pension income received from a Canadian source. The Canadian payer is responsible for withholding 25% of the gross amount of these types of income. However, if the country where you live has an international tax agreement with Canada, the provisions of that agreement may reduce the rate of withholding tax."

I'm not receiving any income at all from Canadian sources so I'm good for that, but what does the rest mean?

Thanks for all help again, much appreciated!

[Wildbore]

If you have a savings account, you are getting interest income (albeit very small).

You should report your non-residency to any financial institutions or brokerages so they can apply the 25% withholding (reduced to 15% because of Korean tax treaty).

[giraffe]

also, If you have any rrsp accounts you need to put a stop to them. I dont mean withdraw the money.. You can let it sit there until you get back to canada ( whenever that is). I just mean you cant contribute to them anymore as a "non resident"...

As for your Drivers license. You need to get an affidivit from the canadian embassy in seoul to guarantee that your license is "real". then bring that to the korean road examiners office in your city and Fill out some paperwork and do an eye exam and pay some small fee. They will apparently take your canadian one and keep it on file and give you a korean license. Next time you leave for Canada ( even if its just for a visit) you can go back to the examiners office with your travel plans and Apparently get back your Canadian license. Which will leave you with both the korean one and the canadian. No clue how you can renew your canadian license if you technically dont have a Resident/address in Canada Anymore. If you're planning to get all your mail / gov mails sent to your parents house, You might want to make a change of address on your Driver license because you should technically do that within 2 weeks of "moving" and whatever address they have on file is where they will mail you a new card. So I'm not quite sure how it works out.