Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Aoisagi]

Hello everyone,

I'll probably be heading to South Korea in February to teach English. I read that if I'm out of Canada for at least 90 days, I'll lose my Canadian residency. Has anyone dealt with this before? If so, how did you go about in renewing or is this a non-issue?

Secondly, would I have to fill out my income tax from January 2010 to the day I leave?

Thanks!

[bombenhagen]

You are going to get several different answers to the residency question and they all will only be half right. You absolutely need to get an official answer to that question, you won't find that here. Search through this board and you'll get an idea of how many different opinions there are about this. Not much of a help I know, sry.

[some waygug-in]

You do not lose your Canadian residency, in fact you have to apply to get non-residency status.

If you plan on returning to Canada, you should expect to pay tax on your foreign earnings.

If you are leaving Canada and not returning, that is where the fun comes in because the rules are so conveluted and vague that it's not really clear.

If you do apply for non-residency, I've read the best thing to do is close all Canadian bank accounts, cancel all Canadian credit cards, memberships, hospitalization, licences etc.

http://wiki.galbijim.com/Tax_issues_for_Canadian_expats

[Big Mac]

You can't really apply for non-residency...all you can do is ask Revenue Canada for their OPINION of your residency status. Depending on what you put on the form, they may say that they think you are a factual resident or a non-resident. But their opinion is non-binding and kind of pointless. That form is called NR73. Do a search on Google for it.

Basically, if you own property or have children living in Canada you will have to pay tax.

If you don't have those things, then as long as you keep your ties to Canada to a minimum (ie. bank accounts, credit cards, etc...try not to go over three ties) then no one is going to make you pay tax on your foreign earnings, unless you want to.

You should file a tax return every year though. If you made earnings in Canada in 2009, then file a tax return for that tax year for ONLY YOUR CANADIAN EARNINGS. If you stay in Korea for an entire tax year and have no Canadian earnings, then file a tax return for that year with "0" in all the boxes. I have been doing that for several years now and I've never had a problem. Make sure you send your tax return to the International Tax Office in Ottawa, not the one you would normally send it to.

Also, call Revenue Canada and change your address to your Korean one. That way they won't be able to claim that you have been using a Canadian address and count that as a tie if they ever do an assessment on you.

I wouldn't worry about losing your Canadian residency. It's only important for tax purposes. In fact, it's much better for you if you are considered a non-resident. You will still be a Canadian citizen and have all the rights of a Canadian should you ever return.

[The Lemon]

[youtuber]

[Draz]

[youtuber]

Healthcare is considered a tie to Canada. However, THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT YOU SHOULD CANCEL YOUR HEALTH CARE.

I did cancel my health care for my first year, but looking back now I see how foolish that was.

Korea's national health insurance is totally insufficient on its own. The best course of action is to buy emergency travel insurance in addition to having the national insurance (NHI) while you live here. But you can only buy travel insurance in Canada if you have provincial health coverage.

It is much more important to choose your health over saving a few bucks in taxes. If you get seriously sick in Korea, you can always fly home (by medivac if need be). If you cancel your provincial health insurance, you are stuck in Korea with thousands in medical bills.

Get rid of the major ties (house, loans, ect) but keep your healthcare.

It sounds like a judge would make the final determination. If you have lots of primary ties you are a resident. If you have severed most primary and secondary ties, but have healthcare, it would appear that you would be a non-resident.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[youtuber]

^ I don't think you can treat it as so black and white.

From the Revenue Canada website: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nnrs-eng.html#d

[teacherinseoul]

[marlow]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Big Mac]

I made the mistake of cancelling my Ontario health coverage my first year in Korea as well. Then I started thinking about how stupid it was. What if I got cancer or some serious illness and had to leave Korea? I wouldn't be able to get treatment back home or would have to break the bank to do it. It could end up being a very expensive and possibly even fatal mistake.

So when I went back home to visit last year I went and re-applied for health coverage. I had to say that I planned to be a resident of Ontario for three months. I also had to show them my Ontario driver's license which I had just renewed. That confirmed to them that I was a resident of Ontario.

I went back to Korea a month later, and my parents got my health card in the mail three months later and sent it to me.

Without actually telling the lady at the health office that I planned to go back to Korea before the required three months, I think she kind of got the jist of what I was doing. She said she would never cancel her health insurance either.

She told me the next time I go abroad I should just call OHIP and inform them that I have left the country. If you do that then you don't have to cancel your coverage and send the card back, you've just temporarily put the coverage on hold. She told me that if I do that then I can reinstate the coverage when I return to Canada and I will not have to wait three months for a new card.

I haven't actually informed them that I left the country because I actually left before the three months was up and telling them that would have killed my coverage...but really what's the difference? I can't use the health card unless I'm in Canada anyway. And if I can reinstate it the minute I land in Canada then there's really no point in putting it on hold either.

So don't cancel your health insurance to save on taxes. It's not really going to make a difference anyway and could hurt you in the end. If you're in Ontario (not sure about other provinces) just call them and put your coverage on hold.

[youtuber]

Urb,

I'm not so sure that the definition of resident applies equally to both situations.

And anyways, the OP is wondering about a tax issue and not a health care issue. So for that, he should follow the CRAs defn of being a "non-resident for tax purposes" which I gave him earlier. It clearly says that provincial health insurance may be relevant, so obviously, it is not as black and white as you are saying. It does not say that one is automatically considered a resident for tax purposes because they have provincial health coverage. Don't argue with me, argue with the government on that one. It's their friggin document. I guess the goverment is contradicting itself between the two agencies, which is kind of funny when you think about it. Shows you how good they coordinate.

But what does "health insurance with a Canadian province or territory" exactly mean? OHIP? Blue Cross?

I'll admit that I am not 100% sure.

And I wouldn't even bother phoning OHIP to tell them that I am gone. We are on "extended vacations".

Did you cancel your health insurance UrbanMyth?

And in all honesty, the chances are greater that you will get sick or hurt while you are in Korea than getting audited by CRA. We are small potatoes. The chances of getting cancer are about 1 in 3. What are the chances of getting audited? 1 in 100? 500?


Health > Money.


Nuff said.