Debt question

[Lannara]

Hi all, my partner and I are very keen to start a new life in Canada but we were wondering if we'd need to clear our "debts" (credit card, bank loan etc ) from the UK first before applying / moving to CA, or can we continue paying them after we have moved.
I know that we'd need $17k as proof of funds, this would come from the sale of our home.

Any advice would be great, thankyou!

[thayyib]

Usually they dont check your credit history. But recently I saw a topic regarding this in this forum where they have asked for credit report.

[Lannara]

Thank you for your reply, does anyone else have any ideas?

[aspire]

In my observation, it seems that applicants who previously resided in the US and have left the country with unsettled financial obligations were usually the ones asked by CIC for a credit report. I am just speculating, but it seems that CIC during the background check stage has the capability of checking credit backgrounds of people from or had previously stayed in the US. Is there anyone else asked by CIC for a credit report?

Somebody in this forum in another thread had this similar experience, He left the US with unsettled loans, He has done his medicals now, but after the medicals, CIC asked him for a credit report.

[Maaties]

yes it happened to one person. I don't necessarily think that they do this for US applicants in general. it sounded like some bad luck for this person that they asked. Maybe it is a new thing they will do for those people from countries with credit bureaus and sophisticated banking system but i seriously don't think so.

As for the OP, you can settle your loans after you leave. Of course, with some bad luck, you could be asked for your credit report but if i were you, i wouldn't plan it that they would.

BTW by US laws, if CIC pulls your credit report from any bureau, they have to offer you credit. Then again, maybe because they don't have the capability to pull your credit report, they have to the applicant to send one. But then how else would they have found out about the bad credit history. No one else has reported being asked.

[NewYorker]

I have seen a post of a applicant who had very bad credit in the US and was arrested by immigration and was deported, this applicant applied from Romania for Canadian immigration with a arrest record with his/her partner who also has a bankruptcy in the US - Keeping this in mind, the officer might have found something during the background check which shows the bankruptcy and may be liens or civil jugdgement against him by the civil court in the US, therefore he decided to review his credit report. If you have a good credit right now and you only owe this amount, you need not to worry as they will not check yours because you are not in the situation in which this applicant is. You can pay this from Canada as well.

If this is done during the background check then it should be explained on the CIC website that CIC will perform a credit check. I am not sure how CIC will perform a credit check without the permission of a applicant and base that to refuse the application and its weird that is only applicable to the people migrating from the the US. In the above case they probably found some liens and judgment against him and they want to see what he did before he left US, once again they haven't seen a credit report, they just saw caught this in the background check and now they want to see his credit report.

I am sure that CIC does not ask for you credit or has anything to do with the credit unless they smell a fraud. Your debts is your binding with the bank and is nothing to do with Canada and not paying debts is not a crime, its a civil matter otherwise a large percentage of us would be in Jail. I am not saying that you can runaway with your debts, but CIC don't check and they will not act as a debt collector on your banks behalf.

[Outbound]

Newyorker,


Great reply, thanks for the details.

[jes_ON]

Another perspective - If you CAN clear your debts before coming, you should consider doing so. 

(1) Peace of mind, no loose ends, new beginning, etc.
(2) It costs money to transfer funds between countries (increases total amount of debt)
(3) Currencies fluctuate.  Sometimes in your favor, sometimes not.  A drop in the Canadian dollar compared to the British pound will effectively INCREASE your debt payment.   Of all the stresses of immigrating, this is NOT one you want to deal with, unless you are gamblers.

When I moved to Canada, the Canadian dollar was on par with the US dollar.  Since then, it dropped dramatically (tho recently it has rebounded a bit).  Because I have debt in the US, it effectively felt like (a) my salary declined by 20%, or my debt increased by 20%... just because of exchange rates...  And now I'm in the position of hoping the US Dollar tanks...