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Dear Allan,
Your forum is excellent with alot of really great advice.
I have to submit an NR73 and while I have no significant ties, I wondered how many secondary ties tip the scale. If you have exoerince with this that would be great, I’ve read the rules but more interested in the practice. All significant ties are in the new country. Is having a bank account, credit Card/dormant RRSP and a drivers liscene ( to be used to exchange for a foreign one), to many?
Many appreciations in advance.
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your kind message.
In practice, there is no fixed number of “secondary ties” that automatically tips the scale. CRA looks at all of the facts together. Their published guidance says secondary ties must be considered collectively, and that it would be unusual for a single secondary tie on its own to make someone a factual resident of Canada while living abroad. The main question is whether your significant residential ties with Canada were actually severed and whether your stronger residential ties are now in the other country.
The items you listed, namely a Canadian bank account, credit card, dormant RRSP, and driver’s licence, are all examples of secondary ties CRA may consider. CRA specifically lists economic ties such as Canadian bank accounts and credit cards, as well as a Canadian driver’s licence, as relevant factors. That said, these items are usually not determinative by themselves if your primary ties are clearly outside Canada.
From a practical standpoint, a dormant RRSP is usually not a major problem on its own. A basic bank account or credit card also does not normally decide the case by itself. The driver’s licence is a bit more sensitive because it can look like an ongoing Canadian tie, so if it is only being kept temporarily in order to exchange it for a foreign licence, that is generally easier to explain than keeping it indefinitely. Frequent or regular visits back to Canada can also make remaining secondary ties matter more. CRA’s folio says that when some ties remain, they will also look at things like your intention to sever ties, the regularity and length of visits to Canada, and your residential ties elsewhere.
So, in real-world terms: the list you gave does not automatically sound fatal, especially if:
One caution: filing Form NR73 can be useful where certainty is needed, but it is not mandatory in many cases. It is a request for CRA’s opinion based on the facts you provide, so it should be completed very carefully and consistently with your departure return position. CRA describes NR73 as a tool to request help determining status, not as something every emigrant must file.
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