Sunday Review: Establishing Residence in Canada

Clarification: This is advice to Canadians that want to RV full time. None of this applies to Americans.

A lot of people that aren't RVing full time in Canada but would like to do so avoid it simply because of the way our residency requirements work. Our health care and schooling are tied to provincial residency, so a physical address is mandatory.

Well, this isn't nearly as complicated as you would think.



Site numbers at RV parks are perfectly legitimate for use as residence. You use it just like an apartment. Let's say you get a seasonal rental at an RV park in Manitoba. You just use the RV park address and site number as your physical address (such as for your driver's license and health card). That's it. It counts as a residence and a receipt is proof that you were renting. You don't need to change it during the off season unless you are going to change sites. There is a decent chance that the park won't accept mail for you, so get a PO Box and have any and all mail routed through the PO Box. Go paperless as much as possible. This way if you want to change to a different site or a different park in the same province, you won't need to change your mailing address. If necessary, you can register for address redirection to be absolutely certain that no mail goes to the RV park (we had some minor problems getting the new address set up where address redirection would have helped, but it was easy enough to sort out).

Want to be more mobile? Have a rental agreement with a friend or family member. This works whether it is a pad rental or a room rental. You will need a paper trail if asked, so actually exchange money and keep receipts. Such a paper trail can be done entirely over e-mail and money transfers. The amount being exchanged can be exceptionally low. I am not certain of the minimum (I think $1, though a lawyer can correct me), but I'd do a $10 rental just to be safe.

And of course there is nothing wrong with physically owning a property - house or condo - and renting it out on AirBNB. Just hire someone you trust to manage it.

That all being said...

Almost no one is ever asked to prove residency. The only time this will come up is if you are earning income in more than one province or exclusively in another province, or want to use provincial services or apply for a passport. Return to your home province once in a while and use the health care system for your yearly check up and you're fine. If you are out of province and a police officer asks why you are out of province, you just tell them you are on vacation; it is technically true. Don't bother with a complicated answer. If you are in that province for more than six months at a time, then you should be switching your provincial residence anyway.

In order to revoke residency, it is contingent upon the provincial government to prove that you have been out of province. This can happen if you are working at a company that is registered outside the province when you do your taxes, but even that isn't automatic; I've met several people that maintained their residency for up to two years while working out of province. I DO NOT recommend that course of action. If you plan on staying somewhere and working, then it is a good idea to choose a province to do this in as a home base. If you work from home or are retired, none of that applies unless you choose to make it apply; seasonal rentals or rental agreements with friends or family will suffice.

So don't be too worried about it. Once you've figured out the course of action that works best for you, it is very doubtful that you will have trouble. Feel free to have a seasonal rental in mainland Canada, then move to one of the coasts for the winter or even snowbird to the USA. If you are retired or work from home and want to travel, set up a rental agreement and get going.

Mandatory legal disclaimer as a just in case because I can't afford to be sued: The above information should not be considered legal advice. It is for entertainment and information purposes only. You cannot hold me responsible for any damages that occur due to the above information.