How to move to the UK from Canada

Moving to the UK from Canada offers stunning landscapes, new travel opportunities, and a rich cultural scene to dive into. It’s an exciting adventure, but navigating the challenges—especially post-Brexit—takes preparation. Although you won’t have to pick up a new language or experience too much culture shock, there are still challenges that you’ll need to navigate, involving visas, paperwork, flight costs and more.

We’ll be going through how to move to the UK from Canada permanently, highlighting the essentials, monthly expenses, and how you can use Wise to help with your transition and beyond.

What are the administrative essentials for moving to the UK from Canada?

Most countries, including the UK, require a visa or residence permit for those looking to move there permanently. First, consider why you’re moving and apply for the correct permit for your situation. Unfortunately, there are many UK visas that you can’t apply for anymore, limiting the ability for people to permanently settle there.

Here’s a quick rundown of permits in the UK you need to have to apply for permanent residency:

Other circumstances could grant you status as a British citizen, including:

• If you were born in the UK, depending on when you were born and the status of your parents.
• If you’re in a civil partnership or married to a British citizen and have lived in the UK for at least 3 years with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (lived in the UK for 12 months) and indefinite leave to remain (ILR) (lived in the UK for 5 years).⁵
• Applying for a Youth Mobility Scheme visa as a Canadian citizen with a valid Canadian passport and be 18–35 years old.⁶

When you eventually do receive your UK visa, you’ll want to do your due diligence and find a tax professional to help you comply with new regulations and figure out what to do with your investments and other financial assets in Canada or elsewhere. Working with a professional will give you that extra peace of mind, knowing you have guidance while you’re adjusting to life in the UK.

How long does the UK visa process take?

The length of the visa process depends on the type of visa you’re applying for and certain circumstances, such as whether you’ve provided accurate information or your supporting documents need verification. In general, family visas have a processing time of around 12 weeks, and work visas have a processing time of 3 weeks.⁷

Things to take care of in Canada before moving to the UK

Before moving to the UK permanently, you’ll want to take care of all your commitments in Canada. That includes everything from entertainment subscriptions to more serious matters like closing bank accounts and making sure you transfer your money and important mail over to your new home. Let’s take a look at a couple of things you’ll want to take care of:

• Close your bank accounts and transfer funds over to a UK bank account or an international account such as Wise.
• Update your address with Canada Post so you can get mail forwarded or cancelled.
• Cancel subscriptions and services that are Canada-specific.
• Inform insurance providers and the government of your move.
• Make sure you have all your critical and necessary documents like your passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, visa, and medical records, so you have continuity in treatment.
• Have a pet? Interestingly, the UK government site talks about bringing not just your pet cat or dog, but also highlights pet ferrets. You’ll have to first ensure your pet is approved to travel, microchip them, and get them a rabies vaccination. Since you’re coming in from Canada, your pet will need a Great Britain pet health certificate signed, stamped, and dated by a veterinarian. They’ll then have 10 days after that’s issued to enter the country. Finally, you’ll also need to give any dogs a tapeworm treatment and then fill in a declaration to prevent the sale or transfer of your pet.⁸

Flight expenses for flying from Canada to the UK

Here are a couple of examples of where you can depart from Canada to the UK and average price ranges for a one-way ticket.

Factors that might affect flight prices:

• Peak travel season
• Holidays like Christmas and Easter.
• When you book—last-minute bookings will be pricier than booking in advance.
• Time of day—red-eye flights and early morning flights are usually cheaper
• Special events like New Year’s Eve, London Fashion Week, or the Wimbledon Championships might have higher priced flights.

Preparing for your stay in the UK before leaving Canada

Everyday life in the UK will bring all sorts of new adventures and exciting opportunities, but it’ll require a little preparation when it comes to your monthly expenses, getting around your new city, and getting insurance.

Estimation of monthly expenses

Different cities will come with different lifestyles and cost of living, just like Canada.

Note: CAD - GBP exchange rates as seen on Oct 23, 2024 at 1:58 pm

Get more out of your money with a Wise account in the UK

Getting used to navigating GBP and having to convert everything into CAD can be a struggle at first, but with Wise, you can get a multi-currency account to make the transition much easier. As a dedicated online international money account, Wise allows you to

• send money in over 40 currencies, including CAD, GBP, USD, and more
• get local account details for 10+ currencies, including GBP, so you have a GBP account ready to go.¹⁸

Whenever you need to make a transfer, you can enjoy the mid-market exchange rate and minimal fees to get more bang for your buck. With the Wise card, you can spend in the currencies you have stored in your account natively. Once you have a UK address, you can update the same on your account to unlock features only available in the UK. This includes Wise Interest*, which can earn you returns on your GBP, USD, and EUR balances.

Transportation in the UK

It’s easy to get around in the UK, thanks to its variety of transportation options, including long-distance buses, planes, trains, taxis, car rentals, boats, trams, and metros. Public transport is extremely well-developed in larger cities like London and Glasgow, but it could be more scarce in more rural areas where people rely on personal cars and bikes. Make sure you understand the transport options in the area you’re moving to so you know what to expect and can purchase a transit pass in advance if needed.

Health insurance plans in the UK

The UK and Canada have similar healthcare structures, where healthcare is funded through taxation and residents don’t have to pay directly for a variety of services like seeing a general doctor. Like in Canada, having healthcare coverage will help you cover non-covered services like dental care, therapy, and vision care. Providers like Bupa, Vitality, and AXA are all popular and provide varying plans to accommodate your budget and needs.

Final thoughts on moving to the UK from Canada

With so many aspects of relocation to think about, planning and organization are key. Making sure you handle everything from accommodation and finances to getting around will give you a much better foundation to make a successful move. Wise can be the perfect partner to simplify financial management and accommodate money exchange from CAD to GBP without the unfavourable exchange rates and other hurdles that banks have.

Sources:

1. Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK
2. Scale-up Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK
3. https://www.gov.uk/health-care-worker-visa
4. Innovator Founder visa: Overview - GOV.UK
5. Check if you can become a British citizen - GOV.UK
6. Work and travel in the United Kingdom: International Experience Canada
7. Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK
8. Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain: What you need to do - GOV.UK
9. Cost of Living in Edinburgh
10. Cost of Living in London
11. Cost of Living in Manchester
12. Cost of Living in Bristol
13. Cost of Living in Sheffield
14. Cost of Living in Leeds
15. Cost of Living in Brighton
16. Cost of Living in Glasgow
17. Cost of Living in Newcastle upon Tyne
18. Which currencies can I add, keep and receive in my Wise account?