My Repatriation Story

When I left Canada for Korea in the summer of 2000, I did so with a duffel bag of stuff, a sense of adventure, and the attitude that if it didn't work out, I was just a plane ride away from simply going home.

A marriage, 3 kids, a masters, a bit of travel, a bunch of cool experiences later, I am about to start a new life back in Canada. While I am definitely excited, there is a sense of grief in realizing I am saying goodbye to the place I've called home for the last 23 years.

Here, I will detail the steps I am taking in this repatriation process.

Making a List, Checking it Twice?

More than twice, actually! Here is a continuously updated and evolving list of things I need to do, look into, and prepare for. I'll try to organize this into categories as I go.

• Purchase one-way flight tickets (DONE).

• Contact shipping company for estimate.

  • Advised to ship sets of Korean children's books, as they are expensive/unavailable in Canada - good resale value?

• Border Services forms to declare tax-free items (https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/mrc-drc-eng.html)

• Get Korean Immigration statement of length of residency in Korea.

• Set up Korean pension.

  • Transfer pension to RRSP? (https://www.mondaq.com/advicecentre/content/4506/Transferring-A-Foreign-Pension-To-Your-RRSP)

• Get banking and tax documents from Korean employer to transfer savings (more than Cdn50,000$) to Canada.

• Get driving records from Korean insurance company.

• Get driving record from Korean DMV to submit to earn credit for more than one year of driving (https://www.ontario.ca/page/exchange-out-province-drivers-licence)

• Get appropriate vaccinations for kids to enter Canadian school.

• Get kids' report cards from Korean school. + certificate of attendance (info about leaving Korea here https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/south-korea/seoul/moving/leaving-south)

• Get International Driver's License for first few weeks in Canada.

• Get Criminal Background Check (lapsed records - online?) from Korean police (online request: https://crims.police.go.kr/main.do)

• Create letter of permission to travel with kids without my wife.

• Renew Hanson's passport.

• Activate my dormant SIN number with Services Canada.

• Create SIN numbers for kids.

• Get temporary health insurance until OHIP kicks in.

• Visit tax office for 2023 income tax.

• Apostille service for documents (https://www.apostille.go.kr/index.do%3bjsessionid=k9zna6z_NNaUykjB56r7eIghhFyaVVOEa14dHQrTlNuutXp8xFzG!-553428232)

• Look into sentbe for transferring money more cheaply.

• Arrange to get key money from current landlord - inform 90 days prior (mid-May)

• Terminate utilities, phone contract and arrange final payments.

• Terminate Korean Life Insurance.

• Gather evidence of cohabitation with my wife for eventual permanent residency application.

• .......... (more to come I'm sure)