How to Keep Your Canadian Bank Account After Leaving Canada | Fees, SMS Verification and Non-Resident Rules

When you're getting ready to leave Canada and move back to your home country, it's hard to know whether to keep your Canadian bank account or close it. Keeping it is useful: it can receive your tax refund and Wise transfers, and it'll be there if you come back. The downsides are monthly fees, identity checks, and the fact that some accounts can't be kept once you become a non-resident. Keeping the account is usually worth it. The most important step is to check before you leave whether your current account can still be used once you're a non-resident. This guide covers what to weigh when you decide, plus the details people often miss.

This article contains general information as of June 2026. Whether you can keep an account, and the fees, interest rates and rules for non-residents, all vary by bank and change over time. Before you do anything, check your bank's official information or speak to a representative.

Why keep your Canadian account after you leave

It's often worth keeping. Right after you leave, you'll usually still have some Canadian paperwork to finish, and having an account makes that much easier. For example, it lets you:

• Check your balance and keep money in Canadian dollars
• Receive your tax refund and other payments from the CRA
• Send and receive money with services like Wise
• Use the account right away if you return to Canada
• Leave savings in an interest-earning account

Your final tax return is often settled the following year. Keeping the account open for a while means you'll still have somewhere for the refund to go, so for many people that's the practical choice.

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Check monthly account fees before you leave

Some Canadian bank accounts charge a monthly fee. It's often waived if you keep a minimum balance or have regular deposits such as a paycheque. After you move, you'll use the account less. If your balance falls below the minimum, fees can start without you noticing. If you plan to keep the account, find out whether it has a fee and what it takes to have the fee waived. With a conditional no-fee account, keeping the minimum balance may be enough to bring the cost close to zero.

No-fee accounts aren't always open to non-residents

No-fee, higher-interest accounts, such as those from online banks, can look like the obvious choice. However, some of them require you to be a Canadian resident or to have a permanent address in Canada. If you live outside Canada for a long time, some providers may close your account, so switching to a no-fee account won't always solve the problem. Check each bank's official information to confirm whether you can keep using the account as a non-resident.

What to ask your bank before you leave

Whether you keep the account or not, asking these questions before you go will save you trouble later. Take this table with you to the branch, or work through it with the bank's chat support.

Topic	What to ask
Non-resident eligibility	Can I keep and use the account after I move?
Monthly fees	What are the conditions, and what balance waives the fee?
Contact details	How do I update my address, phone number and email?
Login verification	How do SMS codes and app-based verification work?
Transfers	How do I send and receive money, for example through Wise?
Tax status	How are non-resident accounts treated, and what documents are needed?

SMS verification and your Canadian phone number

Login verification is where many people get stuck. Your bank may ask for an SMS code or app-based verification when you log in online. If you cancel your Canadian phone number, you may not be able to get past this step. Your number may be needed in situations like these:

Situation	Why your Canadian number matters
Online login	Receiving SMS codes and identity verification codes
Updating your details	Confirming changes
Sending or receiving money	Identity verification messages

If you keep the account, also plan how you'll keep a number for verification. We explain the options for keeping your number and receiving SMS after you move in How to receive Canadian SMS verification codes after leaving Canada. Some banks also let you switch to one-time codes generated in their app or an authenticator app. Ask whether you can use something other than SMS, because that makes you less dependent on your phone number.

The same problem comes up in reverse when you live abroad and want to keep your number and bank account back home. We cover that in How to keep your home-country phone number, SMS verification and bank account while living abroad. Decide ahead of time which number you'll keep, the one where you live or the one back home, so verification doesn't catch you out.

Keep the number, handle data separately

Keeping a number for logins doesn't mean you have to keep paying for mobile data on the same line. Keep the number on a low-cost plan that only maintains the line, and add data separately when you need it. That helps keep your monthly costs down. For more on this, see How to keep a phone number cheaply while living abroad.

One way to add data on its own is a data-only eSIM. Bloomy offers data plans in a range of sizes, such as 1GB to 20GB. For coverage, current plans and prices, check the comparison page at the time of purchase.

Please note that Bloomy is a data-only eSIM. It does not include a phone number, so you can't make or receive regular phone calls or send or receive SMS. App-based calls that use mobile data, such as WhatsApp, Messenger and FaceTime, work as usual. In short, you can do everything except regular calls and SMS. If you need a number to receive bank SMS codes, you'll need a separate option, such as a low-cost number-keeping plan. Plans are subject to a fair use policy. Connection speed and quality depend on the local network, your device and your location.

If you just need data while you travel or when you go back to Canada, use Bloomy's comparison page to find a plan by country, data amount and number of days. For more on keeping your number and getting SMS, see our phone number and SMS guides.

Who this approach is right for

Good fit

• You need a Canadian account for a tax refund or other CRA matters
• You plan to return to Canada and want to keep your account
• You want to hold or invest money in Canadian dollars

Not a good fit

• You don't expect to use a Canadian account for a while
• Your bank won't let non-residents keep the account, and you have no alternative

If you keep the account without a clear reason, managing fees and verification can become a hassle with nothing in return. Spell out why you want to keep it, and the decision becomes easier.

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

• Not checking the account rules for non-residents: ask your bank before you leave.
• Getting locked out after cancelling your number: keep the number, or set up another way to verify instead of SMS.
• Assuming a no-fee account solves everything: confirm that the account is available to non-residents.
• Leaving without updating your address and contact details: if verification messages can't reach you, account changes can stall.

Before you leave: checklist

Here's what to do, most important first. Before you rush to close your account, start by checking the details.

1. Ask your bank whether you can keep using your Canadian account as a non-resident
2. Check the monthly fee conditions, such as the minimum balance that waives the fee
3. Update your address, phone number and email
4. Check how you'll verify logins (SMS or an authenticator app)
5. If you keep your number, get data separately with an eSIM

Keeping your Canadian account after you leave can be very useful, but some accounts can't be used by non-residents. Don't assume a no-fee account will solve the problem. Check with your bank about non-resident rules before you leave. If you need your number for logins, keep it on a low-cost plan and add only the data you need with an eSIM. That's usually the easiest way to manage it.

This article provides general information only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Whether you can keep an account, and the fees, interest rates and conditions for non-residents, vary by bank and over time (as of June 2026). Before you take action, check with your bank's official information or a representative, and consult a professional if needed. We can't guarantee that you'll be able to receive Canadian SMS messages after you leave Canada.