I'm a Canadian who's been living in Japan for close to 8 years. My father is also a tax accountant for the federal gov't so I followed his advice about how to avoid paying Canadian taxes when out of the country.
One thing to note is that you don't have to "declare" non-residence status, you just make yourself non-resident and stop filing returns, and if at any point in the future they come after you you have to demonstrate that you were non-resident during that time. And there is no exact guideline to determine whether you are non-resident or not, you just basically need to have as few ties to the country as possible, meaning no employment, no ownership, no dependents, etc. Some parts of it are vague, such as "intent". There's no rule that says you have to be out of Canada for 2 years to be non-resident, but if you come back within 2 years that shows that your intent was probably not to become a longterm non-resident. Same with the amount of time you spend in the country. If you are living in Canada for 5.9 months your intent is unclear. If you are never in Canada your intent is crystal clear.
They have discretion in determining how strong your ties to Canada are. I have a bank account in Canada with just like $1000 in it, so I can get some cash out when I visit. I don't worry about it, because I can justify why I have it and the amount is so small. I also have a valid driver's license. My dad didn't seem to think it was an issue, and that owning a car would be considered a much bigger tie to Canada. For someone like me who spends an average of a week a year in Canada and whose intent is clear, small ties like those aren't a deal breaker. But if you are spending half your time in Canada with an offshore business and your intent is unclear, those things might affect their judgement. To be safest, you should have no ties whatsoever, but it's not set in stone.
One thing to note is that you don't have to "declare" non-residence status, you just make yourself non-resident and stop filing returns, and if at any point in the future they come after you you have to demonstrate that you were non-resident during that time. And there is no exact guideline to determine whether you are non-resident or not, you just basically need to have as few ties to the country as possible, meaning no employment, no ownership, no dependents, etc. Some parts of it are vague, such as "intent". There's no rule that says you have to be out of Canada for 2 years to be non-resident, but if you come back within 2 years that shows that your intent was probably not to become a longterm non-resident. Same with the amount of time you spend in the country. If you are living in Canada for 5.9 months your intent is unclear. If you are never in Canada your intent is crystal clear.
They have discretion in determining how strong your ties to Canada are. I have a bank account in Canada with just like $1000 in it, so I can get some cash out when I visit. I don't worry about it, because I can justify why I have it and the amount is so small. I also have a valid driver's license. My dad didn't seem to think it was an issue, and that owning a car would be considered a much bigger tie to Canada. For someone like me who spends an average of a week a year in Canada and whose intent is clear, small ties like those aren't a deal breaker. But if you are spending half your time in Canada with an offshore business and your intent is unclear, those things might affect their judgement. To be safest, you should have no ties whatsoever, but it's not set in stone.
