Canadian money basics for Kenyan newcomers Your first year of money in Canada, step by step.

1. Open a bank account in your first week

You don't need to be a Canadian citizen to open an account. You may need to visit a branch in person. The bank must see original ID, not copies.

• Two documents: one with your name and address, and one with your name and date of birth. A foreign passport counts, and so do Canadian government ID, a recent utility bill or a recent bank statement.
• Or one document with your name and date of birth, plus a person who confirms who you are: a customer in good standing with that bank, or someone of good standing in the community.
• If a bank refuses, it must tell you in writing and give you its complaint process.

Source: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), "Opening a bank account"

Your savings are protected too. The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) covers eligible deposits at member institutions up to $100,000 in each deposit category, so your total cover can be higher, with no need to apply. Credit unions are usually covered by a provincial deposit insurer instead, so ask yours which one.

Sources: FCAC, "Opening a low-cost or no-cost bank account", news release of December 1, 2025 and "Deposit insurance in Canada", and CDIC, "What's covered"

Thunder Bay's own credit unions are listed in our first 30 days guide.

2. Build Canadian credit from zero

Your credit report is the record of how you have borrowed and repaid. Canada's two main credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, only collect your credit activity in Canada. So your history from Kenya doesn't carry over, and you start from zero.

• Your credit score is a 3-digit number, usually from 300 to 900. Higher is better.
• Lenders, landlords, phone and internet companies, and some employers may check it.
• Some lenders will look at your credit history from another country. You may need to bring that report and meet a bank officer.

Source: FCAC, "Credit report and score basics"

Secured credit cards

• FCAC names a secured card as an option for newcomers with no credit history. You pay a security deposit, and the limit is usually equal to or higher than the deposit.
• You may pay a one-time set-up fee and an annual fee. Read the costs before you sign.
• Be careful with issuers you don't know, especially ones outside Canada. A card without a Visa, Mastercard or American Express brand may only work in a few stores.
• When you close the card and pay the full balance, you get your deposit back.

Source: FCAC, "Choosing a credit card"

Use it the right way

• Pay the full balance by the due date. Banks regulated by the federal government must give at least a 21-day interest-free grace period on purchases. If you pay only part, you pay interest until the balance is paid off.
• Cash advances have no grace period. Interest starts the day you take the cash.
• Never miss a payment. Payment history is the most important part of your score. If you can't pay it all, pay at least the minimum.
• Use less than 30% of your limit.Example: on a $5,000 limit, owing $1,000 is 20%.
• Apply for new credit only when you need it. Many applications close together can lower your score.

Sources: FCAC, "How credit cards work" and "Improving your credit score"

Check your credit for free

• Both bureaus give you your credit report free online, updated every month.
• Your score is free from Equifax everywhere in Canada, and free from TransUnion if you live in Ontario or Quebec.
• By phone: Equifax Canada 1-800-465-7166, TransUnion Canada 1-800-663-9980.
• Checking your own report or score doesn't lower it.

Source: FCAC, "Getting your credit report and credit score"

3. File your first tax return, even on a low income

For most newcomers, you become a resident of Canada for tax purposes on your first day living here. The tax year runs January to December, and the return is usually due by April 30 of the next year.

• Your first return is for the year you arrive. You don't have to file it until the year after.Example from the CRA: arrived in 2025, file the 2025 return by April 30, 2026.
• File even with little or no income. The CRA says you file to begin or keep getting the Canada child benefit and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, and to claim the Canada workers benefit.
• Filing also keeps your RRSP and FHSA limits up to date. Keep your papers for at least six years.

Sources: Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), "Newcomers to Canada" and "Who has to file a return"

For July 2026 to June 2027, Thunder Bay residents can get up to:

• Northern Ontario Energy Credit: $189 for one person, $290 for a family, if you rented or paid property tax for your home.
• Energy and property tax credit: $1,307 (ages 18 to 64) or $1,488 (65 and over), if you paid property tax or rented a place whose landlord had to pay it.
• Sales tax credit: $378, plus up to $378 each for a spouse and each child under 19.

Sources: CRA, "Newcomers to Canada"; CRA, "Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit" and "Who is eligible"; CRA, "How to apply for the Canada child benefit"; Government of Ontario, "Ontario Trillium Benefit"

Source: CRA, "Get your taxes done at a free tax clinic"

Still have income, land or a PIN in Kenya? See Kenyan tax from Canada.

4. TFSA, RRSP and FHSA in plain words

These are registered accounts: savings or investment accounts with tax breaks. Banks, credit unions and other institutions open them for you. Each one has a yearly limit, and putting in too much is taxed.

The newcomer catches

• TFSA room starts the year you become a resident, not the year you turned 18. Years you lived in Kenya give you no room.
• A year you are resident for only part of still gives you that year's full TFSA limit.
• Your CRA account updates TFSA room only once a year. Count your own deposits and withdrawals so you don't go over. Extra money left in a TFSA is taxed at 1% a month.
• RRSP room comes from last year's earned income, so expect little or no room in your first year. Going more than $2,000 over your limit is taxed at 1% a month.
• A home in Kenya can rule out an FHSA. You don't count as a first-time buyer if, this year or in the past 4 years, you lived in a home that you or your spouse owned. The CRA counts a home outside Canada the same way.

Sources: CRA, "What is a TFSA", "Opening a TFSA", "Calculate your TFSA contribution room", "How non-residency affects your TFSA", "If you over-contribute"; "Registered Retirement Savings Plan", "How contributions affect your RRSP deduction limit", "RRSP and TFSA limits"; "First Home Savings Account", "Opening your FHSAs" and "Participating in your FHSAs"

5. Sending money home

Supporting family in Kenya is part of most budgets. Our sending money to Kenya guide shows how to check that a company is registered with the Bank of Canada, compare what actually arrives on M-Pesa, and avoid transfer scams.

6. Running a chama in Canada

A chama is a savings group: members pay in an agreed amount, and the money goes round to each member in turn, or into a shared savings or investment pot. Many Kenyans keep their chama going in Canada. These steps help it stay fair and friendly.

1. Write the rules down and have every member sign. Cover how much and when to pay, the order of payouts, what happens when someone pays late or leaves Canada, and how the group decides.
2. Keep records of every payment in and out, with dates, shared with all members after each meeting.
3. Use a bank account, not cash or one person's phone. Ask the bank what it needs to open an account for a group.
4. Choose more than one signer. In a joint account, each holder can usually withdraw and make payments, and all share responsibility for every transaction.

Source: FCAC, "Joint bank accounts"

7. Chama risks and tax

• Interest and investment income is taxable. The CRA says it must be reported, even when it is under $50 and no T5 slip is sent.
• Who reports it depends on how the group and its account are set up. Ask the CRA or a tax professional before the group starts investing.
• A death-benefit fund can be treated as insurance. Ontario's Insurance Act deems a club or association that pays benefits from members' money when a member dies to be an insurer, and insurers need a licence. Our benevolence page explains why we're careful.
• Lending the pot out means the group carries the loss if a borrower doesn't repay. Put any loan rules in writing.
• Investments are not insured. Deposit insurance covers eligible bank deposits, not mutual funds, stocks, bonds, ETFs or cryptocurrency, and not losses from fraud or theft.

Sources: CRA, "Line 12100 – Interest and other investment income"; Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8, ss. 39 and 40; FCAC, "Deposit insurance in Canada". This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

8. Money scams aimed at newcomers

• The CRA's email notices never ask for personal information or ask you to click a link. Check payments by signing in to your CRA account yourself.
• The Government of Ontario won't text you to pay you a benefit or refund, or to ask for your details.
• Fake "free credit score" sites collect your details. Use the bureaus' own pages.

Our scams guide covers the rest: calls pretending to be the CRA, fake cheques and money mule jobs, payday loans and door-to-door contracts, and what to do if you already paid.

Sources: CRA, "GST/HST credit - No longer available"; Government of Ontario, "Ontario Trillium Benefit"; FCAC, "Getting your credit report and credit score"

This guide is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. For your own situation, speak to the Canada Revenue Agency, a free tax clinic, or a licensed professional.

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