Wealthsimple is only licensed to support accounts for clients physically present in Canada

There’s been a lot of both fear-mongering and blame in response to recent posts from people having their WealthSimple account permanently closed.

Most cases seem to involve extended periods of travel. Here’s what Wealthsimple told me when I asked:

“Typically, accounts are locked to prevent fraudulent activity, for example, if transactions conflict with our anti-money laundering policies. Additionally, accounts may be restricted if a client violates our terms of service, such as operating an account outside of Canada for extended periods. While vacations or short-term stays are fine, we cannot support clients who are not considered Canadian residents for securities purposes.”

“Clients who become non-residents of Canada will have the option to liquidate their holdings and withdraw the cash proceeds, or transfer their investments to another brokerage that supports non-residents.”

They also linked to a help article titled “Wealthsimple’s criteria for non-residency status” (https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/4404801313047-Wealthsimple-s-criteria-for-non-residency-status) which states:

“Wealthsimple is only licensed to support accounts for clients physically present in Canada, as required by the Ontario Securities Commission and Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. Even if you are a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax resident, you may still be considered a non-resident from a securities standpoint.”

So while it’s unfortunate and probably surprising to affected folks, it’s also not without explanation. I think most people just assume that if they’re a Canadian citizen, pay taxes to the CRA, etc. that there’s no problem with using Wealthsimple.

TLDR; Wealthsimple can only support accounts for clients who are physically present in Canada, regardless of legal residency or tax status. Using your account while abroad for extended periods of time puts your Wealthsimple account at risk of permanent closure.