It can be done
quote them the section of the Income Tax Act
substitute US pension to HK pension
https://ca.rbcwealthmanagement.com/documents/17271/2296696/Transferring+a+foreign+based+retirement+plan+to+an+RRSP.pdf/e23b8c90-0408-4ecf-9c46-3c047fe59b65
Follow Step 1 to Step 3
Step 1
Make a lump sum withdrawal from
your foreign-based retirement plan
and pay any foreign income tax.
Instruct your U.S. plan administrator
to collapse your qualifying U.S. plan
and mail a cheque of the proceeds to
you. You will receive proceeds net of
U.S. withholding tax.
If you are a U.S. citizen/green-card
holder the withdrawal may be subject
to U.S. withholding tax of 10-20%.
The withdrawal must be reported
on a U.S. resident income tax return
(Form 1040) and is subject to U.S. tax
at graduated tax rates.
A lump sum withdrawal by a Canadian
(non-U.S. citizen/green-card holder)
is subject to a 30% U.S. nonresident
withholding tax rate, although some
U.S. plan administrators may withhold
a lower rate. If the benefits withdrawn
relate to employment services
performed in the U.S., the withdrawal
may be considered to be income
“effectively connected with a U.S. trade
or business.” This may require you
to report the gross amount of the
withdrawal on a U.S. nonresident
income tax return (Form 1040NR),
subjecting the withdrawal to tax at
graduated U.S. tax rates. You should
confirm the U.S. filing requirements
with your tax advisor.
Roth IRAs are not
considered to be
foreign pension plans
nor foreign retirement
arrangements so you
cannot contribute lump
sum withdrawals from
this plan to your RRSP
without using RRSP
contribution room.
The U.S. income tax liability on the
tax return will be reduced by the
amount of U.S. tax that was withheld
at source. You may receive a refund
if the withholding tax is larger than
the tax liability calculated on the tax
return, or you may need to pay the
difference. Where a U.S. tax return
is required, irrespective of the initial
amount of tax withheld when you
made the withdrawal, your ultimate
U.S. tax liability is the tax liability
calculated on your U.S. 1040NR
nonresident tax return.
Note: If you are under age 59 ½ when
the withdrawal is made you may be
subject to a nonrefundable 10% early
withdrawal penalty. The U.S. plan
administrator is not responsible for
withholding this early withdrawal
penalty from the lump sum withdrawal.
However, you will be required to file a
U.S. 1040NR nonresident tax return to
calculate and remit the penalty to the
IRS. The penalty is reported on your
U.S. tax return and is added to your
total U.S. income tax liability.
Step 2
Contribute an amount equal to the
gross value of the withdrawal that is
permitted to be transferred to your
RRSP under the special provisions.
Where the full amount of the benefit
withdrawn may be contributed to your
RRSP under the special provisions,
the Canadian-dollar equivalent of
the gross amount withdrawn (the full
amount before withholding tax) may
be contributed to your RRSP to take
full advantage of this strategy. You
must make this contribution by the
end of the regular RRSP contribution
deadline (during the year of the
withdrawal, or 60 days after the end of
that year, at the latest). You will receive
an RRSP contribution receipt. You may
also contribute benefits withdrawn
that do not qualify under the special
provisions provided you have sufficient
RRSP contribution room.
Step 3
Report the withdrawal and RRSP
contribution on your Canadian income
tax return.
The gross withdrawal from your U.S.
plan (converted into Canadian dollars
using the foreign exchange rate in
effect on the date of the withdrawal)
should be reported as taxable income
on your Canadian income tax return.
In addition, the contribution to
your RRSP should be reported as
a deduction to offset the amount
included in your taxable income.
In order to indicate to the Canada