Property is sometimes owned abroad by applicants for last resort financial assistance. The value of such property must be taken into account in calculating benefits, unless there are:
- legal impediments
OR
- a strained political situation
OR
- restrictions on taking money out of the country.
The situations which can arise, with the exception of a legal impediment per se, and the positions to take are as follows:
- when disposal of the property is not allowed, the value of the property and liquid assets is considered to be nil;
- when disposal of the property is allowed but a strained political situation exists in the region where the property is located, the value of the property is considered to be nil.
To assess these situations and decide what position to take, officers will consult the person responsible for the region. Because of the varying degrees of accuracy and clarity of the information available, officers must be extremely prudent in arriving at their decisions.
The value, where appropriate, will be determined on the basis of the amounts declared by the applicant, transposed into Canadian dollars according to the current rate of exchange. As far as possible the applicant's statements should be backed up by supporting documents.