When am I not a UK resident?

sef_2

I am currently living and working in Canada on a 2 year Work Visa that only gives me temporary residency. I don't own a house in the UK having sold it to move to Canada as I am expecting this to become permanent at some time in the future. I have UK bank accounts that still have my old address as the main contact but have another UK address (Mum and Dad) as correspondence. I am currently holding the proceeds from the sale of the house in e-savings accounts and getting between 4.75% and 5.5% between the accounts I hold, however, I would like to move some of the funds into a higher rate (e.g ICICI) but when I look at the terms and conditions they are requiring the applicant to be a resident of the UK for at least one year. I do all my banking online (even here in Canada which is WAY BEHIND the UK facilities!!)

So the question is:
I have no house in the UK, I am a temporary resident in Canada - can I answer YES to the fact that I have been a resident in the UK (left for Canada in June 2007) and therefore put my Mum and Dad's address to open any account that can be managed online? When I enquired to the institution directly they just returned with the standard reply directiing me to the terms and conditions - helpful - NOT!

Because the Canadian Dollar is strong at the moment (was $2.17/pound when we left the UK, now it's $1.97/pound) we are planning on leaving the money in the UK for as long as possible before needing the funds to put down on a house in Canada when we become permanent residents - expected time frame around 12-18 months before the money needs to be available for transfer (and hopefully the exchange rate will be more favourable)

Has anyone any thoughts, ideas, workarounds etc they could assist me with. All help is appreciated.

Stephen