American wants to move TO Canada

[BC_Bound]

Hi everyone,

I know this board is for Canucks abroad, but I wonder if any of you would be able to give me some suggestions. I am American and I want to move to Canada, perhaps permanently. My first choice is Vancouver and my second is Toronto. I have a few questions:

1. What's a good way to find a job? Online, going there to search, or something else?

2. Can I get a dual citizenship with the USA?

3. Can I find a home before I have a job?

If it helps, here is some info about me. I am 27 and in my final year of law school in America. (I have already found out what I need to do to practice law in Canada, but I may not practice law--I would take other jobs.) My first degrees are in biology and psychology. I will soon marry a woman who has a UK passport because she is from Hong Kong. I speak English, Spanish, and Cantonese.

I really appreciate any help any of you can provide. And feel free to ask me anything in return. My girlfriend currently has an H-1B so we have some experience with that process.

Thank you so much!
Chad Gerson

[Brenda]

Although I have no personal experience in this area, I think you may want to apply to Canada as a skilled worker, if you can. I'm not sure how long it would take to become a citizen, but once you're a permanent resident, applying for citizenship involves studying a book about Canada, taking a test and reciting an oath.

Here's a website to start you off, I hope others can offer more advice.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/index.html

[Reba]

Canada is in dire need of doctors, have you considered medical school?

Seriously, with all your degrees, I'm sure you wouldn't have too difficult a time immigrating on the "points" system for independent immigration (ie: not sponsored by family or employer) or you could hunt around for an employer to sponsor you, tho I'm not sure what type of visa is required for work with intent to permanently settle (I believe not all the NAFTA based visas allow this).

You could then sponsor your wife to tag along with you, so to speak

As for finding a job, do some google searches for employment agencies or associations within the area you'd like to find a job. Vancouver and Toronto are both great cities, cost of living is very high (moreso I think in Van than TO) weather in Vancouver is less snow snow in winter, not as hot in summer, but a heckuva lot more rain than in Toronto. In Vancouver you're close to mountains and ocean, in Toronto you're near the Great Lakes and the wide open spaces of Central and Northern Ontario.

Not sure about buying a house, I know its possible, I just dunno how they work it out for new immigrants if you need a mortgage. I'm sure a good immigration lawyer could help you with all this...I wish I knew one to refer you to, but I've had no luck with lawyers at all

And yes, you can have dual citizenship with Canada and the US, and your wife could have dual with UK if she wants.

[BC_Bound]

Thanks Reba and Brenda for your responses. I have a question about one of them. Reba, I got the impression from your response that the points system does not require me to have a job before immigrating. Is that right?

Also, if I can immigrate based on points, and I am married, can my wife automatically come with me, or will she need to immigrate independently?

Thanks so much for your help so far. I really appreciate it.

The cost of living is high in Vancouver, but health care, education, and etc. are all "free" right? By that I mean that of course I will pay taxes but I won't have to pay for those services out of my after-tax income, like I do here in the US.

Thanks again!
Chad Gerson

[torontobound2006]

I would like to move to Toronto in the summer of 2006. I will graduate college in Dec. 2005 with a teaching degree and license. What do I have to do to get permission to move to Canada?

[Reba]

here's the CIC page for [url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/index.html]skilled workers[/url] information. Have a look there for what they're looking for and how you can qualify. As far as I know, yes, if one of your skills is something needed here, you can immigrate even if you don't yet have a job lined up, cuz we have a shortage and probably more jobs than people to fill them. You may not have a choice of where in the country you'd like to live tho, be forwarned!

Yes, if you get independent immigration, your wife comes along with, as a given. You submitt the applications together, basically with you sponsoring her I think. Or her sponsoring you if she has skills needed and you don't. It may be easier (ie: quicker) than trying to find a job first and a company willing to sponsor you. Not all of them are willing to fork out the money for processing fees.

Medical care is different in every province, I only know Ontario. Not all services are covered by provincial plans, but most essential services are. You'd have to check the provincial health website to find out what's covered and what isn't. Generally, basic health services, like doctor visits and emergency hospital care is covered, but dental services, prescriptions, some surgical services, private hospital room, stuff like that, is not covered, and you have to pay out of pocket, or thru extended health insurance you pay for, just like you do in the States.

As a fer instance, I recently had to have surgery, the surgeon's fees were covered, the anesthesiologist, nurses, etc etc were covered, but I had to stay in a "ward room" (with 3 other patients) because I don't have an extended health plan because I don't have a job. Everything of my hospital stay was covered, but if I had requested a semi-private or private room, I'd have had to pay for it myself. 3 years ago my sister had a baby and she requested a semi-private room, she stayed for 6 days and it ended up costing her about $700 or $800. You just have to know what's covered and what's not.

My prescriptions afterward were not covered either, but drugs are cheaper here anyway

[juleaht]

hello, i am a canadian who just moved to the usa last year. as a lawyer you should have no problem getting a visa, you do need a job before you immigrate though. once you have an offer letter, you can get a 1 year TN-1 visa right at the border. it only takes 20 minutes. some provinces, like BC, require additional money to pay for the health care. i moved here from vancouver, where the cost was $93/month. the prescription drug deductible in BC was $2000, but in ontario i think it's around $800. in ontario the health care is all rolled into the taxes, with nothing out of pocket (that's where i lived before BC).

good luck, i miss canada a lot and i'm a little bit jealous of you moving there. have fun and please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

leah

[Reba]

actually, there is an out of pocket premium now in Ontario for OHIP benefits. Its based on your income, and will be deducted from your paycheques, to a maximum of I think, $600 per year.