Buying and living in Florida...

allright so, we want to buy a home in florida, but want to spend most of our time there. Pretty much live more in the US than in Canada.

Thinking of doing 3-4 months florida, then visiting home for about 1-2 weeks, another 3-4 mths, then visit agian, and so on.......

How long can we keep doing this for without having any sort of US visa or anything???

I am self employed, so work is not an issue. A mortgage is not an issue either.

any info is greatly appreciated... cheers

B-2 or tourist status is granted in increments of 6 months at a time typically and would allow you entry into the U.S. to occupy your home in Florida.

B-2 can usually be granted orally at the border without an I-94 but it is implicitly understood that ties to Canada are maintained in the form of a residence abroad in which you have no intent in abandoning.

Thus evidence of a Canadian property deed or rental agreement would establish this intent for entry as a B-2. CBP may not even bother to ask you to prove this but you should bring this important info along with you to the port of entry to make certain your entry is smooth and not problematic in case they do request it.

You could execute a B-2 entry for 6 months, return to Canada for a few months and then re-enter on another B-2 without issues.

This is essentially the same scenario that I am in. I wish to be in the US for about 8 months a year (from October to June) but will be traveling back and forth during that time to visit family (likely a couple weeks each time).

I am now retired and my husband is self employed and works overseas so he is gone one month and then home (wherever I am) for one month. We own a home in Phoenix and rent in Alberta. All of our family ties are in Canada, banking, accountant, dentists, doctors, etc. I also keep very good track of everything we do in Canada to demonstrate that our ties are there.

We want to ensure that we do everything by the book so we don't jeopardize being able to cross the border freely. There are a few issues that I am trying to figure out so hopefully someone can answer these questions?

1. I am a Canadian citizen and according to Service Canada, it is my right to come and go from Canada as I please but is there anything I have to be concerned with regarding Revenue Canada? Am I considered a permanent resident of Canada if I am not in Canada for at least 6 month of the year? We plan on continue filing with Canada Revenue Agency so do I need to be concerned about anything regarding Canada taxation or residency?

2. Seeing as I will be in the US for more than 183 days in a calendar year, it is my understanding that I will be required to file a US Tax return which means that I will also require a Social Security number. I am not worried about filing a tax return seeing as I will not be making any money. Is there anything about this that I should be concerned about?

3. From what I understand from reading the following response, we really don't have to be worried about getting any additional visas or anything?

Thank you so much for your response. I have been working on this forever and have started to look for a lawyer to assist me. There is just so much inaccurate information out there. THANKS!!!

B-2 or tourist status is granted in increments of 6 months at a time typically and would allow you entry into the U.S. to occupy your home in Florida.

B-2 can usually be granted orally at the border without an I-94 but it is implicitly understood that ties to Canada are maintained in the form of a residence abroad in which you have no intent in abandoning.

Thus evidence of a Canadian property deed or rental agreement would establish this intent for entry as a B-2. CBP may not even bother to ask you to prove this but you should bring this important info along with you to the port of entry to make certain your entry is smooth and not problematic in case they do request it.

Thank you MC for your info.

erinvig - try checking these guys out w.altrolaw.c for legal issues between Canada/US

In either scenario you will lose provincial health care.

Also, after the 1st or 2nd 6 month stay, CBP will deny entry under the claim that you are (even you say it) living in US.