Do we need Canadian permanent residency or citizenship?

My husband has received a job offer in Vancouver and we are looking to permanently relocate from the US (fyi: we are all US citizens). This would include my husband, myself and our 2 kids, ages 14 and 15. Since we are going to be working there and living there, do we need citizenship? Or do we just need something called permanent residency? If that’s all we need, what else must we have… a work visa, a Canadian passport…? I have tried looking these things up but I have never moved out of the states before and find the information on all the websites to be overwhelming and confusing at the moment. Could someone please spell it out for me and tell me what we need, what we don’t need, how to get it, ect. Also if there is something like a movers guide to Canada out there, please feel free to recommend! Thank you so much for your time, we really appreciate it.

Your husband will first need a work visa, and his prospective employer will (should) have the information needed on how to go about getting that for him.

You won't be eligible for citizenship for several years.

There are also a few websites with information about immigration to Canada. Check these out

http://roadtocanada.com/

http://www.canadavisa.com/

Ad Immigration Canada itself http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

You need to either apply for a work permit or permanent residency.

A work permit has to be obtained via the employer, and requires certification by Human Resources Canada before it can be approved. Usually this is quite quick though and you can usually get approval in a month or so, provided the job meets the necessary standards.

You can also apply for immigration as a skilled worker, this is done via a points system, based on his education, your education, work experience, language skills and various other factors. It takes a considerable amount of time to be approved for immigration as a skilled worker (from the US around 15-20 months from the date of application - and getting all the paperwork together to apply will take awhile).

However you don't necessarily need a job offer if you get enough points.

The usual route that the Govt. recommends is to do both, get a work permit, enter the country, and then apply for permanent residency once you are in Canada (because you score more points as employment is already gained). The only real snag with that one is getting the criminal background check done by FBI CJIS once you are in Canada.

Have a go with this: http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/immigrate/ ... /index.asp

The benefit to getting permanent residency is that you don't have to renew the work permit anymore, plus if there is a lay-off you don't have to leave if you don't want to.

Oh yeah, beware of your tax situation - if you become permanent residents you must move your tax home to Canada and that creates a whole raft of paperwork with the IRS. If you're on a work permit you can claim the tax treaty exemption (when you file your return) and carry on paying US income taxes, which generally speaking are lower. Which is another reason why it's better to start off with a work permit.

Something else you will need is CBSA Forms B4 and B4A for your personal effects.

If you're bringing your car with you that is also another load of paperwork, check on www.riv.ca as the car has to be converted to Canadian spec (basically daytime running lights added in most cases) in order to transfer the title, register it etc. Note that you do NOT have to pay duty or any other sort of tax to import your car, as long as you list it on your B4 as personal effects! (At least on the Canadian end, CBP might want something for processing the export paperwork). For some reason people keep tripping over that one.

Get a credit card (like Amex) with a company that issues cards in Canada as well, it's easier to establish credit history in Canada that way.

Open a bank account with a Canadian bank and use a currency broker (not the bank) to buy Canadian funds off as they have better exchange rates.

Bring a good coat. And an umbrella. You'll need them.