immigation to the us

[Gasparo]

My wife and I are retired and are thinking of moving to Florida. We have no intention of working there as our pension benefits are sufficent to support my wife and I for our remaining years. We would like to buy a house and become permanent residents.

Is there a special visa for retirees that we should apply for?

Gasparo

[agnelson]

Nope. You must keep your Cdn residence, and may only visit US as a tourist, 6 months at a crack.

You are free to buy a property in US, but you will only be using it part time.

Besides, to keep your CDn haealthcare, you need to be in Canada 5-6 months a year.

[Dremani]

It's actually a good idea to buy property in Florida now seeing it had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. A lot of the houses in the block where I live are foreclosed and when I went online to check the listings, you can buy a house for as little as $80,000 for a 2-3 bedroom.

The only downfall is that the banks gouge you on the interest rate based on that fact that you are a non-resident.

[Steven]

No I'm afraid not, B visitors are typically allowed in for a maximum of six months a year, however as there is no I-94 requirement for Canadian citizens, it's based on "duration of stay" to determine your non-immigrant intent, so if you stay for say, seven months but leave for a fair amount of time they're not likely to deny you re-entry.

They're more interested in your having non-immigrant intent than how long you stay, although if you pointedly ask the question they will say six months max. To have non-immigrant intent by law you must have an abode abroad and sufficient funds to cover your visit.

Florida law specifically caters to Canadian snowbirds, in that you can get a Florida DL merely as a Canadian citizen, so if you're only planning on driving in Florida and not in Canada anymore it is possible to swap you licence over.

Another thing to bear in mind is that you cannot get the homestead exemption. There may be a lot of foreclosed homes in Florida but as you don't qualify for it, bear in mind taxes will be quite high (and will go up rapidly as the market recovers). Florida has no State income tax and makes up for it by having property taxes and if you're not resident they really hammer people who don't qualify. Florida specifically cracked down on who qualified for it a few years ago and now only US citizens and LPRs qualify, even if you have a work permit you don't qualify for it.

My advice to people in this situation is to go to a State that has low property taxes, because you don't work so there are no income taxes. California is probably the best example, but there are others.

[agnelson]

Great advice on states with income tax vs. property tax, steven.

never saw it put so succintly.