Immigrating to Canada from the United States

I am a US citizen who wants to move to Canada and buy a house. I want to buy the home 1st and I want to move before then end of the year. What process do I need to take? Can I buy house without becoming a citizen of Canada? How do I start the process? I have already located a home that I am interested in purchasing.

Check out the Immigrating to Canada website http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp for information on applications and whatnot.

Don't plan on packing just yet though. CIC is hugely backlogged and it is highly unlikely that your application will be processed even before the end of next year!

On what basis are you moving to Canada? Just for the helluvit, or do you have a job offer or or or?

Hello Rebecca,

I am wanting to move to Canada for a fresh start on life. I am desperately in need of change for my own sanity. I have two children (4 and 11) and I want to also give them a change as well. I just got out of a bad (abusive) relationship. I am not running but I don't think that I can completely let go unless I leave and I am somewhere that is not easy access to that relationship because it is just a cycle of madness. Please give me advice on moving and how difficult is it for me to find work in Canada?

Do you have legal custody of your children? Your former spouse/partner has no right to them at all? If they do, then you will likely need written permission from them in order to send in the immigration applications for them.

As for your own immigration, are you qualified for any of the NAFTA professions that would get you a temporary (renewable) visa?

A professional must

be qualified to work in one of the more than 60 professions listed in Appendix 1603.D.1 of Chapter 16 of NAFTA (for example, accountant, computer systems analyst, engineer, management consultant and technical publications writer)
have pre-arranged employment with a Canadian enterprise in an occupation that matches the qualification.

You must also have a job offer from a Canadian company *before* you can apply for the visa.

Or if you're not qualitied specifically for a NAFTA type visa, then you could try for some other immigrant for skilled worker visa, which goes on a point system. You would also need to have a significant amount of available cash in a bank account, to show that you have funds to support yourself and your children while you are looking for a job. The amount for a family of 3 is $15,563 currently. And honestly, that wouldn't last very long if say, you choose to live in Toronto or Vancouver (I'm going to assume you don't speak french so won't be choosing Montreal!).

Here's the info about the point system for skilled workers http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/ ... actors.asp These types of visas can take a year or more to process. Like I said before, don't start packing just yet.

If however you are lucky enough to be independently wealthy and have more than $800,000 in the bank, you could immigrate based on an immigrant investor program.

Actually finding work in Canada will depend greatly on where you want to go and what you're qualified to do. The big cities will maybe have more options as far as jobs go, but cost of living is of course higher.

Job search engines for Canada are much the same as the ones in the US. http://www.monster.ca http://www.jobshark.ca You can also Google the local newspapers for most any city in the country and check their Classifieds.

I will also of course suggest that if its just a new start you want and to get away from your ex, the US is rather huge itself, if you move to the other side of it, that's pretty far away as well. You don't necessarily need an international border between you. Several states might suffice. Less paperwork that way. And cheaper! Canadian immigration fees are HUGE! For the 3 of you the fees will be well over $2000 for the skilled worker application for you and derivative for your children. Not to mention the cost of the move itself and all that goes with it.

Well, I have been looking to move to Canada for quite a while. I do have sole custody of my children and I know that an international move will be a bit of a challenge. I have been saving every cent for the past five years or so. I have been planning but I did not have the courage to finally make the move. But now, I must do this. It is something that I am doing for myself as well; to show that I do have the courage to survive without any attachments. I was thinking of leaving my children with my mother until I find a job and get settled in somewhere safe and stable. I think that I have enough funds to last me for at least six months to year. Where are my best options to live? Where are the most affordable places to go? My lease at my current place ends at the end of next month. I don't want to sign another one because that will give me at least six months to a year to muster up more excuses to stay where I am instead of leaving. I don't have any friends here; my family is very supportive and thinks that it would give my children and I better opportunities to grow. What is the cheapest city to live in and get a job. I read somewhere that if you were a US citizen you did not need a work permit to find employment is that true or just another myth?

Its a bit tricky really. No, you do not need a work permit to *find* a job. But you will need to get a work permit in order to *take* a job.

They are also not going to let you just cross the border to start looking for a job. You have to have the job offer before you can enter the country with all your stuff. Or, it'll take you a year or more to apply for the skilled worker visa and *then* you can go. You can't just hop on over the border with no visa and stay to work.

Read the information that I posted about skilled worker and NAFTA visas. Are you currently in any way qualified to apply for either of those?

Thanks again Miss Shreddies. You are very informative. I greatly appreciate it too. I do have an undergrad degree in Business Management (I don't know if it fits any of the qualifications) and I have been the Director of a social service agency for the past 5 years. I need to do some research of the NAFTA to see is I fit the qualifications. You have been so helpful in aiding me make many of these difficult decision (Decisions.Decisions.)

It's not some casual process, you have to meet the immigration requirements. If you work for someone else and you qualify under a NAFTA category it's pretty straightforward, otherwise you need a work permit or need to immigrate as a skilled worker. Or get married to a Canadian.

Even getting a work permit takes months. Getting in as a skilled worker will take 15 months for processing, and getting all the paperwork together is no simple task, assuming you qualify as a skilled worker. Just filling all the forms and getting every single detail of your life since you were 18 on paper to show the CIC will take you months. You need everything, criminal record check from the FBI in WV, notarised copies of your degrees, proof or your work history, every address you have ever lived at, details of all your family, etc. It's not quick.

As far as buying a house, car, etc., yeah, that's simple. Bring money. But really you need to at least have gotten your immigrant visa before even thinking about that.

Never been clear on why Americans move to Canada. Personal income taxes are much higher in Canada, especially if you're coming from somewhere like Texas or Florida. Corporation taxes on small corporations are lower than in the US, so if you plan on starting your own company, you can just about keep it at a similar income level as you had in the US but oh wow will you be filling in a lot of tax paperwork every year.

It nearly kills me.

Sales taxes are also higher unless you live in Alberta or one of the territories. But even then GST is applied on food and most US states don't do that. And there are higher excise taxes on fuel, booze and tobacco as well.

The only real advantage is the healthcare cost, but don't believe the rosy picture Michael Moore paints. Healthcare in Alberta is in a total shambles at the moment and we have more doctors per capita than any other Province, supposedly.

Canada gets more immigrants per capita simply because you CAN immigrate into Canada. Might be a PITA but it can be done, immigrating into the US is so much harder.

Americans move to Canada because in a lot of cases, quality of life is better IMO. Unless you're in the US and already rich, there's not a whole lot of difference in cost of living. One thing cancels out another, so if you're more concerned about quality of life, as opposed to how many toys you can die with, I'd pick Canada any day.

As for taxes, I live in North Carlina, and my income tax % works out to about the same as when I was living in Ontario. And I have access to fewer Government services to show for my money. More than $3000 per year goes out of my paycheques to pay for health insurance, which is still no good to me because there's a $1000 deductible that I have to pay before insurance will even kick in and start paying for medical visits. If I had a rent or mortgage to pay here, I'd have lost my home quite some time ago.

In the end, it all balances out. What you'd give up in one place is made up by something else in the other.

Just my opinion of course.

My experience of living in many different places is that you usually end up paying about the same, because one way or another they take it out of you. However if you're really careful you can save a lot of money, but it requires a lot of planning. I pay much less tax in Alberta than I ever did in the UK, but it's incredibly complicated to do it and I have a feeling the CRA is going to hit me under the general anti-avoidance rule.

But for example only yesterday I worked out for a friend of mine who lives in BC mainly off investment income (so no CPP or Social Security) how much money she would save if she moved to Point Roberts, because her husband is American.

On $100,000, she would save $6,100 a year. On $50,000 she saves around $1,270. The sweet spot seems to be around $70,000 because that's a somewhat typical income and at that level she saves something like $5,000.

Housing prices are lower on the Washington side of the border, and there's no sales tax on food either, and obviously property tax would be lower too.

There's no real difference in the quality of life, living in Point Roberts or North Vancouver.

The only real issue is the healthcare cost, which is higher in the US but on the other hand if you pay you generally get better service, that's been my experience anyway. The healthcare system in Calgary is a total and complete joke at the moment. The CHR at the moment lists NO GPs in the southern half of the city accepting new patients. God help you if you live in northern Ontario or somewhere like that.

Basically I'm paying a healthcare premium for zero service at the moment.

It really depends on your circumstances and where you plan on living. I dare say if you live in LA or San Diego you will pay more tax than in Alberta.