Moving Home with American Family

I have been living in the US for 7 years with dual citizenship (US & CDN). While here in the US, I have been married and had two children. We are hoping to move to Canada in the next couple of years and was looking for any advice on the move home. My husband is a HS guidance counselor. I know that he had to be certified in Ontario to be a teacher, but I'm not sure which immigration application we need to fill out. I think that it would be the skilled worker? And then he'd get residency status? Any idea how long that takes and if we have to be in the country while we wait?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you

you're better off actually to sponsor him family class, so that he would get permanent residency. Skilled worker class could take longer to process, and he may not qualify with enough points.

check out http://roadtocanada.com for other couples doing family sponsorship for spouses, and the CIC website for the forms. Its fairly easy, and from outside Canada the applications would take about a year or so. Give or take a month or 2.

The first step is for the canadian to file the petition in mississauga if abroad. The application(1st part) when approved(5 to 6 weeks) will then go to Buffalo for LIS processing and the timeframe as of now is 4 to 7 months.good luck

And I can do all of this while still residing in the USA until approved?

Yep, you can all stay in the US until all applications are approved. They call it an "outland" application, and they actually process quicker than "inland".

Okay, great!
And one last question, will I have to apply to reinstate my Canadian status? I've been in the US for 7 years.

Thanks for all of your help!

No, you're a Canadian citizen, but you'll have to start filing taxes in Canada again. That isn't a big problem but bear in mind US citizens have to file tax returns every year until they die, regardless of where they live, so you will always have to file two (joint) tax returns while living in Canada.

Also there is the problem of the US foreign tax credit (which you will always have to claim on Canadian earnings on Form 2555), which I think in 2007 maxed out at $85,700 for single persons, not sure what the married limit is or what the 2008 limit is. If your income is over the limit you're subject to dual taxation.

They really don't like you leaving.

That's good info to know, thanks! Do you know also, once approved for residency (when applying from the US) how much time we have to move to Canada?
Also do you recommend any reference guide or book that spells out the procedures to do all of this?

Thanks again!

You have to be in Canada for two out of five years to maintain PR status, so technically you have up to three years to move after being granted it. However your tax home moves to Canada on the day the status is granted, according to the tax treaty. To avoid dual-taxation you will need to become non-resident US citizens ASAP. (But if he's applying from inside of Canada that's a moot point really, he will already be tax resident because his wife is a Canadian citizen and he lives in Canada.)

check out http://roadtocanada.com there's lots of info there.