Immigrate to Canada

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

Has anyone here had experience TO Canada? Like right now we are working on papers for my wife to live here in the USA, but we thought of getting papers so that I could be legal to stay/work in Canada if we want to go there for long vists. Is this anything that anyone else has looked into or done? Or is it totally illegal?

[trailmix 77]

Yes, my Husband is a permanent resident of Canada and the U.S. - it can be done, nothing illegal about it.

[brocku00 1]

Hi there,

You can apply to become a PR in Canada. The only thing is as a Canadian PR you can meet your PR residency obligations by being with your Canadian spouse wherever she is, whether living in the US, Europe...etc. (I find this idea a great one!) On the other hand, when your wife has a greencard for the states (same as PR), she must meet residency obligations as well BUT she must fulfill those obligations within the USA. From what I have heard, if a GC holder has to leave the States for an 'extended' leave (I think over 6 months) they have to apply to get permission (in order for her to be allowed back into US) and the time you spend away from the US (your wife that is), will not count as the time needed to gain in order to become a citizen of the US. Hope this helps. I can help you with any Canadian Immigration questions but I'm not that experienced with US immigration yet.

[Wis-Can 0]

I'll have to keep an eye on this thread as my husband and I want to be able to move back to Canada in a few years.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The easiest wasy to do this, due to residency requirements of each country in order to qualify is either to immigrate to the US and wait until you get US citizenship, then move to Canada - or immigrate first to Canada, get permanent residency status there and then move to the US. Canadian Permanent residency is not cancelled when you live outside of Canada - US permanent residency is and you have to start the process all over again from the beginning if you want to return. Only a US citizen can come and go at will to and from the US.

[mikey78 6]

Yes, my Husband is a permanent resident of Canada and the U.S. - it can be done, nothing illegal about it.

Trailmix I know you are aware of this but not everyone knows that residents have to preserve their residency after they get it...what it basically means is that once you receive your green card taking up permanent residency in another country might mean that you lose your green cards. It does not happen automatically but if you have multiple extended stays (even under 6 months) outside the US being just a permanent resident and they notice you obtained perm residency stamp, e.g. Canadian might get you into trouble. Of course you are safe once you become US citizen. And again if u are a resident in Canada u have to spend here physically 3 years in any 5 year period, or something similar. For people who live in Canada and work in the US there are commuter green cards.

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

Does anyone know what the time requirements are for my spouse who will be a GC holder? Like how much time must she spend in the USA? Also trailmix or anyone else that has done it, what is the total cost of me to become PR of Canada? and what is the order of forms and other things that need to be done? I am sorry, I get so confused looking at government websites, in my OPINION, government websites are not at ALL clear, they want to make it confusing it seems like.

[brocku00 1]

You are correct about 3 out of the 5 years but here's how it goes:

To maintain residency obligation: A Canadian PR can either

A) be married to a Canadian PR and reside in Canada, or reside outside Canada as long as spouse is working for Government of Canada

B) simply reside in Canada with their Canadian (citizen or PR) spouse

C) Live outside Canada with Canadian CITIZEN spouse (only citizen's not PR's) regardless of job or location (so basically as long as you are married to a Canadian citizen, you can live wherever you want with them and still maintain your residency obligation)

So as someone said earlier, the easiest way to satify both your needs is to become a US citizen first or have your US spouse become a Canadian PR first

[brocku00 1]

Does anyone know what the time requirements are for my spouse who will be a GC holder? Like how much time must she spend in the USA? Also trailmix or anyone else that has done it, what is the total cost of me to become PR of Canada? and what is the order of forms and other things that need to be done? I am sorry, I get so confused looking at government websites, in my OPINION, government websites are not at ALL clear, they want to make it confusing it seems like.

Hi there,

The cost of PR without a lawyer is about 1700 CDN. The application itself is 1050 CDN but then you have your medical which costs just under $200, your Federal and State police search (fingerprints, application and mailing them) costs about $150 CDN all together, mailing your application ($20?). I'm sure I'm missing something but that' a rough estimate. Are you applying within Canada or outside Canada? There is a big difference in wait time so before you do your application let me know. If you apply as if he is living in Canada already the processing time is about 17 months and if you apply with him 'outside' the country it's about a 6 month process.

[trailmix 77]

Trailmix I know you are aware of this but not everyone knows that residents have to preserve their residency after they get it...what it basically means is that once you receive your green card taking up permanent residency in another country might mean that you lose your green cards. It does not happen automatically but if you have multiple extended stays (even under 6 months) outside the US being just a permanent resident and they notice you obtained perm residency stamp, e.g. Canadian might get you into trouble. Of course you are safe once you become US citizen. And again if u are a resident in Canada u have to spend here physically 3 years in any 5 year period, or something similar. For people who live in Canada and work in the US there are commuter green cards.

Yes, you are right, I am aware of all of this. My answer was just in response to the OP - is it illegal - well no it's not

All of the other information can be found online about the ins and outs of Canadian and U.S. immigration - so I left that for the OP to look up or someone else to answer.

For Canada - the 3 out of 5 year thing applies if you want to get Canadian citizenship - not to maintain your Canadian PR - in the OP's case, if they are living in the U.S. with their Canadian spouse, they still maintain their Canadian PR.

Edited January 23, 2010 by trailmix

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

O then we already screwed up because we are already working on her paperwork for the US, and I was talking on a diff topic about our children having dual citizenship, but I would rather talk about it here any way since we are all dealing with Canada/US. A friend told me that if my wife becomes a US citizen, our children could not have dual citizenship, the reason I ask this is because that is what holds us from getting her citizenship papers. We want travel to/from US to be easy as possible as we will be doing it quite frequently, and I want to be able to work when I go there if we are there for an extended amounts of time. Her father is also a farmer and sometimes could use some help so I want to be able to help him, but maybe that is one of the FEW not so good things of marrying a Canadian. (L)

[brocku00 1]

Sorry I was trying to edit my post to add something but it wouldn't let me.

Canadian PR application consists of:

Sponsor application

Applicant application

Federal and State Police checks (from whatever county(ies) they have lived in since 18 and whatever states lived in since 18)

Medical (can be done in Canada or other countries - list of approved doctors on cic.gc.ca website

Photos

Documents: photocopies - B.C, Passport, D.L., marriage certificate, divorce papers (if any), if any criminal record...court documents, for Canadian sponsor - last tax assessment (even though there is no set income to provide when sponsoring your spouse), letter from Canadian employer

It's pretty straight forward and not that hard to do...it can be overwelming when you start it, but just take your time. The benefit about applying within Canada is that once you are approved as a sponsor (usually 1-2 months after sending if application) your spouse can apply for a work visa which is taking about 24 days now. So, even though within Canada applications are taking 18 months to process, after the first three months your spouse can have a work visa and work and live in Canada until the application is complete.

[trailmix 77]

O then we already screwed up because we are already working on her paperwork for the US, and I was talking on a diff topic about our children having dual citizenship, but I would rather talk about it here any way since we are all dealing with Canada/US. A friend told me that if my wife becomes a US citizen, our children could not have dual citizenship, the reason I ask this is because that is what holds us from getting her citizenship papers. We want travel to/from US to be easy as possible as we will be doing it quite frequently, and I want to be able to work when I go there if we are there for an extended amounts of time. Her father is also a farmer and sometimes could use some help so I want to be able to help him, but maybe that is one of the FEW not so good things of marrying a Canadian. (L)

Your friend was wrong, no reason why you can't have dual Canadian/U.S. citizenship - no reason why the children can't either if they are entitled to it.

[brocku00 1]

O then we already screwed up because we are already working on her paperwork for the US, and I was talking on a diff topic about our children having dual citizenship, but I would rather talk about it here any way since we are all dealing with Canada/US. A friend told me that if my wife becomes a US citizen, our children could not have dual citizenship, the reason I ask this is because that is what holds us from getting her citizenship papers. We want travel to/from US to be easy as possible as we will be doing it quite frequently, and I want to be able to work when I go there if we are there for an extended amounts of time. Her father is also a farmer and sometimes could use some help so I want to be able to help him, but maybe that is one of the FEW not so good things of marrying a Canadian. (L)

There's nothing stopping you from starting your Canadian PR application right now. Apply from outside US while waiting for the US application to go through. Once you have your Canadian PR you can live in US or Canada. And with the dual citizenship thing, if they are your natural children with your wife, then it is their right to have dual citizenship. I am Canadian, my husband in American, we had twins in Canada in 2005 and we applied for their US Citizenship Abroad Certificate...that was easy to complete and I received the certificates and their American Passports. They will always be citizens of both countries. Your wife becoming a US citizen will never affect your children.

[AAD... 4EVER!!! 0]

Sorry I ask alot of questions again, but I guess that is what this forum is for???!! So trailmix, you are saying that even if she becomes a US citizen, she can keep her Canadian passport and such documents and get a US passport and such documents? And that I would be able to do the same?