A question for our Canadian friends...

[disneyseniors]

I was wondering if what I was told about moving to Canada is correct?

I heard that if you want to move to Canada you have to have a legitimate job lined up and waiting for you, or you are not allowed to live in Canada from another country.

Is that really true?

If it is, I think it's a great idea and wonder why we don't do it in the US.


Thanks for clearing this up for me.

 

[SirDuff]

No, not true. Canada takes in MANY refuges and asylum seekers.

 

[FigmentSpark]

A

I was wondering if what I was told about moving to Canada is correct?

I heard that if you want to move to Canada you have to have a legitimate job lined up and waiting for you, or you are not allowed to live in Canada from another country.

Is that really true?

If it is, I think it's a great idea and wonder why we don't do it in the US.


Thanks for clearing this up for me.

You do. If a Canadian wants to move to the U.S., we have to have a job that is a special skill not easily filled by an American or the ability to start a business or through marriage, etc.

 

[bababear_50]

Services and Information

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html

Hugs
Mel

 

[Starwind]

I was wondering if what I was told about moving to Canada is correct?

I heard that if you want to move to Canada you have to have a legitimate job lined up and waiting for you, or you are not allowed to live in Canada from another country.

Is that really true?

If it is, I think it's a great idea and wonder why we don't do it in the US.


Thanks for clearing this up for me.

There are a variety of ways to immigrate to Canada legally.

This is the official Government of Canada webpage about immigrating to Canada, which has links explaining the different legal pathways to Canadian immigration.: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html

For both Canada and the US, a person cannot just show up at the border and basically say "I want to live and work in your country, please let me in". If you do that, you will be turned away.

For both countries, you must qualify to enter under one of any of a number of different processes, most of which require that you have applied for and received a visa in advance, or in some cases, are eligible for a visa waiver.

There are both immigrant visas that let you permanently immigrate to the country, as well as non-immigrant visas, which let you temporarily either visit or work in the country, depending on the type of visa.

Also, as a previous poster noted, Canada allows a proportionately large number of refugees and asylees into the country each year -- most are identified abroad [eg through UN processes] and sponsored to come to the country.

Canada has a few programs where a skilled worker can decide they would like to immigrate to Canada, apply, and if qualified be granted a visa that when they then immigrate to Canada grants them permanent resident status in Canada. The best known is probably the Express Entry program; see https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio.../services/immigrate-canada/express-entry.html After a certain number of years in Canada and meeting other requirements they would become eligible for citizenship.

For Express Entry, it depends which of the programs you are applying to enter under whether you need a job offer. See this table which compares the requirements between the programs, including the job offer requirements: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigratio...canada/express-entry/eligibility/compare.html

The US does not have an equivalent program. The closest is the DV green card lottery, which is only open to certain countries. But a "normal person" for the most part can't just decide they want to permanently immigrate to the US and have a feasible direct path to doing so. There are some paths via sponsored-employment visas but they are not guaranteed paths to permanent residency [a "green card"] and there are quotas.

Both the US and Canada have a variety of family-based immigration pathways, such as sponsored spouse of a citizen.

 

[wdwmom3]

I was wondering if what I was told about moving to Canada is correct?

I heard that if you want to move to Canada you have to have a legitimate job lined up and waiting for you, or you are not allowed to live in Canada from another country.

Is that really true?

If it is, I think it's a great idea and wonder why we don't do it in the US.


Thanks for clearing this up for me.

This isn’t true. Having a job lined up is one way to get approved to live here but it’s not the only way.

We accept a lot of people as refugees. And they are accepted based on their claim as a refugee, not if they have a job. And they are supported, some by the government some by private groups, while they get settled. Most refugees end up with jobs and supporting themselves within a year or two of arriving.

We also allow people to sponsor family members to come live in Canada. In that case the people sponsoring them have to agree to support them.

 

[Starwind]

The short answer is no, one can't decide one is going to pick up and move to live and work in Canada. If you were to present yourself at the border, you would be turned back.

The US is similar. A Canadian can't just decide they want to move to the US to live and work.

In both cases, to live and work in the other country, you need the proper visa to allow you to do it.

For Canada, there are a number of routes to legal immigration for someone who has decided they want to move here. Not all of them require you to have a job offer.

 

[disneyseniors]

Thank you for all your responses. That really clears it up.
I didn't think that Canada was that strict with those who want to move there permanently.
I can now tell these people they are Wrong!!!

 

[SirDuff]

When I moved to the US, I did need to have a job lined up and waiting for me, but the process took at 30 minutes at the airport (flying out Pearson, so cleared immigration there) and cost a total of $50. I had a letter from my new employer, my CV (which I don't remember if they actually asked for or if I brought, just in case), and the original parchment of my PhD degree. The parchment was the most annoying part (since it is large and doesn't easily fit into a folder).

I was non-immigrant class and technically didn't have a visa (I did have a specific stamp in my passport), but it ridiculously easy. I had TN status (aka NAFTA visa) which allowed me to live and work in the US for three years. In theory, you are supposed to change to something else (or move back home) before it ends, but many people renew it a few times. Also, it is only valid for as long as you are working for the original employer. I actually left after about 18 months (I ended up moving, again, for work - this time to Europe), so didn't have to test out the renewal.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We tried for years to move to the USA. Nearly impossible unless you have an employer that is willing to go through the process on your behalf. In our case it makes HUGE sense for us to go down there. DH would be easily able to find a job in his industry with less responsibility for approx 40% more money. We could have a house significantly larger than the one we live in now for half the price which would make us mortgage free and give us a lot of money left over.

Glad it didn't work out now though.