Hi, Amy. Just wanted to let you know I immigrated from the US and I hear lots about other folks' immigration issues because I work in language training and settlement...
My advice would be DON'T move up until you already have a temporary work visa or are approved for permanent residence. I know lots of people who were told, "sure, no problem, you'll have your papers in 6 months" and who are still in immigration limbo a year later.
The temporary work permit (they call it "employment authorization") isn't that hard to get if you have an employer willing to hire you. They don't have to prove that they couldn't find a Canadian to do the job, just that they made a reasonable effort to find someone and that you were the most qualified person who applied. The employer also has to be willing to commit to a contract, or at least a firm agreement to employ you for the whole term of the visa granted. I know lots of people who've been given a six-month term, then had to reapply. And the application isn't all that cheap.
With one work permit, your whole family can come up with you. Spouse will find it fairly easy to get a work permit from within Canada IF there's an employer willing to hire. Whole family is eligible for health cards but you might have to pay out-of-pocket for expenses in the first month or two then get reimbursed. Your children are eligible to attend public school but technically, they need to get individual student authorizations (again, not cheap) and the authorization will only extend to the time your work permit expires. The schools in Halifax are vigilant about requiring the student authorization for each student but you might sneak them in without it in a rural area where they don't see many international students.
You can proceed with an application for permanent residence from within Canada once you're here, but you will have to zip back over the border and re-enter once permanent residence is granted. They MIGHT require you to go for an interview at the Canadian consulate in Buffalo, but I don't know anyone who's actually had to do this... they just say you'll have to, then suddenly, your documents are ready.
On the other hand, you could apply for permanent residence from the US and wait until it comes to move up. It's a big investment, though, before you even know if you'll like it. I don't actually know anyone who's done it that way from the U.S., though it's pretty common if you're coming from any other country.
Find out what you'll need in the way of FBI clearance and get it before you come up... it's much easier to deal with them from in the U.S. We did it from up here, and it took months and we actually had to get the RCMP to fingerprint us and send them down to the FBI so they could run it through their computers!
Don't know if you know this, but you'll have to file tax returns in BOTH the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. requires all U.S. citizens to file, no matter where they live. I don't know anyone who's run into trouble not filing, but if you ever end up moving back to the US and you haven't been filing every year, watch out!
Hey, it's a HUGE headache dealing with Immigration office in any country, but Nova Scotia is worth it!
, you and your family will never regret moving here...
