Currently employed in US/US citizen - live in Canada?

[johnzilla]

Hi All -

I've searched the forum but did not find a thread relating directly to my situation.

I am very interested in moving to Canada. I am a US citizen, a Master's degree holder (US university) and am currently employed by a US employer in the US. I would like to move to Canada, specifically Windsor. I can easily maintain my employment with my current employer and live in Windsor. For example, there are many people working at my company who are Canadian and commute to the US every day to work.

Basically I want to do the opposite of what they do...I want to be an American and move to Canada while keeping my job in the US.

I would like any time I spend living in Canada to count towards PR and/or future citizenship if possible.

I've read the CIC site extensively and have gone through the "Come to Canada" wizard. It says I am qualified to apply for immigration to CA.

If it makes a difference, my employer has a significant presence in Canada but there is no way for me to transition from the US branch of the company to the CA branch of the company without terminating my employment and trying to get hired by the CA branch. I do not want to do this.

Any advice or suggestions for me? It seems that everything on the CIC site is related to immigrating to Canada and working for a Canadian employer. I want to immigrate to Canada and continue working for my US employer. Once I am established in Canada I intend to transition to a Canadian employer...it seems to be much easier to get hired in Canada if you are already living there and have a visa or other employable status.

My long-term goal is to live and work in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver as a PR or CA citizen. In the meantime, I would like to move to Windsor to begin establishing CA residency while maintaining my US employment.

Any advise, suggestions or pointers is greatly appreciated!

 

[wilson]

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) facilitates the entry of Americans who wish to come to Canada to work or to establish a Canadian business.

If you can get an offer of employment, a work permit for Canada can be obtained before applying for your Canadian work visa.

A Canadian work permit is issued on a temporary basis only and on the condition that you work for the specific employer sponsoring you. You can apply to change your Canada immigration status once in Canada, however the Canada work visa is not transferable and you will not be able to stay and work in Canada on your Canadian Visa upon termination of your employment.

Your employer must take the following steps before applying for a Canadian Work Visa:

Your employer must first confirm your position is suitable to apply for a Canadian Work Permit by making an application to Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC)
Your employer must then offer you the confirmed position
Your employer must then make an application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a Work Permit for Canada.

Some employers may also be able to sponsor your application under the Province Nominee Program, depending on where they are situated and the nature of the position. This visa is also a Permanent Resident Visa, but does restrict you to work in the Province that sponsored your application until you become a Canadian citizen.




Source:skillclear.co.uk

 

[johnzilla]

wilson, thanks for the reply. However, your reply does not address my situation.

My employer is not Canadian. They can not nor will they sponsor any sort of Canadian work visa. They have no employer status in Canada.

I want to live in Canada and continue to work in the US for my US employer. I want the time I spend living in Canada to count towards future PR or citizenship status if possible. I don't think I need a Canadian work visa if I am working for a US employer in the US.

My employer does not care where I live as long as I do my job. I can easily do my job in the US while living in a Canadian city such as Windsor which is only a short trip over the border from the US. I have many teammates who are Canadian citizens who commute to work in the US each day.

I want to do the opposite: live in Canada as a current US citizen and continue with my current employment for a US employer.

Summary: I will NOT be working in Canada. I will be LIVING in Canada and working in the US. As I understand it, no Canadian work permits would be required. My main question is if there is a way to get past the requirement to work in Canada when immigrating if I already have a well-paying and secure job with a US employer and no plans to leave this job.

 

[scylla]

If you want to live in Canada and work in the US, you will have to apply to immigrate to Canada as a permanent resident first. Once your application for PR is approved, you will be allowed to move to Canada. You don't have to work in Canada to immigrate. However you do have to qualify to immigrate under one of the immigration streams/categories displayed here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp

 

[johnzilla]

Thanks for the reply, scylla. It wasn't clear to me that you could immigrate without established employment in Canada with a Canadian employer.

 

[wilson]

I will NOT be working in Canada. I will be LIVING in Canada and working in the US.

Now I got it. According to my understanding it would not be easier in this way as you mentioned unless you get Canadian immigration.

 

[scylla]

Yes - it's certainly possible.

You don't have to have a job offer in Canada to migrate through the Federal Skilled Worker category (for example). Having said that, your occupation does have to appear on the following list:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/complete-applications.asp

I believe some of the provincial nominee programs don't require employment either (some definitely do).

 

[johnzilla]

Yes - it's certainly possible.

You don't have to have a job offer in Canada to migrate through the Federal Skilled Worker category (for example). Having said that, your occupation does have to appear on the following list:

I believe some of the provincial nominee programs don't require employment either (some definitely do).

Got it. My occupation would only fit into "1122 – Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management" and the cap has been reached for that category. I guess I could always look into the PhD path or transition to another career where I have past experience such as welder. I will check back when the cap numbers are reset.

 

[thebeast184]

Just a recommendation be ready to file the first day they open the CAP. Otherwise you wont make it

Rod

 

[scylla]

Just a recommendation be ready to file the first day they open the CAP. Otherwise you wont make it

Rod

Yes - this is an excellent point. This year the cap was reset on July 1st and 500 applications for NOC 1122 were received by July 7th. Everyone expects the cap to be hit even sooner this year for NOC 1122 (assuming it stays on the list). So you need to be prepared to move extremely fast when the time comes.

Note that although you are American, you will have to take an English test. This is mandatory for all applicants regardless of their country of origin or mother tongue.

 

[JenLevitt]

My boyfriend is in a similar situation and I'm wondering what you ended up doing? We were hoping he could just cross every day and not have to apply for any type of citizenship since he won't be away from the states for longer than 6months at a time. Any suggestions in hind-sight?

 

[scylla]

My boyfriend is in a similar situation and I'm wondering what you ended up doing? We were hoping he could just cross every day and not have to apply for any type of citizenship since he won't be away from the states for longer than 6months at a time. Any suggestions in hind-sight?

This plan absolutely will not work and your boyfriend will be risking being refused entry into Canada and the potential of a 1 year exclusion order.

As an American citizen, he can certainly visit Canada - but he is not allowed to live here. Keep in mind that visiting is a privilege and not a right. Crossing every day is very clearly living in Canada (not visiting - no real tourist does this) and will be viewed as a clear abuse of his visitor privileges by CBSA. Best case scenario he will be stopped by border officials sooner or later and denied entry to Canada (but without a ban). Worst case scenario they may give him a 1 year exclusion order from Canada. If he attempts daily border crossings while living as a visitor in Canada, it's pretty much guaranteed he will be refused entry at some point and then re-entering again will be more difficult since the refusal will be on his record permanently.

If he wishes to live in Canada, he needs to be authorized to do so. There are only a few different options that will allow him to legally live in Canada. If he can secure a job with an employer in Canada then he may qualify for a work permit. If his job falls under NAFTA then it may be easier to do this since his employer will not have to obtain an approved LMIA. He can look into returning to school full time and coming over on a study permit (this is an expensive option since he will have to pay international student fees in Canada). He could also apply to immigrate, either through a skilled worker stream (if he qualifies) or through being sponsored by you for PR. In order to be sponsored by you, the two of you must either be married or common law. Common law means that you have lived together for at least one full year continuously.

 

[JenLevitt]

This plan absolutely will not work and your boyfriend will be risking being refused entry into Canada and the potential of a 1 year exclusion order.

As an American citizen, he can certainly visit Canada - but he is not allowed to live here. Keep in mind that visiting is a privilege and not a right. Crossing every day is very clearly living in Canada (not visiting - no real tourist does this) and will be viewed as a clear abuse of his visitor privileges by CBSA. Best case scenario he will be stopped by border officials sooner or later and denied entry to Canada (but without a ban). Worst case scenario they may give him a 1 year exclusion order from Canada. If he attempts daily border crossings while living as a visitor in Canada, it's pretty much guaranteed he will be refused entry at some point and then re-entering again will be more difficult since the refusal will be on his record permanently.

If he wishes to live in Canada, he needs to be authorized to do so. There are only a few different options that will allow him to legally live in Canada. If he can secure a job with an employer in Canada then he may qualify for a work permit. If his job falls under NAFTA then it may be easier to do this since his employer will not have to obtain an approved LMIA. He can look into returning to school full time and coming over on a study permit (this is an expensive option since he will have to pay international student fees in Canada). He could also apply to immigrate, either through a skilled worker stream (if he qualifies) or through being sponsored by you for PR. In order to be sponsored by you, the two of you must either be married or common law. Common law means that you have lived together for at least one full year continuously.

There's no way he can continue working in the States but reside in Canada?
And regarding me sponsoring him, how can we live together for 1 year if he can't live over here without being sponsored? From the sounds of what your saying, he'd need to stay in Canada for 1 full year before I could sponsor him, or am I misunderstanding you?

 

[scylla]

There's no way he can continue working in the States but reside in Canada?
And regarding me sponsoring him, how can we live together for 1 year if he can't live over here without being sponsored? From the sounds of what your saying, he'd need to stay in Canada for 1 full year before I could sponsor him, or am I misunderstanding you?

There is no legal / guaranteed way for him to continue working in the US but reside in Canada. He can try the visitor route, but sooner or later (probably sooner) he should expect to have issues at the border.

If you get married, you can sponsor him now. For common law, you have to live together for a year before you can sponsor him. You can live anywhere together - this doesn't have to be in Canada - it can be anywhere. If you decide to live together in Canada, he would enter as a tourist and then remain in Canada without leaving - and then apply to extend his stay by six months to achieve the 1 full year. This is totally doable - again, provided you stay away from the border. Your issue is that he wants to leave and re-enter Canada each working day.

Recommend you move over to the Family Sponsorship section of the forum. You are posting in the wrong section right now.

 

[JenLevitt]

There is no legal / guaranteed way for him to continue working in the US but reside in Canada. He can try the visitor route, but sooner or later (probably sooner) he should expect to have issues at the border.

If you get married, you can sponsor him now. For common law, you have to live together for a year before you can sponsor him. You can live anywhere together - this doesn't have to be in Canada - it can be anywhere. If you decide to live together in Canada, he would enter as a tourist and then remain in Canada without leaving - and then apply to extend his stay by six months to achieve the 1 full year. This is totally doable - again, provided you stay away from the border. Your issue is that he wants to leave and re-enter Canada each working day.

Recommend you move over to the Family Sponsorship section of the forum. You are posting in the wrong section right now.

Thanks for your help!