Frequent entries and exits

[roomba]

We now live near the Canadian border. If we are successful in getting our PR, we may want to transition slowly after we land. That might mean renting a place in Canada to get our "stake in the ground" and commuting for awhile. If one enters Canada a few times a week, does each entry count as a day spent in Canada?

Does it make a difference if we end up being in the US often enough to still be a US resident for tax purposes?

 

[spyfy]

We now live near the Canadian border. If we are successful in getting our PR, we may want to transition slowly after we land. That might mean renting a place in Canada to get our "stake in the ground" and commuting for awhile. If one enters Canada a few times a week, does each entry count as a day spent in Canada?

Does it make a difference if we end up being in the US often enough to still be a US resident for tax purposes?

Personally, I wouldn't want to do such a commute because the US/Canada border sometimes is very busy and you will spend many hours a week in line ups to the border. But that is your choice of course.

Regarding counting the days: You can read here on page 17
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf23-eng.pdf
that every part-day in Canada counts as a day of presence. So as long as you spent some hours in Canada, the day is a day of residence.

Regarding tax purposes: This is not that easy. Tax residency is completely independent of residency with respect to immigration. Not only the days are relevant but also your way of life, e.g. where you "reside primarily" and so on. This is something a tax consultant should figure out.

 

[roomba]

Thank you!

 

[Tubsmagee]

We now live near the Canadian border. If we are successful in getting our PR, we may want to transition slowly after we land. That might mean renting a place in Canada to get our "stake in the ground" and commuting for awhile.

I did the opposite, renting a place on the US side for the last six months that I worked in Canada before returning to the states. Depending on which border crossing(s) you have to use, it might suck... but not guaranteed. Other than Friday afternoons, long weekends, or special times (Olympics, when I was doing it), there was never a really long delay - maybe 30 minutes at most. That isn't great depending on how long the actual commute is, but certainly not horrible.