why the rush for citizenship... PR is the same thing guys!

[charmed10-2013]

Interesting question. I think some of it has to do with what passport your help before citizenship. If it was from a country that requires visas to visit many countries, then having a Canadian passport can be a big deal. Also a Canadian passport allows you perks under NAFTA like a TN1 visa to the US. It is no secret that many PRs want to explore the greater financial opportunities available in the US. Of course voting and such can be a big deal but I find that most do not really care (unfortunately).

As someone from the US, it was a sense of wanting to become "Canadian". I was here for over 13 years before I became a citizen. I really felt Canadian by that time and making it official felt nice. The other benefits I mentioned earlier did not apply since I have US passport which allows me visa-exempt access to many countries anyway and of course I don't need a TN1 visa since I am already an American. But being able to vote is nice. I didn't really care my first several years or so but after awhile when I got pretty familiar with politics here I felt more desire to have a voice.

I do know a few people who have been PRs for decades. Some don't want to bother with applying even though they live full-time in Canada. Some want to hold their current citizenship which is from a country that doesn't allow dual. My dad was like that in the US. He held a US green card for 40+ years since his country of birth did not allow dual until recently (South Korea).

Is it possible to keep both Canadian & USA citizenship? USA acknowledges dual citizenship?

 

[pecON]

Yes it is possible to have dual citizenship in the USA.

This from the website travel . state . gov

Dual Nationality

Section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) states that “the term ‘national of the United States’ means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.” Therefore, U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals. Non-citizen nationality status refers only individuals who were born either in American Samoa or on Swains Island to parents who are not citizens of the United States. The concept of dual nationality means that a person is a national of two countries at the same time. Each country has its own nationality laws based on its own policy. Persons may have dual nationality by automatic operation of different laws rather than by choice. For example, a child born in a foreign country to U.S. national parents may be both a U.S. national and a national of the country of birth.

 

[charmed10-2013]

Yes it is possible to have dual citizenship in the USA.

This from the website travel . state . gov

Dual Nationality

Section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) states that “the term ‘national of the United States' means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.” Therefore, U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals. Non-citizen nationality status refers only individuals who were born either in American Samoa or on Swains Island to parents who are not citizens of the United States. The concept of dual nationality means that a person is a national of two countries at the same time. Each country has its own nationality laws based on its own policy. Persons may have dual nationality by automatic operation of different laws rather than by choice. For example, a child born in a foreign country to U.S. national parents may be both a U.S. national and a national of the country of birth.

Wow Thank you for the answer

 

[keesio]

To be honest, it is more of a dismissive attitude. The US is (mostly) agnostic to any other citizenships you may have... as long as it is a citizenship that is not hostile to the US. Otherwise you are just an American in the eyes of the USA. Of course there are other exceptions (like a dual citizen could never get any high level jobs at the CIA or run for POTUS) but for the most part it is a non-issue.

 

[SenoritaBella]

I think that exeption is also true in Canada. The former Governor General had to give up her French citizenship prior to becoming GG.

To be honest, it is more of a dismissive attitude. The US is (mostly) agnostic to any other citizenships you may have... as long as it is a citizenship that is not hostile to the US. Otherwise you are just an American in the eyes of the USA. Of course there are other exceptions (like a dual citizen could never get any high level jobs at the CIA or run for POTUS) but for the most part it is a non-issue.

 

[Inmate]

Hi Inmate what about if I worked and leave in canada but I have some properties in my home country. Once I became canadian what will happened to my properties I owned even before entering to canada?

Hi, cause of my english I advise you to confirm informations you will get from me ; )

-­» Once again, citizenship doesn't change anything for fiscal administration.
You could find most information on http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/cmmn/rsdncy-eng.html (same rules applied for Revenu Québec)

In your case, it appears your a resident of canada (you can be a PR, citizen or anything else, doesn't matter), as you live and work here. So, you must declare all income you can get from them as well as taxes you already paid in this country (you will NOT pay twice taxes, but you should have to pay a parts in your native country and other parts in Canada). Depends of tax treaties between and this country (you have to check), you have some rules to follow to be clean with both administrations.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/trty-eng.html

Same thing for capital gain (if you want to sell your properties), you have to check this. Note, for Canada, the gain have to be calculate with the fair value of the properties the day you became a resident (just again : nothing to do with the day you become a citizen !!).

For exemple :

- You buy a house in France on 1/1/1999, for 100 000$
- You become PR on Canada on 1/1/2005, starting to live in the country same day, and you're starting to be a real resident for fiscal administration same day (see link above). The fair value of the house is 150 000$ at this date.
- Finally you sell the house 1/1/2010 for 200 000$

=­» Depend of local law, you could have to pay something in France (in fact you don't for France. In the other side, if your original country is Canada, you have to pay or give some garantee before to quit Canada)
=­» When you will prepare your personnal income tax return in 2011 (about your 2010 income), you must declare 200 000 - 150 000 = 50 000$ of capital gain (you will pay taxes on only 25 000$ cause it's capital gain).

Hope it's clear :\\

Please note it's a very very simple sample, you should read CRA docs or see an acoutant to be sure to do what you have to do on the right way (in other case, you could have to speak with me in real, and for sure you wouldn't )

 

[Eminem slim shady]

ok I have been thinking about this lately. I think that benefits of Candian Citizenship are marginal at best. If anything, it can be a serious disadvantage. Because it exposes you to worldwide taxation on even your assets in your home country which had nothing to do with Canada before you came here. The bottom line is anything you can get with citizenship, you can get with PR - the consular benefits dont apply as frequently. So why the frenzied rush for citizenship. If someone just decides to have only PR and is ok with it, what are the cons?
[/quote

Judging by the type of comments I have seen here, as well as the years hussle to be granted Canadian citizenship, I agree that for most people its just such a hassle that its better they just held onto their PR card. The RQs that take 2 yrs to process, the amount you pay for an application, the months upon months wait times, the disadvantage it causes you say you need to travel to your home country for either emergency reasons, or vacationing etc...it places your life on hold until the day you raise you hand up and take the oath pretty much since you change your life activity schedule to accommodate the poorly crafted citizenship process.

Though yes, Canadian citizenship is a huge priviledge, offers you good benefits that a PR doesn't such as joining the police or Canadian forces, a Canadian passport, and many other opportunities, for most people here, it sure sounds like its such a headache and extremely beaurocratic with endless wait times. Some people have been waiting for 40 months and if you file in court for a review, you are looking at $4 000 minimum...never mind a lawyer! With a PR, its permanent, costs less to renew and currently takes 150 days. Taxation is tricky, its really circumstantial, however in Canada you file for taxes based on residency not citizenship status unlike the US where no matter where you live in the world, you have to file US taxes. As much as Canadian citizenship is awesome and a very exciting thing to be granted, its not for everyone I have noticed and its not everyone that qualifies nor gets granted for various reasons.

 

[NSBoy902]

A few things to keep in mind:

1. The "serious criminality" law - any temporary resident(worker/student/visitor) and PR who commits a serious crime in Canada may be deported if the sentence is 6 months or more. No room for appeals anymore (a loophole convicted criminals had used in the past to delay deportation).
A notorious gang member from Vancouver was deported to China about 2 yrs ago. He had been a PR for about 20 yrs and never applied for citizenship. Eventhough his lawyer argued that he came here as a toddler and knows nothing about China, the gov't sent him packing.

2. As a PR, you are expected to report all of your income anyway as long as you are a resident for tax purposes(i.e. spent at least 183 days in a year in Canada).

3. PRs can not vote or do jobs that require high security clearance. If you are spending most of your time here, it only makes sense to be able to take part in the democratic process by voting.

4. As a PR, if you find yourself in a serious legal matter(e.g. arrest and detention), the Canadian gov't for the most part will not have jurisdiction. You entered using your home country's passport, so the authorities can lay claim that you are afterall their citizen. This would also apply if you have dual citizenship but enter with your home country's passport, they will have the upper hand over Canada.
On the otherhand, if you entered with your Canadian passport, the Canadian gov't will have a stronger hand in negotiating your release. I found out about this when reading the case of the Egyptian-Canadian who was detained in Egypt or Syria (I forget now).

5. If you don't come from a visa-exempt country, it means applying for a visa to travel to the US, and pretty much everywhere else in the world. It also means you are restricted when booking flights i.e. trying to avoid airports where you will need a transit visa even to remain in the international terminal.

6. If you end up marrying a foreign national and wish to sponsor them, only Canadian citizens can live abroad during the entire sponsorship process(but must show intent to return to Canada). PRs would have to be living in Canada (short visits allowed) to sponsor.

Example: a PR wife sponsoring her husband. She visits him for 1 month, becomes pregnant, returns to Canada and has the baby. She wants to spend her maternity leave with her hubby so that he can also bond with his child. But it's a risk staying abroad for like 6 - 8 months because his sponsorship could be refused. If she was a Canadian citizen, she would not have this dilemma. Same thing with a PR husband who wants to go spend time abroad with his wife and new baby. See what I mean?

AMEN!

 

[montrealia]

For me the most important point of Canadian citizenship is the sense of belonging and the right of vote.

That said, a considerably smaller treat that no one has mentioned in this thread is that as a PR you're more in the hands of CIC/government regarding changes in rules, regulations, etc.

For example, the renewal process of the PR card is extremely cumbersome. While having a PR card is not necessary to maintain PR status, the fact that any PR who sees Canada as their real home and who wishes/needs to travel out of Canada even for short periods of time has to go through this type of document gathering and verification every five years is absolutely crazy.

Also, as the C24 affair illustrates, the rules of the immigration game may change at any time. As a naturalized citizen, you're not totally over this, but you have better chances to be unaffected by the waves.

 

[BethMartin]

I applied for citizenship the day I qualified (and had it granted this spring), (a) because I hate not being able to have a say in the country I intend to live in for the rest of my life (voting for the first time in the recent provincial election was one of the most profound experiences I've ever had) and (b) because my parents are getting older, and if I ever have to go back to care for them I don't want to have the worry of keeping track of how long I'm outside Canada, to make sure I can eventually get back in again, as I would if I was still PR. And anyway, compared to the original PR application, the citizenship one is peanuts...

 

[Lokesh1985]

The difference is like the Moon and the Sun.
A PR is not a citizen - A Canadian Is A citizen
A PR cannot decide the future of this country by voting - A Canadian Citizen Can
A PR did not swear allegiance to Canada.. PRs come embracing the country and Citizenship is the last milestone to becoming Canadian.

So there is a HUGE difference between a PR and a Citizen

Some countries do not allow dual citizenship, so some people have to think about losing their home country in order to become a Canadian even when they want to. Some mainland Chinese have to travel some African country getting a visa on arrival, then fly back to Canada, fly from Canada to that african country, then fly back to China leaving their Canadian passport in African storage facility so when Chinese officials search them it will not be on them. What is the point? They will lose their right to maintain property, and if they own land in China, they will lose it. While they will be better off being fully Canadian if they didn't have to take care of family back in China, property ownership is restricted in some countries. India for example does not allow OIC's to own agricultural property, while NRI can. NRI's will have to do something similar to the mainland Chinese when it comes to maintaining their citizenship back home if they don't want to lose their assets back home. Of course, for those who don't own any land, it is often better to be treated as a foreigner back in their respective homelands as they would have embassy protection, and not be subject to local treatment which is often worse than for tourists.

 

[Coffee1981]

ok I have been thinking about this lately. I think that benefits of Candian Citizenship are marginal at best. If anything, it can be a serious disadvantage. Because it exposes you to worldwide taxation on even your assets in your home country which had nothing to do with Canada before you came here. The bottom line is anything you can get with citizenship, you can get with PR - the consular benefits dont apply as frequently. So why the frenzied rush for citizenship. If someone just decides to have only PR and is ok with it, what are the cons?

One of the obvious benefits to me is that if some right wing anti-immigrant nut job gets elected leader of the Conservative Party, and they win an election on an anti-immigrant/anti-refugee platform you'll be thanking your lucky stars you got citizenship before they deport everyone who's a foreign worker from the country to "protect Canadian jobs" or however they'd want to brand it. There's a million good reasons to become a Canadian. Respectfully, and I'm saying this as a natural-born Canadian who has lived here all his life, if you don't see or understand what the benefit of belonging to Canada is you really shouldn't become a Canadian.

 

[Coffee1981]

What's being "Canadian" for you? What are the values that a "Canadian" shares and let's say an "American" doesn't?

WOW... just WOW. Are you sure you're a Canadian? I don't think a TRUE Canadian would ever ask that question. My jaw is on the ground.