Work in USA; travel back to Canada at weekends; residence time calculation

[foodie69]

I dont see it matters. Citizenship just requires physical presence in Canada on the number of days (and tax should have been filed + other misc conditions to be met).

As a Canadian citizen you are not required to physical presence..just filing taxes.

 

[Bs65]

I live in Canada and work in the USA. Most of the time, I took day trips to the USA (no absence accrued), but for several months I spent whole work weeks in the USA, returning to Canada for the weekend. Although I received an RQ, I did become a citizen under the 3/4 rules (from application to oath took two years). You will have to provide ample data to show that you actually lived in, and your life was centred in, Canada. (See below for my recommendations on meeting RQ requirements.)

File your taxes, if you are required to do so. (If you earn income in the USA, you are likely required to file taxes in BOTH countries, though you probably won't have to pay Canadian income taxes.)

It is not true that if you are in Canada any part of a day, it counts toward citizenship. If you leave and return to Canada on the same day (all before midnight), that is a day trip, and it does not count as an absence. But if you are not in Canada at midnight, that is a day's absence. For example, if you leave at 11:59 PM on Monday and return at 12:01 AM on Tuesday -- a trip of only two minutes, you have accrued one day's absence because you were not in Canada at midnight.

Suggestions for Meeting RQ Requirements:

1. Use a credit/debit card for all spending in Canada and keep all bank statements, so you can show the kind of spending activity that establishes a life lived in Canada (groceries, restaurants, etc.) Also keep receipts for cash purchases. (Do not use Canadian credit/debit cards in the USA -- providing bank statements with lots of USA purchases detracts from establishing a life centred in Canada. Get US credit/debit cards, if you don't already have them.)

2. Keep all leases, proof of each rental/mortgage payment, copies of all utility and phone bills.

3. Register and insure your car in Canada.

4. File Canadian taxes as a resident of Canada; and file U.S. taxes as a resident of Canada. On all forms, for both governments, maintain that you are a resident of Canada (remember, the countries now share more and more information).

5. Use an RFID card to enter the USA (US Passport Card or NEXUS), so you can flash the card at the machine before driving to the booth -- this will establish a record of every trip into the USA (sometimes border guards don't swipe your passport on their machine, with an RFID card, you can take responsibility for that -- you want both the CBP and CBSA border entry reports to be as accurate as possible). (Get a copy of both of these reports BEFORE submitting your citizenship application.)

6. Keep meticulous records of each and every trip across the border. Listing should include: i) date left; ii) date returned; iii) country visited; iv) purpose of trip (e.g., business, pleasure); v) total absence from Canada; vi) total days in the USA (if you are a US Tax Person, you need to keep track of every day spent in the USA -- each day you are in the USA for any amount of time is considered a "day present" -- because some tax consequences are based on the number of days present in the USA.)

Not saying you are right or wrong but the physical presence tool is all people have to go on so there is always going to be confusion on this subject regardless of personal experience . https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do?redir=faq#Q3

Quote :
When calculating an absence, neither the day you leave Canada nor the day you return is considered an absence. Both are counted as days of physical presence. For example, an absence between July 1, 2013 and July 15, 2013 equals 13 days of absence. As another example, if you leave Canada on July 1, 2013 and return on July 2, 2013, this equals 0 days of absence. You must still declare this as an absence.

 

[Natan]

Not saying you are right or wrong but the physical presence tool is all people have to go on so there is always going to be confusion on this subject regardless of personal experience . https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/rescalc/redir.do?redir=faq#Q3

Quote :
When calculating an absence, neither the day you leave Canada nor the day you return is considered an absence. Both are counted as days of physical presence. For example, an absence between July 1, 2013 and July 15, 2013 equals 13 days of absence. As another example, if you leave Canada on July 1, 2013 and return on July 2, 2013, this equals 0 days of absence. You must still declare this as an absence.

I stand corrected.

 

[ImmiToCanada]

Hi Natan,

Thanks so much for your tremendously hepful advice!

Following your suggestion '3. Register and insure your car in Canada.', would you mind sharing that if it is possible to keep your car registered in Canada while you have established residency in the USA? (for example, you work in USA full-time and rent an apartment)

There seems to be a rule that if you are a resident of the USA, you need to get your driver license issued in the USA and get your car reigestered and insured in USA.

Thanks again.

I live in Canada and work in the USA. Most of the time, I took day trips to the USA (no absence accrued), but for several months I spent whole work weeks in the USA, returning to Canada for the weekend. Although I received an RQ, I did become a citizen under the 3/4 rules (from application to oath took two years). You will have to provide ample data to show that you actually lived in, and your life was centred in, Canada. (See below for my recommendations on meeting RQ requirements.)

File your taxes, if you are required to do so. (If you earn income in the USA, you are likely required to file taxes in BOTH countries, though you probably won't have to pay Canadian income taxes.)

It is not true that if you are in Canada any part of a day, it counts toward citizenship. If you leave and return to Canada on the same day (all before midnight), that is a day trip, and it does not count as an absence. But if you are not in Canada at midnight, that is a day's absence. For example, if you leave at 11:59 PM on Monday and return at 12:01 AM on Tuesday -- a trip of only two minutes, you have accrued one day's absence because you were not in Canada at midnight.

Suggestions for Meeting RQ Requirements:

1. Use a credit/debit card for all spending in Canada and keep all bank statements, so you can show the kind of spending activity that establishes a life lived in Canada (groceries, restaurants, etc.) Also keep receipts for cash purchases. (Do not use Canadian credit/debit cards in the USA -- providing bank statements with lots of USA purchases detracts from establishing a life centred in Canada. Get US credit/debit cards, if you don't already have them.)

2. Keep all leases, proof of each rental/mortgage payment, copies of all utility and phone bills.

3. Register and insure your car in Canada.

4. File Canadian taxes as a resident of Canada; and file U.S. taxes as a resident of Canada. On all forms, for both governments, maintain that you are a resident of Canada (remember, the countries now share more and more information).

5. Use an RFID card to enter the USA (US Passport Card or NEXUS), so you can flash the card at the machine before driving to the booth -- this will establish a record of every trip into the USA (sometimes border guards don't swipe your passport on their machine, with an RFID card, you can take responsibility for that -- you want both the CBP and CBSA border entry reports to be as accurate as possible). (Get a copy of both of these reports BEFORE submitting your citizenship application.)

6. Keep meticulous records of each and every trip across the border. Listing should include: i) date left; ii) date returned; iii) country visited; iv) purpose of trip (e.g., business, pleasure); v) total absence from Canada; vi) total days in the USA (if you are a US Tax Person, you need to keep track of every day spent in the USA -- each day you are in the USA for any amount of time is considered a "day present" -- because some tax consequences are based on the number of days present in the USA.)

 

[links18]

Hi Natan,

Thanks so much for your tremendously hepful advice!

Following your suggestion '3. Register and insure your car in Canada.', would you mind sharing that if it is possible to keep your car registered in Canada while you have established residency in the USA? (for example, you work in USA full-time and rent an apartment)

There seems to be a rule that if you are a resident of the USA, you need to get your driver license issued in the USA and get your car reigestered and insured in USA.

Thanks again.

Its complex. Most US states do not have a residence requirement for registering a car there. But some Canadian provinces do. Still, it is really hard to get car insurance in a jurisdiction in which are not a resident, although it can be done. The problem will be at the border, where if you try to drive across in a car registered in the country other than the one in which claim residence, the border authorities might try to make you import it and pay taxes/duties each time. It could be a real pain....

 

[harirajmohan]

Its complex. Most US states do not have a residence requirement for registering a car there. But some Canadian provinces do. Still, it is really hard to get car insurance in a jurisdiction in which are not a resident, although it can be done. The problem will be at the border, where if you try to drive across in a car registered in the country other than the one in which claim residence, the border authorities might try to make you import it and pay taxes/duties each time. It could be a real pain....

Yes I agree completely. Its real pain explaining at the border on having the plates from other side while residence is on this side (vice versa). For security purposes i think they are not allowing/encouraging it. Even if we have old plates in the car they ask why we have it here. So its not worth it having ID and plates on other side while we live on this side.

 

[Natan]

Hi Natan,

Thanks so much for your tremendously hepful advice!

Following your suggestion '3. Register and insure your car in Canada.', would you mind sharing that if it is possible to keep your car registered in Canada while you have established residency in the USA? (for example, you work in USA full-time and rent an apartment)

There seems to be a rule that if you are a resident of the USA, you need to get your driver license issued in the USA and get your car reigestered and insured in USA.

Thanks again.

The U.S.A., Canada and Mexico have a treaty that de jure prohibit having a valid driving licence from more than one state/province/territory at the same time. This means you can only have one licence. You should obtain a licence from the jurisdiction of your "residence." Which is your "residence" can be a murky question.

In my case, although I spent considerable time in the USA, working there and renting an apartment there, I maintained "residence" in Canada. I was able to do this even if I spent more time each year in the USA, because I could establish that my "residence" was in Canada and that my life was centered in Canada. I established this by: (i) maintaining a primary residence in Canada (which was larger and cost more than my U.S. apartment); (ii) by registering and insuring my cars in Canada (and having insurance coverage that stipulated that the car was garaged abroad); (iii) by claiming residence status on Canadian tax forms, but not on U.S. tax forms; (iv) by not filing state taxes as a state resident; (v) by my spouse living in Canada (and never visiting the U.S.); (vi) by not using the U.S. address for any purpose whatsoever (I never took the key for my apartment's mailbox from the landlord, so I never even checked it); (vii) by telling anyone who would listen that I lived in Canada; (viii) by stating that I am a resident of Canada each time a border guard, on either side of the border, asked me; and (ix) by very carefully and consciously avoiding any act or omission that might be construed by a third party to controvert my residency assertions.

 

[screech339]

Funny that I was able to hold two driver's licence. Ontario Licence and NJ Licence. When I applied for NJ Licence, they never asked me to surrender my Ontario Licence for NJ Licence. I didn't import my car into the US since there was a lien on my car. You are not allowed to be able to import the car into either country if there is a lien on it, payments on the car as an example. Thus my car was still registered under Canadian address. When I finally moved back to Canada, I didn't have to "import" my car. One of the main reason I didn't want to import the car into US was that I was on a TN temporary work visa. The TN visa dictates that I must maintain Canadian residency. By importing the car into US, the US border agent could interpret that action as "permanently" moving to US, thus violate the TN visa rule. I asked this question to the US border agent on one of my trips to US. The border agent said that while he doesn't view "importing" the car into US as violating TN rules, he did say that he has no control over how OTHER border agents could interpret the rules. Since there was a possibility of losing TN visa due to importing car, I didn't want to chance it.

 

[Natan]

Funny that I was able to hold two driver's licence. Ontario Licence and NJ Licence. When I applied for NJ Licence, they never asked me to surrender my Ontario Licence for NJ Licence. I didn't import my car into the US since there was a lien on my car. You are not allowed to be able to import the car into either country if there is a lien on it, payments on the car as an example. Thus my car was still registered under Canadian address. When I finally moved back to Canada, I didn't have to "import" my car. One of the main reason I didn't want to import the car into US was that I was on a TN temporary work visa. The TN visa dictates that I must maintain Canadian residency. By importing the car into US, the US border agent could interpret that action as "permanently" moving to US, thus violate the TN visa rule. I asked this question to the US border agent on one of my trips to US. The border agent said that while he doesn't view "importing" the car into US as violating TN rules, he did say that he has no control over how OTHER border agents could interpret the rules. Since there was a possibility of losing TN visa due to importing car, I didn't want to chance it.

California has a box on their license application and they require you to surrender a Canadian or Mexican licence, but they don't go out of their way to enforce it. As long as you're not using it for fraudulent purposes, most U.S. states don't really care. Canada, on the other hand, is a stickler for each and every jot and tittle in a treaty. What's worse, at least in B.C., having a U.S. licence can be used by ICBC (crown insurance) to deny a claim -- OUCH!

Strictly speaking, screech339, you were required to register and insure your car in ON and have a single licence from ON.

 

[screech339]

California has a box on their license application and they require you to surrender a Canadian or Mexican licence, but they don't go out of their way to enforce it. As long as you're not using it for fraudulent purposes, most U.S. states don't really care. Canada, on the other hand, is a stickler for each and every jot and tittle in a treaty. What's worse, at least in B.C., having a U.S. licence can be used by ICBC (crown insurance) to deny a claim -- OUCH!

Strictly speaking, screech339, you were required to register and insure your car in ON and have a single licence from ON.

My car was registered and insured in Ontario. The stickler part was Canadian Insurance companies will not cover any claim if the person is residing outside Canada for more than 6 months, even if the work visa was only good for 1 year. After 6 months, I lost my Ontario insurance coverage. This forces my hand to get NJ insurance. But, in order to get NJ insurance, I must obtain NJ Driver Licence first. Hence holding 2 DL's. I told NJ insurance company that my car is not "imported" into US. Still a Canadian registered car. They told me that they will still cover it as long as I hold NJ DL.

 

[Natan]

My car was registered and insured in Ontario. The stickler is that Canadian Insurance companies will not cover any claim if the person is residing outside Canada for more than 6 months, even if the work visa was only good for 1 year. This forces my hand to get NJ insurance after 6 months. But, in orders to get NJ insurance, I must obtain NJ Driver Licence first. Hence holding 2 DL's. I told NJ insurance company that my car is not "imported" into US. Still a Canadian registered car. They told me that they will still cover it as long as I hold NJ DL.

It is likely that ICBC (crown insurance) in BC has the same 6 month limit, but none of the agents I spoke to knew this (I harried them on this topic repeatedly, but that's no guarantee any of the agents knew, but that wouldn't prevent them from giving me false "facts").

 

[Natan]

In the USA, insurance coverage policy is determined almost solely by the insurance company. They want our money more than they want to adhere to rules that stand between them and your wallet.

 

[screech339]

To make matters worst, to renew your Ontario plates, you need a valid Canadian Insurance Policy. So I had to go to the insurance company office and tell them that I "moved" back to Canada and gave them my brother's address, (My Ont DL had my brother's address). Once I had coverage, I was able to go to nearest Ontario Service office and get a renewal sticker. After that I headed back to US and continued my work visa until I actually moved back.

 

[Natan]

To make matters worst, to renew your Ontario plates, you need a valid Canadian Insurance Policy. So I had to go to the insurance company office and tell them that I "moved" back to Canada and gave them my brother's address, (My Ont DL had my brother's address). Once I had coverage, I was able to go to nearest Ontario Service office and get a renewal sticker. After that I headed back to US and continued my work visa until I actually moved back.

I generally cross the border twice a day (on business days), but sometimes as many as eight times a day. A CBP agent actually told me once to "...stop dancing on my border!"

 

[links18]

Insurance and registration issues can get very confusing in a cross border situation. For example, Michigan requires any vehicle physically present in the state for more than 30 days out of the year to carry a Michigan no-fault insurance policy even if it is not registered in Michigan. These days need not be consecutive. This law applies even to non residents. Moreover, there is considerable confusion about what exactly constitutes a valid Michigan no fault policy.

Other states require you to obtain their state's driver's license after a certain period of physical presence there (some as little as thirty days). Meanwhile, most Canadian provinces seem to expressly forbid holding more than one valid license at a time.