The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Off Topic => Topic started by: mellowhen on May 24, 2017, 01:34:41 PM
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Might be a weird place to ask, but it seems like we have a lot of diversity here and I'd give it a shot :)
Is anyone here a dual citizen of the USA/Canada, or someone who lived in the US at one point and became a naturalized Canadian?
I recently visited Vancouver to be with my boyfriend and discovered that I absolutely LOVE it there- the climate, the mountains, the culture, everything- and I'm wanting to move there. Through all the research I've done I've determined that it's a lot more complex than it seems to move if you're just an average joe and not a health care professional or other in demand worker- I'm just an artist, and while there is a huge industry for video games and animation there it won't be easy to get a job offer.
I suppose my question is, if anyone has successfully moved- how did you go about it? Did it take a lot of back and forth from home to your destination, and did you choose to have a Canadian lawyer present your immigration case or do it all yourself?
Any insight or stories would be very helpful!
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*waves* Hi! I have been dual Canada/USA for 2 years now! Born in USA, immigrated to Canada 9 years ago. The whole process took 7 years, as you can see. It took 2.5 years for Permanent Residency and after that the rest of the time was acquiring residency and applying for citizenship.
We had a family member pay an immigration lawyer up front and we paid the family member back over a course of years, as it was definitely a $12-17,000+ process after everything was said and done. I would not advise doing the application without a lawyer.
Also the waiting lists for immigration have gotten INSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE. Now I hear the estimate of all the process is more like 13 years!
Also there are very limited types of applications they accept readily - workers are NOT one of them. If you just are average, yeah..... sadly... it's possible but not as easy.
I personally was able to show enough of a personal relationship with my DH through emails, receipts, phone logs... gifts, photos... Well, there was a list long enough to give them an understanding of how I came to be married IN Canada while visiting to meet the in-laws and the tourist-y things... so my application was filed as a Spousal type. ;) Now I understand they are more strict about this, but it was the #1 thing on the application that my lawyer wanted taken care of. *shrugs*
Come visit frequently! We like visitors! :D
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Not quite identical, but I moved to Australia and am applying later this year for dual citizenship (gotta study up!), and apparently the process is pretty similar. I came out on a work-holiday visa, then my partner and I applied for a de-facto visa. I've checked out a Canadian immi site (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp), and it looks like they have similar options for people coming from the US; basically, it means that you and your partner are in a monogamous relationship and share an address. It's not quite the same level as marriage, but is similar to common-law marriage in the US? Your partner can sponsor you so that you can move to Canada to continue your relationship. Basically. They'll ask you questions about your relationship, and ask for affidavits from friends (not family) who know of your relationship and will affirm that it is genuine, and not just for emigration purposes.
After I had been in Australia two years between those two visas, I applied for permanent residency with my partner as my sponsor. It sounds like you can't quite do it that fast in Canada, but the process sounds similar according to that site. I also advise hiring an immigration lawyer or firm for your applications, like lovesbabysquirmy said. There's a lot of red tape involved in filing the paperwork, and we almost certainly would've missed some of the answers we needed without help from our adviser.
A friend of mine is moving to Canada in less than a week to seek better job opportunities (she's super brave to go it alone, IMO, especially across the planet) and the actual process of getting in if you're under 30 isn't too bad. It's finding someone to sponsor you to stay.
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We had a family member pay an immigration lawyer up front and we paid the family member back over a course of years, as it was definitely a $12-17,000+ process after everything was said and done. I would not advise doing the application without a lawyer.
Congratulations on making the move! This is really helpful to read, thank you. And WOW, 12-17k!? The lawyer I'd asked quoted about 3k to help me if I can get a valid job offer on my own (which I can hopefully do). I'm planning on visiting as often as possible in 5-6 month segments and seeking job offers in the meantime while I stay with my bf.
I'm currently a work from home contract artist with a US game company... I wonder if I can do that work while across the border without any issues?
I've checked out a Canadian immi site (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp), and it looks like they have similar options for people coming from the US; basically, it means that you and your partner are in a monogamous relationship and share an address. It's not quite the same level as marriage, but is similar to common-law marriage in the US? Your partner can sponsor you so that you can move to Canada to continue your relationship.
Very interesting, thanks! Good luck becoming a dual citizen, that sounds awesome :)
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I have dual citizenship (Canada/Italy) but the later is through family grandfathered in. If you had a parent or grandparent that was born there, there was a window where you could apply.
Good luck trying to get in. Its supposed to be hard--the government needs to be taking care of the people that are already here, too :)
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I was born in Canada and have always lived here, but my Mom is American. Does that count as being a dual citizen?
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I was born in Canada and have always lived here, but my Mom is American. Does that count as being a dual citizen?
No, I don't think so. At least not automatically. I'm an American in Canada. Mr. Stomper is Canadian. My kids only have citizenship in both countries because I went to the American consulate in Vancouver and filed a lot of paperwork and had to have many pieces of personal paperwork to make it so. Including getting a copy of my high school report card. O.o (That was fun.)
I think I'm content to stay as a landed immigrant if becoming a citizen is so costly.
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Yeah, as SDS said you have to actually get the paperwork done with the parent that was born in a different country or has citizenship. And they need to prove that they were infact born there.
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Get it done with your parent's assistance before you turn 18 or it's way more difficult! :(
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Get it done with your parent's assistance before you turn 18 or it's way more difficult! :(
I just turned 25 so that window is a little far gone :lookround: