How do I get permanent residency status in Canada?
Research so far:
I think my best option may be 'Self Employment category'. I am a
published writer with signed contracts for books for a major
publishing house. Last year I earned about $18,000 from writing. Some
years may be better, some may be worse.
Links I found useful:
answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=122013
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam11/Canadian_Immigration.html
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.html
What I have done already:
- Found a community in B.C. where I want to live. I like everything about it.
- Bought a small home in the community.
- Visited, vacationed, and begun to get involved in community life.
- Opened an account in a Canadian bank. I will have 1 year's living
expenses in the account before applying for PR status.
Details and concerns:
1. My wife and I are fairly young 60-somethings, but we will be in our
mid to late 60's when we want to move. Will age be a handicap?
2. Recently I was successfully treated for cancer in the U.S. Will my
medical history be a handicap?
3. My net worth of around $250,000 USD will mostly be in my Canadian
house. I will be receiving SSI from US, and my wife will be receiving
a small pension. We have enough to live on, but not enough to qualify
as 'entrepreneurs'.
4. We have no family in Canada.
5. I would like to move in 2008-2009. I am willing to spend the next
four years setting this up. |
Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
25 Aug 2004 08:24 PDT
Hi woody_1234
I'm glad to hear you found my answer to question 122013 useful and I
would be happy to help you as well. However, if you have studied
Canada's Citizen and Immigration website, you already have a pretty
good grasp of the rules and regulations in regards to immigrating to
Canada (required to become a permanent resident).
Immigrating to Canada:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.html
I agree with you, that your best (only) hope is "self-employment in
cultural activities", but it will be at the discretion of the
immigration officer at the time of your application.
1. My wife and I are fairly young 60-somethings, but we will be in our
mid to late 60's when we want to move. Will age be a handicap?
Yes, especially given that you have no relatives in Canada. If you
were the parents of a Canadian, then it wouldn't be a handicap.
2. Recently I was successfully treated for cancer in the U.S. Will my
medical history be a handicap?
I don't think so. If you are in reasonable health at the time of your
application, that should be fine.
3. My net worth of around $250,000 USD will mostly be in my Canadian
house. I will be receiving SSI from US, and my wife will be receiving
a small pension. We have enough to live on, but not enough to qualify
as 'entrepreneurs'.
Unfortunately, not enough to qualify as an "investor" either.
4. We have no family in Canada.
Yes, that would definitely be a plus if you did.
5. I would like to move in 2008-2009. I am willing to spend the next
four years setting this up.
You can try, but be prepared for disappointment. Probably the best
thing you could do now to increase your chances is to publish a book
which relates to Canada, thereby showing the officials how you can
make an important cultural contribution to Canada. Would that be
possible or have you done that already?
I'm not sure any of us can give you a $100 answer given that you know
all the basics already. Please let me know how I can be of further
assistance.
Sincerely,
hummer
|
Clarification of Question by
woody_1234-ga
on
25 Aug 2004 10:04 PDT
> Not worth $100.
Well, it may be. Here's why...
1) Your idea of writing a book related to Canada, or economic
improvement of area, is brilliant. My next book is about an industry
that B.C. is trying to promote. It would be fairly easy to add B.C.
industry leaders to my list of 'expert interviewees'.
2) Your evaluation of self employment as (only) option, clarifies things immensely.
3) Your frank evaulation of our chances (poor, as i read it) is very,
very useful information.
How about this, then...
What about the option (suggested by a friend) of figuring out a way to
get hired by a Canadian company. (Probably to write for them.) This
may involve finding a job with a U.S. company that has a Canadian
branch, and then being 'transferred' to the Canadian branch. It would
be the equivalent of the U.S. practice of L1 Visas. If I enter the
country as an employee of a Canadian company, is PR visa automatic?
|
Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
25 Aug 2004 12:14 PDT
Hi woody_1234,
It is ok with me to try and work this out together using clarification
requests, and when we are finished, you can assess the results and
adjust the price of your question accordingly. I'm suggesting this
because I just don't know what you were expecting when you posted your
question, but I'll do my best to try and help you.
3) Your frank evaulation of our chances (poor, as i read it) is very,
very useful information.
I don't think your chances would be poor if you can come up with a
Canadian book angle, especially nonfiction - Canadians love Canadian
authors (and actors, singers, etc). It would not only show how you
could add to the cultural life of Canada, but it would also show how
serious you are in embracing Canada, given that you would write the
book before making your application to immigrate. Ofcourse, I'm not
the one who would make the decision, but it sounds good to me 8-).
Your friend's idea of being transferred is interesting but I'm afraid
the news isn't good (gosh, I feel like I'm just a messenger of doom &
gloom). If you worked for a US company, they could send you to Canada
under the NAFTA agreement but you'd have no real connection with
Canada except working there. NAFTA (North American Free Trade
Agreement) makes it "easy" for business people to work in
Mexico/US/Canada as long as their principle place of business remains
in their home country - so that is no help to you.
"Business visitors may work in Canada without a work permit. They
enter Canada for international business activities, without entering
the Canadian labour market. Business visitors may represent a foreign
business or government, and are remunerated outside Canada. Their
principal place of business is outside Canada. The business visitor
category includes certain persons entering under the provisions
outlined in certain free trade agreements, such as the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement
(CCFTA) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/you-asked/section-18.html
Finding a Canadian company to hire you won't help either. If you
managed to secure a job, that would only get you a "work permit", and
you can't immigrate on a work permit.
These steps must be followed before you apply for a work permit:
1. An employer must first offer you a job.
2. HRDC must normally provide a labour market opinion or
?confirmation? of your job offer. However, some types of work are
exempt from this process.
3. After HRDC confirms that a foreign national may fill the job, you
apply to CIC for your work permit.
"You cannot immigrate with a work permit. If you want to come and live
in Canada as a permanent resident based on your work skills or
experience, see if you qualify for the Skilled Worker Program."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/index.html
If I enter the country as an employee of a Canadian company, is PR visa automatic?
So the answer to your question is "no" if you are transferred by a
U.S. company or hired by a Canadian company on a work permit, "yes" if
you immigrate as a skilled worker.
Have you taken the "Skilled Worker Self-Assesment" test? It should
give you a pretty good idea how you stack up for immigrating as a
skilled worker.
Skilled Worker Self-Assessment:
"This Self-Assessment tool will help you decide if you should apply to
immigrate to Canada as a Skilled Worker. The questions here are like
the questions on the application form. Your score on this test will
show you how your skills and experience could be graded on your
application.
This test is only to give you an idea of whether or not you will
qualify as a skilled worker. A Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(CIC) officer will decide on your application based on the evidence
you provide."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/assess/index.html
One real situation exists where, if your health remains good, you
could become a permanent resident at the end of two years. The program
was devised with young people in mind, but I don't know of any age
limits. That's the good news. The bad news (sigh) is that you would
have to live in your employer's home for two years. Would either you
or your wife be interested in caring for children or the elderly in
someone's home?
The Live-in Caregiver Program for employers and caregivers abroad:
"The Live-in Caregiver Program allows professional caregivers to work
in Canada. Caregivers are individuals who are qualified to work
without supervision in a private household providing care for
children, elderly persons or people who have disabilities." "An
important requirement of the program is that employees must live in
the employer's home. The Live-in Caregiver Program exists only because
there is a shortage of Canadians or permanent residents to fill the
need for live-in care work. There is no shortage of Canadians or
permanent residents available for caregiving positions where there is
no live-in requirement."
Applying for permanent residence in Canada:
"You must complete at least two years of employment as a live-in
caregiver to apply for permanent residence in Canada."
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/caregiver/caregiver-2.html
There, I managed to end on a happy note. Please let me know if you
have any other questions, I'll look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
hummer
|
Clarification of Question by
woody_1234-ga
on
25 Aug 2004 13:46 PDT
OK. Now we're getting somewhere. Big part of this is clarifying my
*own* question.
1. I can write and publish a non-fiction book about unique cultural
aspect of the area I'm moving to, before application. Had already been
thinking about a book, in fact. This is a great idea.
2. As I read your answers I realize that my real objective is to live
in an area I love. I don't really care if i'm a PR. I already have
health care in the U.S. -- so getting on the Canadian health system is
not a big deal. I could take care of my health needs when I travel to
Seattle every 6 months for vacation, bookstores, and coffee shops.
Which leads to next question: If I *just go visit*, and live in my
vacation home, how long can I stay? A friend in Toronto lives in
Canada year round this way as a 'visitor'. He just makes sure that
every 179 days he leaves the country for a week or so. Then he returns
for another six months.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
25 Aug 2004 16:39 PDT
Hi woody_1234,
Would it be possible to have your book published by a Canadian publisher??
ABPBC (Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia):
http://www.books.bc.ca/
Regarding health insurance, make sure your insurance will cover you in
Canada. You may have to maintain a residence in the US to keep it.
Consider tacking on "evacuation" coverage so you could be transported
to a U.S. hospital if needed.
"Traditional Medicare does not provide coverage outside the United
States for any period of time.Medicare HMO's will provide coverage for
emergency care outside the country but you must retain residence in
their coverage area."
http://seniorhealth.about.com/cs/medicare/f/medicare_cov.htm
"For example, a U.S. citizen who retires can't become a permanent
Canadian resident and could not live there full-time, according to the
Canadian Consulate in Detroit.
Americans who own vacation property in Ontario must maintain a
permanent residence in the United States and stay in Canada only for
up to six months at a time."
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/cott26_20000826.htm
"Visas are not required for U.S. tourists entering Canada from the
U.S. for stays up to 180 days."
http://www.aaa-mountainwest.com/borders.htm
Seattle
Consulate General of Canada,
412 Plaza 600,
Sixth Avenue and Stewart Street,
Seattle, Washington 98101-1286, U.S.A.
Tel.: 1 (206) 443-1777
Fax: 1 (206) 443-9662
E-mail: seatl@dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Internet: dfait-maeci.gc.ca/can-am/menu-en.asp?mid=12
So it sounds as though you'll be fine by going back to Seattle at
least every 179 days. I don't blame you for wanting to move to Canada,
it's beautiful, isn't it? Have you spent a winter there yet? Ofcourse,
if your used to Seattle, it shouldn't be too much of a change for you.
I hope this clarifies things a bit - let me know if you need anything else.
Sincerely,
hummer
|
Clarification of Question by
woody_1234-ga
on
26 Aug 2004 07:10 PDT
Hummer,
I think this is a fine piece of research. It is clearly worth $100 to
me. It's been a pleasure doing business with you.
Regards,
Woody
|
