Becoming a canadian citizen/perm resident (health insurance, college, living in)

[rainbowlady]

My dh and I are US citizens, and dh is in the oil/gas field.

We would like to live in Canada, possibly in Alberta (thats where a lot of jobs are in his field).

I looked at the CIC site on immigration, and a few questions were unanswered.

So, say my dh wants to get a job in Alberta, he needs to get a job first right?

Then he comes on a work permit right?

How do we switch to a permanent resident permit?

Or can we just start the permanent resident visa from the beginning before we move(it will be a few years before we actually move).

What is better?

And will my dh need to go alone before he can bring us? If so, how long does that process take?

Lastly, either by work permit or perm resident visa, how long does it take for dependants to get health care?

Thanks!

Sue

[FlightAttendant]

As an American who is about to marry a Canadian, I have spent some time reading and researching the "ins and outs" of doing what you are trying to do.

I suggest that you look at a site called VisaJourney.com. Although it is more for those of us who are about to or have already married Candadians, there is good general information there. Also, with specific questions, the people who answer the phones at 1-800-O Canada are wonderful and very good at finding out answers to specific questions.

Good luck!

[minibrings]

have you thought of just applying for permanent residency first? not difficult and lately it seem to take a year. When you move to Alberta you qualify for medical care first day. Some provinces (e.g., Ontario) have a 3 month wait.

Also research NAFTA visa, basically he goes to AB, intereviews, gets a job offer, then goes to the border and applies for a work permit. Dunno if it allows you to work or provide for health care. Once in AB you can start the paperwork to become Canadian permanent residents...

[rainbowlady]

Just don't know which works better in our case?

We are trying to get on the track to be Canadian citizens, so the most time as perm residents would aid us to get to citizenship.

Really, first day med care. Well, Alberta is where we are looking. It will take us almost a year to get everything together.

One thing about perm residency? Does dh have to go first? Then us later? If so, how long does that take usually?

Sue

[ZX14TJ]

Originally Posted by minibrings

Also research NAFTA visa, basically he goes to AB, intereviews, gets a job offer, then goes to the border and applies for a work permit. Dunno if it allows you to work or provide for health care. Once in AB you can start the paperwork to become Canadian permanent residents...

Horrible info. That isn't how NAFTA works. This proves the only reliable information will come directly from CIC. They can be reached here...

Welcome to Citizenship and Immigration Canada

With all that said, this is how I made it to Canada...

1. Applied for a specific position
2. The employer made me a job offer
3. Employer applied for a Labour Market Opinion (3-4 month process)
4. I met all the conditions and requirements of the LMO
5. I arrived at the border and applied for a work permit (20 minute process).
6. Spouse applied for a open work permit (5 minute process)

All in all, a 3 to 4 month process after the job offer to get here. Once here, applying for Permanent Residency is relatively easy.

Keep in mind, lots of Canadian companies are laying off large numbers of people. Even in the oil & gas industry, thig are getting tough up here.

What is it that Canada offers that you are not finding in the States?

[ajau]

Originally Posted by minibrings

have you thought of just applying for permanent residency first? not difficult and lately it seem to take a year. When you move to Alberta you qualify for medical care first day. Some provinces (e.g., Ontario) have a 3 month wait.

Nope, health insurance in Alberta starts 3 months after registration with Alberta Health. Just like most provinces. Oh, and health premiums are $44 per person or $88 per family per month.

[brianfxx]

I can only speak for myself, a US citizen, and my partner, citizen of a non EU but European country. For permantent residence one of you needs to qualify in immigration points. Go to the Canadian immigration site or Alberta immigration points and see whether you have enough. I qualified for Quebec as a skiled worker because I am an engineer which is a job shortage category for that province and because I have the language skills, education, experience, etc. I did not have a job nor do I have a job either in the US or Canada or any such offer. It took about 6 months for a Quebec interview, for which my partner and I flew to New York. We were issued qualifying certificates by the Province of Quebec which were valid for 3 years. The cost was about $1000 each and we had to provide lots of documents including financial proof that we could manage living in Canada. Since my partner was going to college in the USA, we did not apply for an actual immigrant visa with the Canadian federal government until two years later. The cost for that was about $1000 each again, plus a medical exam for each of about $400. It took about 6 months to get the immigrant visas which give us a window of about 5 months to enter Canada/Quebec as landed immigrants. Quebec medical coverage starts 90 days after we land.

[zielsdorf]

If my Grandfather was a Canadian citizen, am I considered a citizen as well?