Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: Monterey Bay, California -- watching the sea lions, whales and otters! :D
1,918 posts, read 6,783,507 times
Reputation: 2708
Advertisements
Maybe it is harder for U.S. citizens -- unless they have tons of money.
One of my friends from Buffalo who has lived in Toronto for the past 30 years tried to bring his ailing dad up to take care of him -- and what did they tell him (his dad was in his 80s) -- "Unless he has a job, he can't come into Canada...." so he had to keep traveling back to Buffalo to take shifts in caring for him.
I asked my friends about moving there, and they just told me it's really super difficult now. I'm sure there are loopholes I'm not aware of, like anywhere, but for me, it's out.
And I do love Canada.... "Oh, Canada, oh, Canada...la la la la la la ...."
I can't remember where I read this but for some reason, I think it was on this very board. I could've sworn that I read somewhere that if you have $12,000 in the bank, in addition to possessing several other good attributes for immigrants (i.e. you speak English and/or French, have a college degree, etc.) that it's almost a shoo-in to get into Canada. Did I dream this up or is there some validity to this? Or perhaps I'm remembering the details wrong where you need all sorts of things PLUS $12,000 in the bank to be considered? For whatever reason though, that $12,000 number is sticking out in my head.
Location: Monterey Bay, California -- watching the sea lions, whales and otters! :D
1,918 posts, read 6,783,507 times
Reputation: 2708
I don't know, Dullnboring. When I told my friend I might have $60,000 from part of the sale of my house, he said, "Hmmmm, maybe that'll get you in....." Didn't sound too encouraging.
I haven't looked lately, though, and laws keep changing, so it's just good to keep up with what's the latest information. I'm not looking to live there now, anyway, although you can be a landed immigrant pretty easily -- meaning you live there for 6 months of the year. Lots of people in Buffalo have summer cottages in Canada. And Toronto (my favorite city) is pretty expensive now. But I don't think it's a shoo-in, either anymore. I could be wrong, though -- hopefully, I am!!
It would be interesting to see more of what is necessary. If they ever start the draft in the U.S. again, I'll make a bet those "easy" immigration laws will change pretty quickly in Canada!
Don't suppose you know of any loopholes in the US system do ya
As for emigrating to Canada I think the points system is a good system, I think that Australia also uses this way and the UK is supposed to be bringing in some sort of points system.
although you can be a landed immigrant pretty easily -- meaning you live there for 6 months of the year.
Ummmmm, not quite.
The popular term "landed immigrant" has given way to the current designation of Permanent Resident.
Permanent Resident's status is what is awarded to an immigrant after they have been accepted to live in Canada, but before that immigrant qualifies for to apply for full citizenship.
People with Permanent Resident's status have virtually all the rights of a Canadian citizen except they are not eligible to vote or to hold a Canadian passport. People with Permanent Resident's status may apply for Canadian citizenship after being in Canada fro roughly 3 years. They also have the option of just maintaining their PR status and renewing it every so often.
The six-month term in the above post likely comes from the period of time a US citizen may spend in Canada on a visitor visa.
Detailed immigration information is available from Citzenship and Immigration Canada:
Location: Monterey Bay, California -- watching the sea lions, whales and otters! :D
1,918 posts, read 6,783,507 times
Reputation: 2708
Well, I'm no expert in this, for sure (can you tell??). I was just using the term that's tossed around in Buffalo. I knew they couldn't be citizens, and that's why they had summer homes. I'm sure I'm not up to date at all on this, so your information has got to be better than mine.
Believe me, if it were so easy to live in Canada permanently, I know loads of people who would do just that -- so, I would guess there are many little fine details involved, of which I know nothing about!
Anyway, the question was: "Where would you rather live: Canada or the U.S." and for me: Canada!
I'd be happy living in either. I'm very fond of both countries and I enjoy warm and cold climates so temperature isn't really a factor (unless we're talking summertime in the South, phew!).
Last edited by happynoodleboycey; 07-20-2007 at 05:05 PM..
Reason: typo
I'd go to Canada in a second if I could swing it. Unfortunately I doubt there's any way I really could. Even though they're predicting Vancouver is gonna get clobbered by "the big one" (earthquake) I still think that'd be my home base. I tried learning French and just don't get it, so the east coast is out.
For me it's not such a clear answer. It depends on the city. I would pick NYC and SF over any city in Canada. Chi is very very similar to Toronto however so I would have trouble with that one.
Anything else I would pick Canada's main cities (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, or Ottawa).
Canada would permit my domestic partner and I to cement our love for each other in the same manner that my heterosexual counterparts are currently able to do, so that's a plus for me. Why the U.S. gets its panties in a bunch when someone mentions the phrase "civil union" is beyond me---are people here just THAT miserable and self-centered that they can't get beyond the "Adam and Steve" debate to afford people like myself happiness?
Canada isn't arrogant in assuming that it can bring democracy, liberty, and tranquility to every other nation, whether they want it forced upon them or not. As such they keep themselves pretty low on the terrorism target radar and are unlikely to ever have their own version of 9/11, which was really our fault, in a way, for not keeping our freakin' noses out of everyone else's business in the Middle-East and ticking off Al-Qaeda!
Canada doesn't get quite as hot and sticky as the United States---give me a tolerable Montreal summer anyday over one in PA. Then again, if global warming continues to melt the Arctic Ice Shelf at the rate it's been going, most of Canada might be under water anyways! LOL!
Canada, would you PLEASE annex Scranton, Pennsylvania? Pretty, pretty pllleasseee???!!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). I was just using the term that's tossed around in Buffalo. I knew they couldn't be citizens, and that's why they had summer homes. I'm sure I'm not up to date at all on this, so your information has got to be better than mine. 
