# Are Americans without degrees completely banned from moving to Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 22, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246 "2015-04-22T01:40:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/1 "2015-04-22T01:40:15Z")
I would really like to live in Canada but getting a professional 4 year degree is out of the question for me. I’m just not willing to spend that much time in college, and it’s mostly because I can’t think of any field I would enjoy enough to get a degree in it. Plus the cost. Canada’s points system is ridiculous though. Is there any “second way” to live there? I’d love to live in Vancouver but it seems impossible unless you’re a doctor or engineer. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/2 "2015-04-22T01:57:32Z")
Not banned, but Canada requires a compelling reason to accept someone as an immigrant, who won’t be a burden on the social net. Having a degree or other type of training is a good proxy for someone who will be a productive member of society. That said, we admit more people as immigrants, proportionately, than many other western countries, including the US. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/3 "2015-04-22T02:00:26Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Not banned, but Canada requires a compelling reason to accept someone as an immigrant, who won’t be a burden on the social net. Having a degree or other type of training is a good proxy for someone who will be a productive member of society. > > That said, we admit more people as immigrants, proportionately, than many other western countries, including the US. Are there any ways aside from being a professional? I mean, aside from marrying a Canadian chick, which I’ve heard isn’t even enough in some cases (not that I would use someone like that). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/4 "2015-04-22T02:01:23Z")
You could marry me. Are you a female? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/5 "2015-04-22T02:41:32Z")
High school is 5 points, a 1 year trade certificate is 15 points, a 2 year associates degree is 20 points. Assuming my understanding of the system is correct. Can you do a 1 or 2 year degree at community college or online? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/6 "2015-04-22T03:38:39Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > You could marry me. > > Are you a female? Legally gender isn’t relevant. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/7 "2015-04-22T03:43:20Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Legally gender isn’t relevant. 🙂 For Canada, anyway, it might matter to **Leaffan** ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/8 "2015-04-22T04:06:05Z")
Are you sure Canada would solve your problems? I read the Portland thread. The cost of living in Vancouver is extraordinarily high. Plus this: > [@protoboard](#): > > I would really like to live in Canada but getting a professional 4 year degree is out of the question for me. I’m just not willing to spend that much time in college, and it’s mostly because I can’t think of any field I would enjoy enough to get a degree in it. College isn’t for everyone, true, but the reasons you give don’t seem terribly well thought out. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/9 "2015-04-22T04:18:27Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > Are there any ways aside from being a professional? I mean, aside from marrying a Canadian chick, which I’ve heard isn’t even enough in some cases (not that I would use someone like that). Try working at General Motors or Ford in detroit. Both have lots of plants across the river in Canada. I’m sure you could work something out. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/10 "2015-04-22T04:46:53Z")
You don’t have to have a job that requires a university degree. You can also get in with a skilled trade, like being an electrician or a plumber. Or you can get in if you’re starting up a business in Canada. But for that you have to show you have the actual plans and capital to do this. Another path to immigration is to work as a caregiver. But it’s a two-step process. To be eligible to immigrate to Canada as a caregiver, you have to have a history of working in Canada as a caregiver. So you’d need to apply for a temporary working visa first in order to build up a employment history. Unless you’re committed to Vancouver, consider other areas. You can get moved up the immigration list if you’re willing to live in certain provinces. You won’t be eligible to immigrate to Canada if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony, including a DUI, or if you have a serious medical condition. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/11 "2015-04-22T05:22:42Z")
Open up your own hair, nails and tanning salon. Those always seem to do well. /sarcasm ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/12 "2015-04-22T05:55:15Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > it’s mostly because I can’t think of any field I would enjoy enough to get a degree in it. May I suggest Canadian Studies? ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/13 "2015-04-22T06:14:42Z")
Is a college degree all it takes? The last time I went across the Canadian border, they pulled me aside to search my car, directed me inside for questioning and asked if I’d ever had a job and how long I intended to stay there. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/14 "2015-04-22T13:03:27Z")
Re-reading the OP, it strikes me that you’ve not made the case that you should be considered for admission to Canada. There’s hundreds of thousands of people who want to be admitted. They have to show that they will really bring something to the table, and will contribute to Canadian society. “A degree takes four years and sounds hard” doesn’t exactly put you to the head of the queue of those thousands of applicants. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/15 "2015-04-22T13:58:18Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Try working at General Motors or Ford in detroit. Both have lots of plants across the river in Canada. I’m sure you could work something out. This is actually more accurate than it sounds. I work for one of the two companies mentioned above, and this is exactly what happens when we have major projects in Ontario. Given the money we invest and the jobs we provide, the Canada government understands the necessity of sending our engineers there for up to a year at a time. Our Legal folks work out something with Immigration, there’s a List, and the first time we cross the border, we let the booth worker know, go to the Immigration counter, present our ID’s, and get a work/residency permit with no significant questions asked. Edit: I lived in Mississauga for a year as a result. The next crossing (having a permit for myself), they gave a permit to my then-wife to make things easy. The dog was easy. My company paid the taxes. And you know how you sometimes get stuck behind that car that seems to take 10 minutes? It’s not a problem; it’s the Customs worker asking your wife about retirement locations in Manzanillo. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/16 "2015-04-22T14:54:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You don’t have to have a job that requires a university degree. You can also get in with a skilled trade, like being an electrician or a plumber. In the 90s a colleague of mine was trying to immigrate from Australia (he already was living in Canada and was on staff with the uni). He was dismayed that plumbers scored higher on the scale than PhD physicists. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/17 "2015-04-22T14:55:21Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > Is a college degree all it takes? The last time I went across the Canadian border, they pulled me aside to search my car, directed me inside for questioning and asked if I’d ever had a job and how long I intended to stay there. hijack: Do you have any idea why or it just random? Cause I can seriously say I’ve been across the Canadian border probably 50 times in my life and I have never been pulled aside and searched. I always wonder what it takes. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/18 "2015-04-22T15:11:28Z")
The last time I drove across the border from Montana to Alberta we were stopped by the Canadian guard who asked… Guard: Do you have any guns? Me: No sir. Guard: Really? Are you sure? Me: I am sure. I have no guns. Guard: So you drove here aaaallllll the way from Nevada with no guns? No guns at all? Me: Uh, yeah. We drove here with no guns. I wanted to add something like: “It was close but we made it” but thought better of it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/19 "2015-04-22T15:25:43Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > The last time I drove across the border from Montana to Alberta we were stopped by the Canadian guard who asked… > > Guard: Do you have any guns? > Me: No sir. > Guard: Really? Are you sure? > Me: I am sure. I have no guns. > Guard: So you drove here aaaallllll the way from Nevada with no guns? No guns at all? > Me: Uh, yeah. We drove here with no guns. > > I wanted to add something like: “It was close but we made it” but thought better of it. > > 🙂 No, they have nooooo sense of humor. Last time I went through and the guy asked me “What is your purpose in Canada?” And I said “Touristy things.” Except I said “Touristy thi-” and he cut me off and said “What was that?” In a menacing tone with a glower. Is it so weird to say “touristy”? ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/20 "2015-04-22T15:37:46Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > May I suggest Canadian Studies? Canadian Studies, eh? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246.md?page=2)