# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/21 "2015-04-22T15:51:14Z")
I believe that there’s also a way to enter if you have a load of money; something about creating a corporation with a certain capitalization, which creates jobs, purportedly. Ah, here it is: [http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/immigrate/business/investors/index.asp](http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/immigrate/business/investors/index.asp) Seems to have been cancelled recently, though. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/22 "2015-04-22T16:05:27Z")
> [@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. > > 🙂 Me: I’ve only got one gun, and it’s not for shootin’, it’s for fun. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/23 "2015-04-22T17:50:08Z")
Alone among provinces, Quebec is allowed to choose its own Canadian immigrants. If you can speak French (or are willing to learn) that’s worth more points here. [Current rules and procedures.](http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/informations/rules-procedures.html) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/24 "2015-04-22T18:26:44Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > 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? How many points do you need? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/25 "2015-04-22T18:35:40Z")
Things must have been different when we moved to Montreal in 1972 from the U.S. I don’t remember it being a big deal. We went up there so my dad could take over management of my uncle’s lumberyard. My uncle had a stroke and could no longer do it himself. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/26 "2015-04-22T18:49:35Z")
Not surprisingly, yes, things are indeed rather different than they were in 1972. Few things aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/27 "2015-04-22T19:26:28Z")
**protoboard** , in your other thread about Portland, you state that you are receiving some sort of government assistance? I would guess that would be a sizable barrier to relocating to a different country - 1. You would likely stop receiving the assistance you are now receiving 2. Canada would not automatically start providing you assistance ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/28 "2015-04-22T19:39:12Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > …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… Yeah, ya see, there are some people who go to school to get what they call “educated.” College, despite what you hear, isn’t just a trade school where they train you for a job. It’s a place where you learn lots of things that make you smarter, and smarter is generally considered good. (And, in the bargain, it can also make you a potentially more valuable employee, wherever you get hired.) You might want to open your mind to that way of thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/29 "2015-04-22T21:14:26Z")
Just curious… What is the US criteria for immigration? Aside from a pulse… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/30 "2015-04-22T21:14:52Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > 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. Actually, this gives me hope for Canada. ---
**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, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/31 "2015-04-22T22:14:12Z")
Supply and demand. Society needs more plumbers than physicists. ---
**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, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/32 "2015-04-22T22:27:42Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Supply and demand. Society needs more plumbers than physicists. To hedge your bets, go work your way through college & grad school as a plumber. Once you have a PhD in physics combined with ten years’ experience as a plumber, no country in the world will close its doors to you. ---
**Author:** ![bubba001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f17d59/32.png) [@bubba001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba001)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/33 "2015-04-22T22:30:08Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > 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. That works if you are a engineer or other non union worker. The Big 3 plants there are Canadian Auto Workers Union. I think it would be rather difficult to get hired in there as a hourly employee. The canucks require the companies show that they cannot find a Canadian to fill the job. That would be pretty difficult to do. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/34 "2015-04-22T22:36:41Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > How many points do you need? [67](http://www.workpermit.com/canada/points_calculator.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/35 "2015-04-22T22:49:40Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > May I suggest Canadian Studies? Canadian Studies programs have been foundering for years, and the ones that have survived aren’t hiring. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/36 "2015-04-22T22:51:43Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > Canadian Studies programs have been foundering for years, and the ones that have survived aren’t hiring. What if I get straight ehs? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/37 "2015-04-22T22:52:34Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > [67](http://www.workpermit.com/canada/points_calculator.htm). From that it looks like you have to have some kind of training. It can be college, trade school or apprenticeship and about 3 to 4 years of work experience to get above 67. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/38 "2015-04-22T22:56:55Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > What if I get straight ehs? It’s a start. More important, how is your slapshot? After 12 beers? ---
**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, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/39 "2015-04-22T22:58:43Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > 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. Hmm I just totaled up my points and Canada would take me and my family without needing to show any intention of getting a job :). Masters degrees help 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246/40 "2015-04-22T23:16:38Z")
A certain score means you can be considered. It isn’t a ticket, and they can reject you for basically any reason they feel like. If you’re chronically ill, for example, you’ll probably be rejected out of hand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-without-degrees-completely-banned-from-moving-to-canada/718246.md?page=3)