This is my first post, and it is a very important question for me. I can not imagine ever making such a big move, but I know I want it.
I currently live in New York, and I have been thinking about seriously moving to Canada for quite some time.
The election is not really the main reason for such a desire, but it helped haha.
I am still an undergraduate, and will attend graduate school. My question is, if I attend graduate school in Canada are my chances for citizenship higher?
I have been to the Canadian immigration website, but I left confused, and bewildered. I understand that it generally takes about 3 years of residency in Canada before citizenship can even be considered. Can you become a resident by attending school there?
Help me make a really tough move. I want out of here
Unless you apply for, say, landed immigrant status (which I don’t think is an option available to Americans), you’ll need a student visa to attend school in Canada.
As it explains here,
time spent in Canada while a non-permanent resident (i.e., while on a visa) counts as half-time for the three years of residency required before you may apply citizenship.
I’m not an immigration consultant, but I’ve looked at this quite a bit, and I spent four years in Canada on a student visa. Feel free to email me if you have more questions.
Thank you!
So, if I get a student visa, go to school for 2-3 years (that’s 1.5 years residence via the point system), and then all I need to do is reside in Canada for another year and a half and I am gold? If you get a student visa this chance for citizenship is inevitable as long as you stay yes?
You’ll have more “points” towards your application, and certainly having a graduate degree wont hurt your chances, but you’re not a shoe in. Student’s regularly get the boot out of Canada when they finish their degree. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/assess/index.html
Thats the link to the test you can take to see if you qualify to apply (applying doesn’t guarantee citizenship either.)
I just filled the test out for you based on the info posted in this thread, assuming that you don’t speak french, have no spouse, and no family in Canada. Additionally, I’ve assumed that you entered University directly from highschool and will have little or no work experience when you graduate.
It came out to a 71 which means you’re qualified to apply. However, you’re certainly not guaranteed a spot. You might want to find a honey whilest your up here - that will pretty much seal the deal if you can get him or her to marry you.
I believe it’s called “permanent resident status” now - but it’s open to Americans to apply for it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to immigrate to Canada.
The Gaspode raises a good point, namely that if you’re willing to live in a less populous area (i.e. not one of the six or seven largest cities), you’ll have an easier time immigrating to Canada. To that end, here are links to the provincial immigration programs of those provinces without any cities greater than 300,000 people:
[ul][li] Saskatchewan[/li][li] New Brunswick[/li][li] Nova Scotia[/li][li] Prince Edward Island[/li][li] Newfoundland and Labrador[/li][/ul]
There may also be ways to indicate your willingness to settle outside of a large city in the provinces not mentioned here. I know, for example, that if you’re willing to become a doctor in Manitoba outside of the city of Winnipeg, your annual salary will include “two comely lasses of virtue true”, or something along those lines.
BAH! Nonsense - Canada is the land of milk and honey! Everyone is happy and the weather is always perfect. Everyone loves each other and gives each other presents every day. It’s the land of happyness and joy. Well, at least until about the end of November, anyway…
Alice, I beg to differ. I’m finding things just a touch less happy and joyful since we don’t have hockey this year. But otherwise, you’re correct.
Seriously, Shamus, it’s good to hear that you’d like to come. There is plenty of good advice in this thread; especially the linked information.
But if I can ask a question of you, do you know what part of Canada you’d like to live in? Have you been here before? You may want to do some research into the areas and the schools you’d like to attend at the same time as you check out the legal requirements. It’s a big and beautiful country we’ve got, but it is diverse, and you don’t want to spend three years in a place that may not be to your liking. As suranyi correctly points out, we do have our problems, but with a little research ahead of time, you may be able to avoid some of them.
Taking a degree in Canada will give you time to decide if you really want to stay for the long term, and will help you develop local contacts to assist you in finding a local job upon graduation. Having a job in Canada is a very good thing if you want resident status or eventually want citizenship.
End of November? I’ve been cursing this country since Halloween. I saw snow today, dammit.
As for potential immigrants, don’t forget all Canada’s beautiful people. Pretty to look at, easy to marry (though the weakening of the American dollar is making them somewhat less easy to bribe)
You can still be violently killed in Canada. It’s just rarer and far more polite. In Montreal, we average about one murder a week so to be safe, get out of town on Mondays.
