I’m not facing this situation but a story about American film special effects companies moving to Canada had me wondering. I’m an American citizen but suppose I got a good job offer with an employer in Canada. I want to take the job but, for patriotic reasons, I don’t want to give up my American citizenship. Fortunately, my Canadian job is in a city near the border (e.g., Vancouver, B.C. or Windsor, Ontario). However, I’m not sure what would be my best option. Should I live in an American city near the border and commute to my job in Canada? Or, should I just live in Canada as a foreigner? In terms of taxes and international red tape, what would work best for me?
In general if you were working with a medium -> large company, they probably have people who deal with these types of issues and could help you get the necessary documentation. Otherwise you would likely need to obtain the appropriate work permit on your own (wherever you lived).
Regarding commuting, it depends on how long of a commute you are willing to tolerate. If you were planning on commuting across the border, you should consider applying for a Nexus card (to speed up the border crossing process).
In regard to keeping/renouncing American citizenship, most countries don’t allow you to renounce citizenship without another one to fall back on and it would take several years to get Canadian citizenship. I understand it’s pretty difficult to renounce American citizenship anyway.
Either way, as long as you maintained your citizenship, you would need to file taxes in both Canada and the US (there is a tax treaty, so this wouldn’t hurt you as much as it sounds like).
To work in Canada you would need a work permit.
As long as you have a permit it would be your choice as to where you live. You do not need to be a Canadian Citizen to work here, but you would have Canadian taxes deducted from your pay, and you would have to do a tax return in both Canada and the USA.
If you wished to stay permanently you can apply to become a “Permanent Resident”, getting this does not change your citizenship.
As a “PR” you can apply to become a Canadian Citizen, but you dont have to. The only difference is that as a “PR” you cant vote, there are some government jobs that are not open to you, and you can be deported if you are very naughty.
You can be a Citizen of both the USA and Canada.
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While some of this can be answered factually, what is best is ultimately going to be a matter of opinion.
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
I don’t know how the OP got the idea that citizenship is even an issue here. The real issue here is which side of the border has lower rents, and how long it takes to cross. One reason that the San Diego-Tijuana crossing is the busiest in the world is precisely because rents are lower in Tijuana. This is despite that wait times to cross can be one or two hours often.
Border crossing can be an enormous pain in the ass and the idea of doing it twice a day frankly is not advisable unless you really, really enjoy long commutes punctuated by occasional and unpredictable bouts of Junior Fascist League authority complex interrogations. Even with a visa or NEXUS.
Moving to Canada and becoming a permanent resident would not be difficult if you had a job offer, and even gaining Canadian citizenship (which takes years, so this would only be an issue if it was a really good job) would not - contrary to popular belief - force you to abandon American citizenship.
I live in a border town and people commute from the American city all the time. I know someone who does it now and not for a lot of money. I think the rents are comparable in both cities, but I believe his partner is an American and works there. He has a Nexus card and does it every day. I wouldn’t, but lots do.
This is true. According to US law, if you commit an “expatriating act” with the intention of renouncing your US citizenship, then you lose your US citizenship. However, since around 1990 the policy of the US State Department has been certain of these acts (scroll down to the section labeled “Administrative Standard of Evidence” in the above link) don’t really need to be adjudicated in order for such a person to retain their US citizenship. So if you are naturalized in a foreign country, and the State Department becomes aware of this, they will ask you, “Did you do it with the intention to renounce your US citizenship?” If you say “no”, then they’ll believe you and that’s the end of it.
My parents are a case in point. They moved to Canada from the US in 1974, but given their family ties to the US they wanted to be sure they retained their US citizenship, so they lived as “permanent residents” in Canada for many years. Then the State Department policy changed in 1990, and they could acquire Canadian citizenship without needing to go through a time-consuming adjudication with the US State Department. They became naturalized Canadian citizens in 1994, and have retained both citizenships to this day.
You couldn’t pay me enough to cross the border twice a day. The biggest hassle living here is having to file US tax returns, although I never owe anything (you get a tax credit for foreign taxes paid that wipes out any US tax owed), but I have to fill out 3 idiotic foreign bank account forms, one online and the other two on paper, one of which goes with your return and the other to another address. All three have essentially the same information.
My wife and I became citizens about 5 years ago, mainly to avoid having to renew our permanent resident ID cards every five years. I still travel on a US passport.