Logistics involved with emigrating to Canada???

[Harriet Vane]

Folks, a Toronto company is talking seriously to dh about a job. I am alternately hyperventilating and thrilled with the possibilities.

 

What specifically are the logistics of emigrating to Canada? (We are currently in Chicago.) What kinds of issues do I need to think through in contemplating such a move?

 

On a different note, I give a lot of time and attention every week to my five young cousins whose mother has a brain tumor. (She lives in a nursing home, wheelchair-bound with brain damage.) I am quite concerned about how the young ones will cope without me, and how my dear aunt with the brain tumor will cope without my visits to her. She and I grew up together, and I am one of the few people who she actually remembers. There is no one else in her life who sits and tells her stories from her life (her childhood, her wedding, etc.) Is it realistic to think that I can come back once a month for a long weekend??? Mapquest says it's a nine hour drive. I am good with car trips--I took my kids last year on a 2 week car trip all over the country by myself.

 

Thanks.

[J-rap]

***

Edited February 18, 2023 by J-rap

[Hedgehog]

Well - we're also contemplating a move to Canada, so I'll tell you what I have planned. Dh is Canadian, I'm British. We own a house here, that we cannot sell (thanks to the economy).

 

1) Dispose of all unnecessary stuff in the house (I'm doing this now) - either junk it or give it to charity

2) Move out of our owned house to a rented place in London (Dh aims to get next contract in the City anyway)

3) Give owned house a lick of paint and rent it out

4) Dh to confirm job offer in Canada

5) Start my spouse visa application with the Canadian High Commission (9mos to process)

6) Obtain Canadian passports for dc

7) Discuss with vet the best way to transport pets

8) Research costs of vehicles and house rentals

9) Look about for cheap flights

 

Just before we move -

 

1) Send across anything we can't fit in our suitcases, maybe with a freight carrier to a storage facility at our destination

2) Make arrangements on flights for pets

3) Arrange a hire car for until we buy our own

 

When we arrive -

 

1) Find and buy a suitable vehicle

2) Find and rent accommodation

 

And from now until then - save, save, save!!!

[elfgivas]

dd and her husband emigrated to canada this summer. dd has dual citizenship, so for her it was a matter of crossing the border and saying 'yes' to resuming residency. her dh got a work visa in 8 weeks. the website is excellent, and dd and dsil didn't find any steps that were not mentioned. you can come back to the states, unlike canadian immigrants to the states, who cannot go back until their green card is processed (which for me took three YEARS after i emigrated!)

 

hth,

ann

 

pm me if you need more info, but really, check the website.

 

ps. car: you can register your car after it is examined and found to meet canadian requirements Or you pay to fix it until it does. it takes both a federal and a provincial approval, done separately. they got the federal and two months later are getting the provincial. changing a california driver's license to an alberta one was a matter of walking through the door and taking the written test and an eye exam. no in car exam. each profince will be different though. coming the other way, canada to california, i had to do a written and an incar, and an eye exam.... even though the website said i didn't!

[Colleen in NS]

What specifically are the logistics of emigrating to Canada? (We are currently in Chicago.) What kinds of issues do I need to think through in contemplating such a move?

 

Is it realistic to think that I can come back once a month for a long weekend??? Mapquest says it's a nine hour drive. I am good with car trips--I took my kids last year on a 2 week car trip all over the country by myself.

 

I would think that if the company hires dh, they will be able to answer a lot of your questions and help you with whatever paperwork. However, here is another early hopeful "Welcome!"

 

I immigrated here to Canada about 16 years ago, but under different circumstances. My dh is Canadian, so we married in the States, then I just went over the border as a visitor, and applied in Canada for "landed immigrant status" or "permanent residency" (like an American "green card") as the spouse of a Canadian. The whole process took about a year, but I was allowed to apply for a work visa during that year, so that I was allowed to stay in Canada with dh beyond the 6 month visitor status. But, before I obtained my permanent residency status, I had to stay in Canada - if I had left, I would have had to start the whole process over again, possibly from the States and away from dh. So - not sure about your ability to go back to Chicago once a month. It all depends on your status here, and you might have to wait.

 

I don't live in Toronto, but I live near it. (Waterloo). Sorry I can't help with your question. But here is a early, hopeful "Welcome to Canada".

 

Hey, I used to live in Cambridge! That's where I met dh. We have friends around that whole area, including homeschoolers.

 

you can come back to the states, unlike canadian immigrants to the states,

 

That wasn't my experience. I had to stay in Canada until I got my permanent residency. It took about a year.

 

Strider, Toronto is a fun city, and there are many beautiful places outside TO to visit. Cambridge is fun, St. Jacob's is a nice little town, Niagara Falls, etc. etc.. I hope this all works out for you and that you come to peace about the health care stuff, too. Let us know how things go!

 

P.S. a little story about health care - when I first arrived in Ontario on a student visa, I was able to sign up for OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan). Before I left NJ, where I had been living, I was having some health issues, and had little cash. I saw a doc in NJ, who promptly wanted to do all sorts of tests, and I had to walk out because I didn't have the money for them. A few weeks later, I arrived in Ontario, and was surprised to find I could sign up for OHIP. Well, that enabled me to go see a doc there about my problem, and he signed me up for ONE test at the hospital. I asked him why just one, when the NJ doc wanted me to do so many more. He basically said he does one thing at a time to start ruling things out, and does more if need be, but that the NJ doc was probably protecting himself, but that that wasn't necessary here. He was just so much calmer than my NJ doc about it all, and he helped me solve my medical problem. I've always been grateful for the way things work here, medical-insurance wise.

Edited September 29, 2010 by Colleen in NS

[Harriet Vane]

Thanks ever so much for all the helpful information!!! I am more than a little freaked out about the possibility of having to stay in Canada while working out the paperwork, but we'll continue to pray through this and see what we figure out.

 

There's another company much closer to home with whom dh is also interviewing. If we get an offer from Toronto, then dh is going to ask the closer company if they want to counter.

 

Or, nothing may come of it. Watching and waiting . . .

[Colleen in NS]

Thanks ever so much for all the helpful information!!! I am more than a little freaked out about the possibility of having to stay in Canada while working out the paperwork, but we'll continue to pray through this and see what we figure out.

 

There's another company much closer to home with whom dh is also interviewing. If we get an offer from Toronto, then dh is going to ask the closer company if they want to counter.

 

Or, nothing may come of it. Watching and waiting . . .

 

Oops, I added a note to my post while you were posting.

 

Anyway, don't freak out about having to stay here! I don't know if that will be the case for you, with your dh having to get a work visa....I just don't know how spouses work out in that situation. Maybe something will work out for your cousins if you have to stay here, but please don't freak out. :) Although, I know how nerve-wracking it is to emigrate. If you do have to stay for awhile, think of it as a long field trip. :D Oh, and you could always take a trip to "Lower Canada" and visit me, ha ha!

[elfgivas]

i think the difference is whether you cross the border as a visitor or with a visa. my dsil crossed with a visa to take up permanent residence, but was allowed to visit dd as much as he wanted before it came through as long as he could show he was still a usa resident. if you cross as a visitor and then apply, you are stuck until the application is processed. if you cross with a visa, then you are able to come back. but the canadian immigration website is excellent, and will help you sort it out.

 

good luck!

ann