Benefits and drawbacks of Canadian Citizenship

[oscargerst]

My wife and I are US citizens and recently learned that she may be eligible for Canadian citizenship through her mother. We believe from what we have read that because her mother was born in Canada in the 1930's and moved to the US after marrying a US citizen, that my wife is eligible.

Assuming this is true, we have the following questions:
1) Can she be a dual citizen - with US/Canada?
2) How do I (as her husband) go about becoming a Canadian citizen (once she is one)?
3) If we stay in the US is there any benefit or drawback of becoming a Candian citizen?
4) Same question as #3, but if we move to Canada?

Thank you for your responses in advance.
Oscar

 

[Empirical]

Are you happy where you are right now? Why bother then?

Yes, dual US/Canadian citizenship is quite common, and she will need to sponsor you (meaning it might take you a year to become a permanent resident of Canada, and at least 3 more years of living in Canada to obtain citizenship). It will take some paperwork (quite a lot of it), and several 1000's of dollars.

Unless you have a good reason to move to Canada, it's not worth it in my humble opinion.

 

[oscargerst]

Are you happy where you are right now? Why bother then?

Yes, dual US/Canadian citizenship is quite common, and she will need to sponsor you (meaning it might take you a year to become a permanent resident of Canada, and at least 3 more years of living in Canada to obtain citizenship). It will take some paperwork (quite a lot of it), and several 1000's of dollars.

Unless you have a good reason to move to Canada, it's not worth it in my humble opinion.

Thank you. I guess we are at the point of being empty-nesters and thinking about moving and if we can live in Canada then that gives us more choices. I assume there are advantages/disadvantages related to taxes/health care/etc. We would be willing to deal with paperwork and thousands of dollars if the benefits outway the negatives. We have relatives living in Canada now.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you. I guess we are at the point of being empty-nesters and thinking about moving and if we can live in Canada then that gives us more choices. I assume there are advantages/disadvantages related to taxes/health care/etc. We would be willing to deal with paperwork and thousands of dollars if the benefits outway the negatives. We have relatives living in Canada now.

No one can tell you if the benefits outweigh the negatives. That is entirely based on your own personal views, situation, life expectations, etc., etc.

 

[meyakanor]

There is no citizenship based taxation for Canadian citizens, so in that sense, there should not be any drawbacks. Maybe if you are planning to become a Canadian or a US politician, they would make you renounce for optics purposes, but I sense that this is not what you're planning to do.

While there might not be many drawbacks, there would be challenges in actually obtaining it. You cannot simply 'apply for citizenship' based on your marriage to a Canadian citizen. You first would have to be sponsored to become a permanent resident, which would take about 18 months. Then you would have to be physically present in Canada for at least 3 years within the past 5 year period, in order to be eligible to apply, and then budget for another 12 - 13 months for citizenship processing.

So as you can see, it would take a while, and you would actually have to be (as in physically present) in Canada to qualify for grant of citizenship.

If you start the permanent residence application process soon (as in, tomorrow), you'd be about 5 to 6 years away from actually becoming a Canadian citizen (and that is already assuming that you would live in Canada for much of the time you are a permanent resident, and have not many absences). '

Oh, also factor in about 6 to 8 months for your wife to be able to obtain the citizenship certificate, so at this point, you may be about 6 to 7 years away from actually becoming a citizen (and that is, assuming you won't have many absences in Canada, and you start the process soon, as in tomorrow).

Good luck,

 

[oscargerst]

There is no citizenship based taxation for Canadian citizens, so in that sense, there should not be any drawbacks. Maybe if you are planning to become a Canadian or a US politician, they would make you renounce for optics purposes, but I sense that this is not what you're planning to do.

While there might not be many drawbacks, there would be challenges in actually obtaining it. You cannot simply 'apply for citizenship' based on your marriage to a Canadian citizen. You first would have to be sponsored to become a permanent resident, which would take about 18 months. Then you would have to be physically present in Canada for at least 3 years within the past 5 year period, in order to be eligible to apply, and then budget for another 12 - 13 months for citizenship processing.

So as you can see, it would take a while, and you would actually have to be (as in physically present) in Canada to qualify for grant of citizenship.

If you start the permanent residence application process soon (as in, tomorrow), you'd be about 5 to 6 years away from actually becoming a Canadian citizen (and that is already assuming that you would live in Canada for much of the time you are a permanent resident, and have not many absences). '

Oh, also factor in about 6 to 8 months for your wife to be able to obtain the citizenship certificate, so at this point, you may be about 6 to 7 years away from actually becoming a citizen (and that is, assuming you won't have many absences in Canada, and you start the process soon, as in tomorrow).

Good luck,

Thank you! This is very helpful.

 

[keesio]

I assume there are advantages/disadvantages related to taxes/health care/etc.

A big drawback of moving to Canada would be your US expat tax requirements. It is a major issue for Americans who live outside the USA.

 

[itsmyid]

My wife and I are US citizens and recently learned that she may be eligible for Canadian citizenship through her mother. We believe from what we have read that because her mother was born in Canada in the 1930's and moved to the US after marrying a US citizen, that my wife is eligible.

Assuming this is true, we have the following questions:
1) Can she be a dual citizen - with US/Canada?
2) How do I (as her husband) go about becoming a Canadian citizen (once she is one)?
3) If we stay in the US is there any benefit or drawback of becoming a Candian citizen?
4) Same question as #3, but if we move to Canada?

Thank you for your responses in advance.
Oscar

You can only become citizen if your wife moves to Canada and sponsor you for permanent resident, then after you have become PR for more than 3 years you will be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship

 

[oscargerst]

A big drawback of moving to Canada would be your US expat tax requirements. It is a major issue for Americans who live outside the USA.

This is probably my biggest concern. Can it be explained simply? I know I would always have to file/pay US taxes, but I know there are details here related to tax treaties between the US and Canada.

 

[mgnlky]

A big drawback of moving to Canada would be your US expat tax requirements. It is a major issue for Americans who live outside the USA.

As a US Citizen & a Canadian PR, I can confirm this can be an epic pain in the ***. That being said, I have every intention of applying for Canadian Citizenship once eligible. For me, it's worth it. I think it's a personal decision really based on personal priorities.

I suggest reading up on the "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE)" and the "Foreign Tax Credit" for US taxes.

https://www.americansabroad.org/us-taxes-abroad-for-dummies-update/

 

[keesio]

This is probably my biggest concern. Can it be explained simply? I know I would always have to file/pay US taxes, but I know there are details here related to tax treaties between the US and Canada.

Yes there is a tax treaty but it is complicated and accountant fees who specialize in crossborder taxation can be pricey.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/taxes/us-citizens-living-in-canada-beware-these-five-tax-traps/article37658751/

 

[Joshua1]

My wife and I are US citizens and recently learned that she may be eligible for Canadian citizenship through her mother. We believe from what we have read that because her mother was born in Canada in the 1930's and moved to the US after marrying a US citizen, that my wife is eligible.

Assuming this is true, we have the following questions:
1) Can she be a dual citizen - with US/Canada?
2) How do I (as her husband) go about becoming a Canadian citizen (once she is one)?
3) If we stay in the US is there any benefit or drawback of becoming a Candian citizen?
4) Same question as #3, but if we move to Canada?

Thank you for your responses in advance.
Oscar

Number one benefit to move to Canada (based on your stage of life) is healthcare. People go bankrupt in the US everyday for this reason.

 

[canuck78]

Number one benefit to move to Canada (based on your stage of life) is healthcare. People go bankrupt in the US everyday for this reason.

If they are already retired they likely already have coverage. Many things in Canada are not covered when it comes to healthcare and they will not have a Canadian pension. They will have social security. If they have no family around they may need to pay for more help and care. The cost of living is often higher in Canada versus many areas in the US. It is far from an obvious decision. Unless there is a very good reason to move I would probably stay in the US.