moving from US to Canada with a US PR/Green card holder (spouse)

[onthemove2016]

Hello,

I am a dual US/Canadian citizen currently living with my wife (non-citizen - PR/Green card holder) here in the US. We are considering moving to Canada and I'm not sure what the best way would be to process her paperwork. I have not lived in Canada since I was a child. It is my understanding that US permanent residents do not require a visa to travel to Canada to visit. Would it be possible for me to get a job in Canada, have her visit me and apply - inland- I think it is- from there? Is it true now that she would be able to work while waiting for PR to be approved/processed?

Many thanks!

 

[canusa13]

Hello,

I am a dual US/Canadian citizen currently living with my wife (non-citizen - PR/Green card holder) here in the US. We are considering moving to Canada and I'm not sure what the best way would be to process her paperwork. I have not lived in Canada since I was a child. It is my understanding that US permanent residents do not require a visa to travel to Canada to visit. Would it be possible for me to get a job in Canada, have her visit me and apply - inland- I think it is- from there? Is it true now that she would be able to work while waiting for PR to be approved/processed?

Many thanks!

What passport does she have? Not sure if American Green card gives her the right to visit Canada. After all, she needs to show a passport at the border. Depending if she comes from a visa-exempt country or not, she'll either be ok to travel to Canada or not.

If you apply inland, she can apply for a work permit. Though, inland applications take longer than outland. In some cases, the whole outland application takes as much time as just obtaining work permit in inland application (and she can't travel abroad until she gets her PR, so that's also something to think about). You should check the outland office for your wife and see how long the process takes and make decision based on that.

Another issue: if you guys move to Canada before she becomes US citizen, she'll need to abandon her Green Card. I'm actually about to do the same. As a Green Card holder, if she permanently moves to another country, her status is gone. You need to file for abandonment. Otherwise, if you don't file for abandonment and they find out that she moved (i.e. when you cross the border or IRS figures it out), they will strip her of the Green Card and might even ban her from the US. So, that's also something to consider.

 

[Californiacicle]

My husband, a Canadian citizen, was a green card holder for 18 years in the States. When we moved to Canada 6 years ago we had no idea he would have to surrender his green card. Yes, we were naive about the process for both he and myself. He ended up having to surrender it at the Toronto airport on a visit back to the States less than a year after our move and we ended up missing our plane over all of the hoopla. They said he'd be able to get it back if we ever did move back as he had already an alien number but it was taken obviously.

For my situation, I applied for PR inland. I had a visitor visa and as my PR took years to get I had to border cross with all of my paperwork several times to renew my visa. Most agents were very nice and would give me a year extension, a couple gave me 6 months. I could not work or go to school per my visa.

 

[canusa13]

My husband, a Canadian citizen, was a green card holder for 18 years in the States. When we moved to Canada 6 years ago we had no idea he would have to surrender his green card. Yes, we were naive about the process for both he and myself. He ended up having to surrender it at the Toronto airport on a visit back to the States less than a year after our move and we ended up missing our plane over all of the hoopla. They said he'd be able to get it back if we ever did move back as he had already an alien number but it was taken obviously.

For my situation, I applied for PR inland. I had a visitor visa and as my PR took years to get I had to border cross with all of my paperwork several times to renew my visa. Most agents were very nice and would give me a year extension, a couple gave me 6 months. I could not work or go to school per my visa.

Yes, it's possible to apply for a Green Card again if you still qualify (i.e. are married to American citizen). You need to surrender your Green Card when you move out of US though. Good thing your husband didn't get into more trouble. I've heard many horror stories; people were treated very poorly and some got banned for 10 years from the US. It really depends on the officer (as always). Better safe than sorry. I'm giving mine up soon, just need to fill out and mail the paperwork. Then again, I don't think I will ever move to the US again.

 

[onthemove2016]

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful and valuable information.

I hadn't considered that my wife would have to give up her green card. I ignorantly assumed that a ten year green card would make it so that we could have the option of moving back to the US whenever we wanted/needed without having to re-apply for one. Asuuming we moved and applied inland, do you think she would have to give it up before Canadian Immigration makes a decision regarding her PR status in Canada? I don't think we would want to do that without Canadian PR in hand.

My wife is from Thailand and has a Thai passport. It does appear that now all US green card holders can enter Canada without a visa, however, in March 2016 visitors arriving by air will have to fill out an ETA online, like visitors to Australia have to do. I am not sure how long the duration of stay would be. Case by case basis?

I am not allowed to post links, but you can find it on the CIC website.

Some further questions:

It appears that if we applied inland that my wife might be able to work without a lengthy application for a work permit. I guess they changed the regulations in 2014. What do you make of this? am I reading that wrong?

again, I can't post links but the family sponsorship page of the CIC website seems to indicate this.

If my wife still had to wait for a work permit, do you think she could go back to school while waiting? Could she change her visitor visa to one that allowed her to study?

As for applying outland, do you think that my wife would have to apply at the outland office for her home country or would she be able to apply at the outland office in the US? We do not particularly want to make a special trip back to Asia for an interview or anything like that.

Thanks again for all of your help. I'm glad I signed up here.