Moving to Canada with PR, few queries in comparison to Australia

[Silvi6]

Hi Guys,

I got the Canada PR and now planning to move to Canada in a couple of months. I also have a PR of Australia and currently working in Melbourne as a developer in IT.

Before I make a move, certain questions popped up to my mind as I was comparing the 2 countries. I am not comparing the weather.

Most probably I will be going to Sas my current employer is transferring me there.

Below questions are in perspective to Canada.

Bringing Parents - What VISA for them to turn them to PR- Cost and time involved? In Australia, its rediculous, 50K per person. (Dollar value of Australia and Canada is almost same.)

If a child is born to PR holder, Will he/she automatically becomes Canadian Citizen?
(In Australia, yes, the kid will become citizen.)

Kids Education for PR holder? (Its quite cheap in Australia(150$/Month).)

Is it difficult to extend your PR after you have stayed for 2 years out of 5 as a PR ?

How much time does it need on PR to file for the Citizendship?

How much time does it take to become a citizen after filing for citizenship?

How is the healthcare in Canada? In Australia it's good.

What are the benefits in terms of working in US for a Canadian Citizen vs Australian Citizen? (Australian citizen can get E3 work visa easily if they get the Job in US.)

What will be the cost of Living(Rent) in Scarborough area for a couple? I don't have any kid as of now. Also, I am ready to share a house with someone already residing there.

Few things I noticed:-
Owning a car in Canada is alot more expensive than in Australia because of Insurance.
Not sure about Canada Real Estate prices in terms of buying a house, but in Australia(Melbourne), you get a house in 3,50,000$ in Suburbs which
take around 1.5-2 hrs of travel(public transport) to come to the city for work. Any comments on this ?

Public transport is quite good in Australia(150$/month - Melbourne), not sure about Scarborough. Can any one throw any light on this?

All the things/processes in Australia are very clear and streamlined. Mostly are computerised. Even for PR VISA you don't need any Stamp on Pp. I feel the things/Processes in Canada are quite messed up.

Any help in above queries will be highly appreciated and will help me to move.

Thanks
Silvi

 

[Leon]

Hi Guys,

I got the Canada PR and now planning to move to Canada in a couple of months. I also have a PR of Australia and currently working in Melbourne as a developer in IT.

Before I make a move, certain questions popped up to my mind as I was comparing the 2 countries. I am not comparing the weather.

Most probably I will be going to Sas my current employer is transferring me there.

Below questions are in perspective to Canada.

Bringing Parents - What VISA for them to turn them to PR- Cost and time involved? In Australia, its rediculous, 50K per person. (Dollar value of Australia and Canada is almost same.)

If a child is born to PR holder, Will he/she automatically becomes Canadian Citizen?
(In Australia, yes, the kid will become citizen.)

Kids Education for PR holder? (Its quite cheap in Australia(150$/Month).)

Is it difficult to extend your PR after you have stayed for 2 years out of 5 as a PR ?

How much time does it need on PR to file for the Citizendship?

How much time does it take to become a citizen after filing for citizenship?

How is the healthcare in Canada? In Australia it's good.

What are the benefits in terms of working in US for a Canadian Citizen vs Australian Citizen? (Australian citizen can get E3 work visa easily if they get the Job in US.)

What will be the cost of Living(Rent) in Scarborough area for a couple? I don't have any kid as of now. Also, I am ready to share a house with someone already residing there.

Few things I noticed:-
Owning a car in Canada is alot more expensive than in Australia because of Insurance.
Not sure about Canada Real Estate prices in terms of buying a house, but in Australia(Melbourne), you get a house in 3,50,000$ in Suburbs which
take around 1.5-2 hrs of travel(public transport) to come to the city for work. Any comments on this ?

Public transport is quite good in Australia(150$/month - Melbourne), not sure about Scarborough. Can any one throw any light on this?

All the things/processes in Australia are very clear and streamlined. Mostly are computerised. Even for PR VISA you don't need any Stamp on Pp. I feel the things/Processes in Canada are quite messed up.

Any help in above queries will be highly appreciated and will help me to move.

Thanks
Silvi

I can't answer all your questions but at least some of them.

Bringing parents: You have to show that you are making a certain amount of money and have been making that amount of money for at least 3 years before they will consider sponsorship. You can find some info here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5772ETOC.asp For family size, add your current family size to the number of people you want to sponsor. Your spouse may co-sign so you can count your spouse's income as well. Your parents will have to pass medicals before they are allowed to immigrate. You (and your spouse if the co-sign) guarantee that your parents will not be needing welfare in Canada so if they do apply for it, you will be called upon to re-pay it to the Canadian government. Your parents not having worked or lived in Canada will not be eligible for much of, if any, retirement/pension or other benefits. Another thing is that there is a quota on parents so you have to have a courier ready at January 1st to drop your application by CIC because it fills up very fast. Another thing, the processing time for parents is long. Currently working on applications received on or before November 4, 2011. You can bring your parents faster on a super visa which is a prolonged visit visa where they can stay for up to 2 years at a time.

If a child is born in Canada, it automatically gets Canadian citizenship unless the parents are diplomats, UN, foreign military or something along those lines so if you are a PR, foreign worker, student, tourist or illegal and have a baby in Canada, that baby is Canadian.

I don't have school age kids so I do not know if there is a fee for school age kids in Canada but as far as I know, there isn't. As a PR parent living in Canada with your children, you would be eligible for child tax benefit and child care benefit for your kids.

You can only renew your PR card up to 9 months before it expires. If you have at that time spent at least 2 out of the past 5 years in Canada, you don't have any problem renewing it.

You currently need to live in Canada for 4 years before you can apply for citizenship. It was recently changed from 3 to 4 and now there is a new government again and they are saying they are planning on changing it back. You apply under whichever law is in effect when you apply so if they drop it back to 3, you can apply after 3.

Currently they are saying the processing time should be 12 months or less.

I do not know enough to compare healthcare in Australia to Canada but I assume that it is similar. You do have to pay for dental care and medication yourself but most employers offer a supplementary insurance to take care of that. Doctors visits and hospital care is covered. If you move to Ontario, you should make sure you have emergency and accident insurance for the first 3 months because there is a waiting period for healthcare.

A Canadian in certain high skilled professions can easily get a NAFTA visa to work in the US.

Public transport in the Toronto area should be good.

I'd say try it and see how you like it. How long can you stay outside Australia and still keep your PR there?

 

[Rob_TO]

Bringing Parents - What VISA for them to turn them to PR- Cost and time involved? In Australia, its rediculous, 50K per person. (Dollar value of Australia and Canada is almost same.)

After working in Canada for 3 years making minimum necessary income to sponsor your parents, then waiting another year for tax returns, you can then apply to sponsor your parents. So at least 4-5 years after arriving in Canada. And only if you can get your app in to the 5000 annual cap each year on first day of January. App processing then takes another 3+ years.

App is cheap (less than $2000) but parents will need to pass medical exam and not have any serious/expensive conditions.

If a child is born to PR holder, Will he/she automatically becomes Canadian Citizen?
(In Australia, yes, the kid will become citizen.)

Any child born in Canada is automatically a Canadian citizen.

If child born outside Canada to PR holder, child will need to be sponsored for PR.

Kids Education for PR holder? (Its quite cheap in Australia(150$/Month).)

Free (paid for by taxes).

Is it difficult to extend your PR after you have stayed for 2 years out of 5 as a PR ?

No, as long as you meet residency obligation you renew your PR card every 5 years.

How much time does it need on PR to file for the Citizendship?

Current rules are 4 years resident in Canada as a PR out of 6 to qualify for citizenship.

How is the healthcare in Canada? In Australia it's good.

Free (paid by taxes).

What are the benefits in terms of working in US for a Canadian Citizen vs Australian Citizen? (Australian citizen can get E3 work visa easily if they get the Job in US.)

Probably around the same.

Public transport is quite good in Australia(150$/month - Melbourne), not sure about Scarborough. Can any one throw any light on this?

Public transit in Toronto sucks compared to most other major cities in the world. Only a few subway lines, most areas serviced by buses only.

 

[Silvi6]

I can't answer all your questions but at least some of them.

Bringing parents: You have to show that you are making a certain amount of money and have been making that amount of money for at least 3 years before they will consider sponsorship. You can find some info here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5772ETOC.asp For family size, add your current family size to the number of people you want to sponsor. Your spouse may co-sign so you can count your spouse's income as well. Your parents will have to pass medicals before they are allowed to immigrate. You (and your spouse if the co-sign) guarantee that your parents will not be needing welfare in Canada so if they do apply for it, you will be called upon to re-pay it to the Canadian government. Your parents not having worked or lived in Canada will not be eligible for much of, if any, retirement/pension or other benefits. Another thing is that there is a quota on parents so you have to have a courier ready at January 1st to drop your application by CIC because it fills up very fast. Another thing, the processing time for parents is long. Currently working on applications received on or before November 4, 2011. You can bring your parents faster on a super visa which is a prolonged visit visa where they can stay for up to 2 years at a time.

If a child is born in Canada, it automatically gets Canadian citizenship unless the parents are diplomats, UN, foreign military or something along those lines so if you are a PR, foreign worker, student, tourist or illegal and have a baby in Canada, that baby is Canadian.

I don't have school age kids so I do not know if there is a fee for school age kids in Canada but as far as I know, there isn't. As a PR parent living in Canada with your children, you would be eligible for child tax benefit and child care benefit for your kids.

You can only renew your PR card up to 9 months before it expires. If you have at that time spent at least 2 out of the past 5 years in Canada, you don't have any problem renewing it.

You currently need to live in Canada for 4 years before you can apply for citizenship. It was recently changed from 3 to 4 and now there is a new government again and they are saying they are planning on changing it back. You apply under whichever law is in effect when you apply so if they drop it back to 3, you can apply after 3.

Currently they are saying the processing time should be 12 months or less.

I do not know enough to compare healthcare in Australia to Canada but I assume that it is similar. You do have to pay for dental care and medication yourself but most employers offer a supplementary insurance to take care of that. Doctors visits and hospital care is covered. If you move to Ontario, you should make sure you have emergency and accident insurance for the first 3 months because there is a waiting period for healthcare.

A Canadian in certain high skilled professions can easily get a NAFTA visa to work in the US.

Public transport in the Toronto area should be good.

I'd say try it and see how you like it. How long can you stay outside Australia and still keep your PR there?

Thanks Leon.
I can stay outside of Australia for 2 years but I want to get settle down because I am already in my early 30's.
Just had a word with one of my Friend. I dont remember where he is living. But he is somewhere near to Toronto(in Ontario).
He is living there with family i.e with a kid and spouse. He says its very expensive and would need around 4000$/Month.

He is paying 1300$ as a monthly rent and other bills would be somewhere around 600$ per month.
around 37-40$ for a daily office commute.

Don't know why its so expensive.

 

[Silvi6]

After working in Canada for 3 years making minimum necessary income to sponsor your parents, then waiting another year for tax returns, you can then apply to sponsor your parents. So at least 4-5 years after arriving in Canada. And only if you can get your app in to the 5000 annual cap each year on first day of January. App processing then takes another 3+ years.

App is cheap (less than $2000) but parents will need to pass medical exam and not have any serious/expensive conditions.

Any child born in Canada is automatically a Canadian citizen.

If child born outside Canada to PR holder, child will need to be sponsored for PR.

Free (paid for by taxes).

No, as long as you meet residency obligation you renew your PR card every 5 years.

Current rules are 4 years resident in Canada as a PR out of 6 to qualify for citizenship.

Free (paid by taxes).

Probably around the same.

Public transit in Toronto sucks compared to most other major cities in the world. Only a few subway lines, most areas serviced by buses only.

Thanks Rob.
Yeah I heard that transport is not so good. Even costly too.

 

[Silvi6]

Is the transport in Toronto 24/7 ? What's the frequency of Street Cars, buses and trains during day and night ?

Thanks
Silvi

 

[steaky]

Not sure about Canada Real Estate prices in terms of buying a house, but in Australia(Melbourne), you get a house in 3,50,000$ in Suburbs which take around 1.5-2 hrs of travel(public transport) to come to the city for work. Any comments on this ?

I went to couple of open houses available in my area in the suburbs of Metro Vancouver - one $1.2 million 1950s detached house and the other $1.5 million 1930s detached house. Both about 1-2 hrs of travel (public transport) to downtown Vancouver.

 

[Silvi6]

I went to couple of open houses available in my area in the suburbs of Metro Vancouver - one $1.2 million 1950s detached house and the other $1.5 million 1930s detached house. Both about 1-2 hrs of travel (public transport) to downtown Vancouver.

That's too high !!!!

 

[Leon]

Vancouver has higher housing prices. You can compare here: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Canada&country2=Canada&city1=Toronto&city2=Vancouver

You can look for places to rent on craigslist for example to see what the rent is like. You can look at realtor.ca to find houses and condos for sale.

Most buses and trams don't run through the night but there is bare bones transport system that still runs, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Night_Network

 

[alok4best]

Thanks Leon.
I can stay outside of Australia for 2 years but I want to get settle down because I am already in my early 30's.
Just had a word with one of my Friend. I dont remember where he is living. But he is somewhere near to Toronto(in Ontario).
He is living there with family i.e with a kid and spouse. He says its very expensive and would need around 4000$/Month.

He is paying 1300$ as a monthly rent and other bills would be somewhere around 600$ per month.
around 37-40$ for a daily office commute.

Don't know why its so expensive.

Well, that's not exactly a very accurate picture. The pass for public transport (TTC) is 140$ a month of which you can easily get arnd 25% back at end of the year, as money spent on public transport passes are tax free. And trust me, though there are only few Subway(Metro) lines, TTC covers a vast area compared to many other cities I have seen. Most of the cities I have lived in have their public transport divided in zones, so the farther you travel, the more you pay. TTC is flat rate and covers around 30KMs distance in any direction, which is huge.
For 4K a month, you can live a very comfortable and relaxed life. For a decent middle class life, 3K would be sufficient.
If you have kids, you get childcare benefits for them. So essentially most of the money required to raise a kid comes from the government.
I have lived in London and Frankfurt for a significant time, in addition to India (Bangalore). Leaving B'lore out of the discussion, London was shit expensive, Frankfurt was kinda okay (rent was expensive). Toronto has mostly been cheaper than the two.

What I found cheaper in Toronto (compared to London and Frankfurt)
i. Rent - For 1000 Euros a month, I was living in a small studio in Frankfurt. London, I would not even like to comment. For 1600$ a month, I am able to live in one of the most upscale locations in downtown Toronto, and in a spacious 1.5 BHK condominium.
ii. Groceries except vegetables.
iii. Cinema tickets.
iii. Home ownership - for around 0.5-0.7 million, you can afford a decent sized townhouse or a semi-detached home.
What i found costlier
i. Green veggies. just slightly costlier. probably because most of it is imported.
iii. Internet - 70 odd dollars a month for a 100mbps line.
iii. Cable TV - very expensive and not worth. north of 100 dollars a month for a decent channel selection.
iv. Car insurance - ridiculous. in the range of 300$ a month or so, to give an idea.
v. Rail tickets - Rail network sucks in Canada. And it's slow. It's as slow as Indian railway, only a thousand times costlier.
What I found at par:
Eating out, clothes,phone bill, public transport, cost of a car, petrol etc.

I hope it helps.

 

[Silvi6]

Vancouver has higher housing prices. You can compare here: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Canada&country2=Canada&city1=Toronto&city2=Vancouver

You can look for places to rent on craigslist for example to see what the rent is like. You can look at realtor.ca to find houses and condos for sale.

Most buses and trams don't run through the night but there is bare bones transport system that still runs, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Night_Network

Thanks Leon

 

[Silvi6]

Well, that's not exactly a very accurate picture. The pass for public transport (TTC) is 140$ a month of which you can easily get arnd 25% back at end of the year, as money spent on public transport passes are tax free. And trust me, though there are only few Subway(Metro) lines, TTC covers a vast area compared to many other cities I have seen. Most of the cities I have lived in have their public transport divided in zones, so the farther you travel, the more you pay. TTC is flat rate and covers around 30KMs distance in any direction, which is huge.
For 4K a month, you can live a very comfortable and relaxed life. For a decent middle class life, 3K would be sufficient.
If you have kids, you get childcare benefits for them. So essentially most of the money required to raise a kid comes from the government.
I have lived in London and Frankfurt for a significant time, in addition to India (Bangalore). Leaving B'lore out of the discussion, London was *censored word* expensive, Frankfurt was kinda okay (rent was expensive). Toronto has mostly been cheaper than the two.

What I found cheaper in Toronto (compared to London and Frankfurt)
i. Rent - For 1000 Euros a month, I was living in a small studio in Frankfurt. London, I would not even like to comment. For 1600$ a month, I am able to live in one of the most upscale locations in downtown Toronto, and in a spacious 1.5 BHK condominium.
ii. Groceries except vegetables.
iii. Cinema tickets.
iii. Home ownership - for around 0.5-0.7 million, you can afford a decent sized townhouse or a semi-detached home.
What i found costlier
i. Green veggies. just slightly costlier. probably because most of it is imported.
iii. Internet - 70 odd dollars a month for a 100mbps line.
iii. Cable TV - very expensive and not worth. north of 100 dollars a month for a decent channel selection.
iv. Car insurance - ridiculous. in the range of 300$ a month or so, to give an idea.
v. Rail tickets - Rail network sucks in Canada. And it's slow. It's as slow as Indian railway, only a thousand times costlier.
What I found at par:
Eating out, clothes,phone bill, public transport, cost of a car, petrol etc.

I hope it helps.

Thanks lot alok.

It seems Canada is also expensive like Australia or even more in some cases.

Transport rates look similar but in Melbourne, transport is very very good. Different options like Trams, Buses, Trains. Cover almost all areas.
There are few markets in Melbourne which has all Indian kind of groceries, veggies..It takes around 150-200$ per month for groceries.
Rent here in sharing is 1000-1300$ per month for couple including all bills and internet. Or 1300-1500$/month for 1BHK, bills separate.
Phone here is 50$/month with calls to India/Australia free and includes 2.5 GB of data as well.
Cinema tickets here is somewhere around 20-21$.
The amount of insurance someone pays in Toronto for a year, can buy you a car in Australia(ofcourse used). Do you know if we can get a car registered/insured in other province and drive it in Toronto ?


I would be going to work somewhere in Scarborough, Toronto. So will find some place near to it which could be accessible by public transport. Can you please suggest what all places should I look for ? within distance of 20-30 mins(public transport) ?
My idea is to manage in 1800-2000$/month including all bills and rent and groceries. I am ready to share the house, though I would be staying with my spouse, but we can manage as initially my wife won't be working and have stayed earlier in Australia as well.
Do you think 1800-2000 would be sufficient?

 

[steaky]

Do you know if we can get a car registered/insured in other province and drive it in Toronto ?

You can certainly get a car registered/insured in Vancouver and drive it to Toronto, however, the insurance might be pretty much the same. BC counts years of foreign driving experience and offer them discounts, while Ontario does not.

 

[alok4best]

Thanks lot alok.

It seems Canada is also expensive like Australia or even more in some cases.

Transport rates look similar but in Melbourne, transport is very very good. Different options like Trams, Buses, Trains. Cover almost all areas.
There are few markets in Melbourne which has all Indian kind of groceries, veggies..It takes around 150-200$ per month for groceries.
Rent here in sharing is 1000-1300$ per month for couple including all bills and internet. Or 1300-1500$/month for 1BHK, bills separate.
Phone here is 50$/month with calls to India/Australia free and includes 2.5 GB of data as well.
Cinema tickets here is somewhere around 20-21$.
The amount of insurance someone pays in Toronto for a year, can buy you a car in Australia(ofcourse used). Do you know if we can get a car registered/insured in other province and drive it in Toronto ?


I would be going to work somewhere in Scarborough, Toronto. So will find some place near to it which could be accessible by public transport. Can you please suggest what all places should I look for ? within distance of 20-30 mins(public transport) ?
My idea is to manage in 1800-2000$/month including all bills and rent and groceries. I am ready to share the house, though I would be staying with my spouse, but we can manage as initially my wife won't be working and have stayed earlier in Australia as well.
Do you think 1800-2000 would be sufficient?

With total cost cutting, you can survive with 2K. You can rent out a small basement apartment, which in Scarborough should be max 1K.
Indian groceries including spices are readily available in Toronto. You do not have to necessarily go to an Indian store.
You even get Kurkure in Walmart. lol. Scarborough is also covered by Toronto Transit Commission. It's part of what we call Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Buses are quite frequent. Don't expect to be able to do a lot of shopping, movies and eat-outs though. In 2K you will just be managing to scrape through.
High level breakup:
Rent - 1K. A small basement apartment. You usually get fridge, stove (Induction), oven, microwave, washing machine with the house. So no need to buy these.
Groceries - 300-400.
Phone for both and home internet - 100. Basic phone plans. Slower home internet (20mbps or so).
Calls to India - You can use google hangout. It's 1 UC cent a minute. Or else, get a vonage phone for 20odd dollars a month for unlimited calling.
I am not a heavy phone user, so I use Google voice. A 10USD recharge normally lasts 2-3 months for me. Calling within Canada and US is free.
Transportation - 200. I have considered 140 for your pass, and 60 for your wife, for her occasional TTC rides.
Public transport is decent, if not extraordinary. Where will be your office. I can give an idea of travel times based on that.
Misc (like one off movies- night outs and a bit of shopping) - 300-400.


Let me know if you need any other info.

 

[Silvi6]

You can certainly get a car registered/insured in Vancouver and drive it to Toronto, however, the insurance might be pretty much the same. BC counts years of foreign driving experience and offer them discounts, while Ontario does not.

Thanks Steaky. I think insurance is cheaper in Manitoba. May be I can get a car insured from there and drive it in Toronto.