Sponsorship by a dual citizen

[saria1]

I recently mailed off my application for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate, since my father was a naturalized Canadian from Italy before I was born. I'm a USA citizen and so is my husband. We have a son, who will not qualify for citizenship, since he was 2nd generation born abroad (born in 2008). Looking at the timelines, I'm not expecting my certificate to arrive until around the holiday season or early next year. We are contemplating a move in a few years, it's time to get out of Jersey, we're tired of the exceptionally rude people! We're throwing around Austin, Seattle and Vancouver BC as possibilities since my husband is a software engineer (ruby, node and javascript) and these are some bigger markets for him.

If I apply for PR for my son and husband upon receipt of my certificate, how long does the average outbound PR for a Canadian citizen take from the USA? How long does one have before they have to land in Canada? If we were to attain PR for my son and husband but choose to move to Austin (as an example), will I have essentially "burned the bridges" for them ever being granted PR in the future?

Another possibility, would it be better for my husband to attain a job in Vancouver, if we decide to go there, and then have the employer sponsor him?

One last question for those in the know, is the Canadian education system (primarily British Columbia) better than the American system, for kids?

Thank you for your help and knowledge.

 

[BubbOZ]

Outland spousal applications take approximately 15 months to process with the Ottawa-CPC office.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp#west

Once their Confirmation of PR (COPR) status is given, both your husband and son will have to land/arrive in Canada within a specified time to claim their PR statuses.

Your husband could apply for a temporary work visa under NAFTA.
http://www.canadaworkvisa.ca/info/nafta1.php

As for your son's legal ability to go to school, I think he can start once you (the Canadian mother) arrive:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-minors.asp

It says, "
In some cases, minor children do not need a study permit to study in Canada. These cases include:

* minor children attending kindergarten;
* minor children who are refugees or refugee claimants, or whose parents are refugees or refugee claimants; and
* minor children who are already in Canada with parents who are allowed to work or study in Canada, and who want to attend pre-school, primary or secondary school.

When minor children studying in Canada without a permit reach the age of majority (turn 18 or 19 depending on the province or territory), they must apply for a permit if they want to continue studying."

Since you can study and work in Canada, I think your son as a minor will be able to go to school without a study permit. Once he's a PR, then wont need a study permit, of course.

The education system is a provincial jurisdiction so it'll be like asking whether the education system in NJ is better than Texas...

And be prepared to pay higher taxes...

I recently mailed off my application for a Canadian Citizenship Certificate, since my father was a naturalized Canadian from Italy before I was born. I'm a USA citizen and so is my husband. We have a son, who will not qualify for citizenship, since he was 2nd generation born abroad (born in 2008). Looking at the timelines, I'm not expecting my certificate to arrive until around the holiday season or early next year. We are contemplating a move in a few years, it's time to get out of Jersey, we're tired of the exceptionally rude people! We're throwing around Austin, Seattle and Vancouver BC as possibilities since my husband is a software engineer (ruby, node and javascript) and these are some bigger markets for him.

If I apply for PR for my son and husband upon receipt of my certificate, how long does the average outbound PR for a Canadian citizen take from the USA? How long does one have before they have to land in Canada? If we were to attain PR for my son and husband but choose to move to Austin (as an example), will I have essentially "burned the bridges" for them ever being granted PR in the future?

Another possibility, would it be better for my husband to attain a job in Vancouver, if we decide to go there, and then have the employer sponsor him?

One last question for those in the know, is the Canadian education system (primarily British Columbia) better than the American system, for kids?

Thank you for your help and knowledge.

 

[agarand8]

If I apply for PR for my son and husband upon receipt of my certificate, how long does the average outbound PR for a Canadian citizen take from the USA? How long does one have before they have to land in Canada? If we were to attain PR for my son and husband but choose to move to Austin (as an example), will I have essentially "burned the bridges" for them ever being granted PR in the future?

Another possibility, would it be better for my husband to attain a job in Vancouver, if we decide to go there, and then have the employer sponsor him?

One last question for those in the know, is the Canadian education system (primarily British Columbia) better than the American system, for kids?

Although 15 months is I'm assuming the posted timeframe for Ottawa, that's like a worst case scenario timeframe. You're more likely to be approved in under a year.

When they approve the PR the amount of time you have to actually go to canada varies from case to case. For your application your husband and son will need to undergo medical exams, these medical exams need to be valid at the time that they do their landing as PRs. So if you are approved in under a year you may have just a few months, if your application takes over a year to process they might ask for you to redo the medicals and in that case you might have a longer period before you have to land.

As a part of their PR application you as the Canadian will need to prove that you have intentions of returning to Canada with them once they are granted the PR. If you approach the application with the maybe we will, maybe we won't kind of idea you are unlikely to get approved. CIC will want some sort of proof that you actually are going to move to canada whether it be a job offer, a lease agreement on a property, something of that nature. So I think that unless you've actually decided to move to canada, you should hold off on the application altogether.

I think in your situation it would be better to go for PR instead of a workers visa for your husband, especially if you are planning to live there long term. A workers visa will get your husband entry to canada, but I don't think you could just bring your son along, I'm not sure exactly. And it can be difficult to find employers who are interested in doing labour market opinions and such to bring in foreign workers as it costs them money and time. Not to mention these visas need to be renewed, where as I think the PR is good for at least 5 years and if you meet the requirements you can go for your citizenship within that 5 years and you're good forever.

IMO doesn't matter where you go the public education system is in the shitter. If I had the means I would homeschool my children. Just like any other city it depends on what area you live in for the kind of school your kid will go to. In Regina if you live in north central (the hood) your education will significantly differ from if you lived in the south or east where the high schools have advanced placement classes, and kids that actually go to class. Lol I'm sure it's the same in jersey.

 

[saria1]

Thank you both Bubboz and Agarand8. So it sounds like it's not as simple as stating our intent to move there and actually decide after the process is complete.

Here in the states the education system is so much better in some states, as in NJ, MA, NY and CT. They are always ranking in the top 5-10 for school systems, and states like TX, FL, CA, WA and OR rank horribly, into the 30's and 40's as far as their quality of education goes. I suppose thats what I was trying to get a feel for. How would a good school district in Vancouver compare to a good school district in other provinces. We're not ones to be living in the "hood", thats for sure

I suppose landing isn't as simple crossing the border with the PR certificates in hand and then taking a road trip and crossing back over on a USA passport. I read you have to reside 700 and something days within a 5yr period. I guess things have greatly changed since the 80's and 90's when I lived in a border town and use to cross all the time. They barely ever noted my presence entering into the country or returning back to the states.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Thank you both Bubboz and Agarand8. So it sounds like it's not as simple as stating our intent to move there and actually decide after the process is complete.

Here in the states the education system is so much better in some states, as in NJ, MA, NY and CT. They are always ranking in the top 5-10 for school systems, and states like TX, FL, CA, WA and OR rank horribly, into the 30's and 40's as far as their quality of education goes. I suppose thats what I was trying to get a feel for. How would a good school district in Vancouver compare to a good school district in other provinces. We're not ones to be living in the "hood", thats for sure

I suppose landing isn't as simple crossing the border with the PR certificates in hand and then taking a road trip and crossing back over on a USA passport. I read you have to reside 700 and something days within a 5yr period. I guess things have greatly changed since the 80's and 90's when I lived in a border town and use to cross all the time. They barely ever noted my presence entering into the country or returning back to the states.

in regards to maintaining PR status, if the sponsor is a canadian citizen, the PR can live with the canadian ANYWHERE, it does not need to be in canada. Definitely do a search about this on the forum, because it's referenced a lot. also current processing time for US applicants is about 8-10 months based on the stats collected on this forum.

 

[screech339]

The education system is a lot different between US and Canada. Assuming you are referring K-12 education.

The schools in US tends to be dependence on local funding such as property taxes. So schools in poor areas tends to get poor funding required to maintain high standards. Schools in rich communities / rich states gets a bigger funding thus able to afford more educational needs.

In Canada, the school system are funded in two ways. Through property tax and through provincial taxes. The province pool the money together and pretty much split the money around the schools. The part of property tax goes towards the local schools as well. But a big chuck of funding comes from the provinces. This reduces the disparity in quality level of schools between difference schools. There is a small bit but not as pronounced as the schools in US.

Screech339

 

[saria1]

in regards to maintaining PR status, if the sponsor is a canadian citizen, the PR can live with the canadian ANYWHERE, it does not need to be in canada. Definitely do a search about this on the forum, because it's referenced a lot. also current processing time for US applicants is about 8-10 months based on the stats collected on this forum.

WOW, this can get really confusing. So if I get PR for my hubby and son, from what I read, all we have to do is cross the US/Canadian border to activate the PR status. Thats easy, take a road trip to Niagra Falls and back. From what I read you declare you're not moving there yet, just activating your PR status. But then I read you have to have a mailing address for your PR cards to be mailed to you in Canada within 180 days of activation.

Then I was reading on another post, like you suggested. It says a PR resident of a Canadian citizen doesn't have to live in Canada and can live with their spouse anywhere.

canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/my-pr-card-expiring-and-getting-married-with-canadian-citizen-t120850.0.html

Do we then have to set up residence in Canada to have the cards sent to us and keep the PR activated? Or, is that only for those listed as a skilled worker?

One last question: where my son would qualify for citizenship upon landing in Canada based on my citizenship, does that mean I can come straight back to NJ, apply for and submit his citizenship application and wait for his Canadian Citizenship Certificate? How does that work?

Thank you, I appreciate all the advice.

 

[saria1]

The education system is a lot different between US and Canada. Assuming you are referring K-12 education.

The schools in US tends to be dependence on local funding such as property taxes. So schools in poor areas tends to get poor funding required to maintain high standards. Schools in rich communities / rich states gets a bigger funding thus able to afford more educational needs.

In Canada, the school system are funded in two ways. Through property tax and through provincial taxes. The province pool the money together and pretty much split the money around the schools. The part of property tax goes towards the local schools as well. But a big chuck of funding comes from the provinces. This reduces the disparity in quality level of schools between difference schools. There is a small bit but not as pronounced as the schools in US.

Screech339

Screech339, thank you! I also ran across some information on Google, where it stated that in Canada the education system tends to teach their students the process of problem solving. Whereas the US is becoming more focused on the answer and devaluing the process. With my analytical chemistry background and my hubby's programming background, we both prefer learning the processes and not just accepting an answer without knowing how the answer was derived.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Do we then have to set up residence in Canada to have the cards sent to us and keep the PR activated? Or, is that only for those listed as a skilled worker?

One last question: where my son would qualify for citizenship upon landing in Canada based on my citizenship, does that mean I can come straight back to NJ, apply for and submit his citizenship application and wait for his Canadian Citizenship Certificate? How does that work?

1 - if you have family in canada, you can use their address and then have them send you the pr cards. it is true they will only send the card to a canadian address

2 - yes, i believe you can apply for your son's canadian citizenship from the us. I believe it takes 6 months to process? I am not quite sure though. again, there are threads on here about that so keep researching or ask it again in as a new topic to ensure seniors will see it and respond.

and a side note... i don't have kids so i can't really talk about the school system question. However, with the recent inclusion of common core testing in most states, i would go out on a limb and say the k-12 education system is better in canada. in my opinion, the focus in US schools has become funding based and they certainly don't take into account how students learn. I have a lot of teacher and parent friends, and the information i read just seems to suggest it's not going to get any better. if this is how the system is planning to "progress", i'm grateful my kids will be educated in canada one day.