US/Canadian dual citizen moving to Canada for first time?

[sbee619]

I'm finding it difficult to get information about my situation. I am a dual citizen (even though neither country recognizes such a thing) born in the US to a Canadian and American. I applied for citizenship and have received my "certificate" (the laminated card) and I also applied for and received a Social Insurance Number. I am not looking to get a passport, after the hassle of special photo sizes for the citizenship application, but I am wondering if I need one to cross the border, should I commit to moving to Canada.

Here's my questions (also any links or additional info is great!):
1. At the moment, though I am a citizen of both countries, I have never paid any income taxes in Canada. As far as I've read, you are supposed to pay income tax in all countries of citizenship...but if I am not earning the money in the US, will I still have to pay income taxes after the first year (where I would have worked part of the year in the US and part of the year in Canada)?
2. Crossing the border: as a visitor to Canada, I hand them my US passport, say I'm visiting family for 2 weeks, and go on my merry way. If I am crossing to move, I know I need an itemized list of stuff I'm bringing into the country, etc. But could I cross and say I'm just visiting (using my US passport) or do they enter that type of information into a system and some sort of flag goes up if I do not recross the border within a short period of time? If I can just cross as a visitor on my US passport, that saves me the trouble of applying for a foreign passport from US soil. But I also don't want to get in trouble with the law if they track that sort of stuff.
3. Getting a job/housing: Since I have lived in the US for over 20 years, my education, CV, and renting history are all from New York. But I won't be a PR or on a visa or anything, I'll be a citizen. So I should in theory be able to rent or be employed as any other qualified Canadian. But then there's the fact my history is all American. Will this cause me problems in securing housing or employment?
4. I know vehicles are supposed to be refitted with a metric speedometer (and maybe odometer too?) within a certain time span. Will not doing this cause me issues?
5. Can anyone think of a reason that I would need to rush and get a Canadian drivers license if I have the citizenship card as a photo ID, plus a NY drivers license? I mean, my mother is here on a green card and she has a NY drivers license and while she never really needs ID for anything, it doesn't seem to ever be an issues.

Also, if anyone knows of any "so you're living in Canada now" type of guides, with info on applying for healthcare, the legal differences between US and Canada (like traffic laws that aren't explicitly on signs, but are expected to be known) and stuff like that (preferably not directed at non-Western immigrant, because the cultural stuff is not an issue for me, nor is language) I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!!

 

[steaky]

1) No, you are wrong. Unless you have income or a home in Canada, you don't have to worry about filing and paying taxes to the Canadian government regardless where you live.
2) There's nothing wrong with using your American or Taiwanese passport to visit Canada as a dual citizen of both countries.
3) Since you are dual citizen, there would be no problem of securing housing or employment in both countries.
4) Perhaps others can help you with this question
5) You don't need a Canadian driver licence unless you move to Canada. In some provinces, one can only keep one driver licence.
6) Since you are in possession of USA passport and Canadian citizenship card, both countries recognize you being their citizens.

 

[Leon]

As a US citizen, you must always file in the US no matter where you are in the world. As a Canadian citizen, you only have to file if you are tax resident in Canada, that is living and working in Canada for the most part. If you do that for a while and then move back to the US for good, you can file your taxes in Canada one last time and ask them again to consider you a non-resident for tax purposes as you have moved away. Even though you may file both in the US and Canada, since they have a tax-treaty, you may not be paying anything extra.

You shouldn't have any problems finding housing. Get a printout of your US credit rating if it is good and flash it around if needed. Depending on your profession, you may find employers in Canada asking for Canadian education or Canadian experience but you should still be able to find a job.

Here is a brochure about importing vehicles into Canada: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5048-eng.pdf It says that they will give you 45 days to make necessary modifications and after that they will inspect the car. They say that you can not license your vehicle until you have made the changes.

Depending on which province you go to, you may have 2-3 months after moving before you need to get a Canadian drivers license. Most provinces will not allow you to keep two licenses so they will take your US license. You can exchange it again if you move back to the US. In order to find out about different traffic law, get yourself a drivers handbook from Canada to read through. You can find the Ontario handbook here: http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/index.shtml You can find the one for AB here: http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/content/docType45/Production/Basicdrivershandbook2010.pdf

Health care also depends on the province you go to. Some provinces give you first day coverage when you move from another country. Others make you wait 3 months. All provinces as far as I know require you to live in the province for at least 6 months a year in order to keep your health care. This may not be clear to you when you get your health card because the health card may be valid for several years or in some provinces not have an expiry date at all but if you have been away too long, you still may have lost your right to health care. If you use it anyway and the health care discovers that you were not really eligible, they could backcharge you. If you move from one province in Canada to another, you must register for health care in your new province. The health card from the old province will cover you while you wait. Health care in Canada covers doctors and hospitals. Most employers offer a supplementary insurance package that covers medication and dental to some degree.

 

[mic8400]

sbee619, please email me, as I am in the same boat as you and have some questions! marsmediafl@gmail.com THANKS!!! -Michael