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undomiel wrote: » We'll believe it when we see it. Congratulations! Enjoy the cold air of coldness up there!
jryantech wrote: » I want to move there in about 3 years and was wondering how hard it is/was for you to get your passport and if you are going to apply for citizenship.
Kasor wrote: » Don't worry IRS will get your next year. Not sure how well you get pay, but don't you have to pay two taxes because of Canada is not part of U.S yet (laugh).
skrpune wrote: » As far as the legalities of working in Canada...are you getting a work permit? Is the company going to be sponsoring you? Technically, unless you apply for some sort of residency or citizenship, you can only work in Canada on a work permit for a max of 3 years, and that's only if you get a contract/offer letter from your potential employer promising as much. You'll have to pay some fees & submit a pound or two of paperwork, but the work permit process is not so bad. Also, are you planning on taking a car with you? If you don't own it outright, then you'll have to get permission from the bank/official owner of record to allow you to basically flee the country with their vehicle. If you do own the car outright, then it's not so bad, just some forms to fill out. I couldn't get permission from my financing companies for my two cars, so I ended up having to sell one (hubby is STILL mourning the loss of his Wrangler nearly 3 years later!) and had to pay off the other by draining our savings (ugh). If you have any questions or need any help with forms or info or relocation across the border, let me know - I did the coordination for our temp relocation up there and our return, and I probably still have some forms/notes/links somewhere if you need them.
jryantech wrote: » This is what I want to find out... After I get my Bachelors I want to try and find a job in British Columbia, but I am afraid that my United States Citizenship will turn off Canadian employers. I heard it is 3 years to become a citizen there... To lazy to Google right now
skrpune wrote: » yeah, you have to live there for 3 years to apply for citizenship, and you have to be "of good character" and pass a test on Canadian info/history...somewhat similar to gaining citizenship in the US. Americans are sometimes disliked up there for the simple fact that they're American, so you will find some discrimination, and some people will prefer to give jobs to Canadians before Americans - but most people are interested in just filling a position with the best possible candidate, regardless of citizenship. Here's a link for you from the CIC about becoming a Canadian citizen, that should get you started.
jryantech wrote: » Yeah, I hope it goes smoother than it seems. When I heard the company I work for has a Vancouver office, I was so happy. Even though I won't have my Bachelors for two years at least I have some connections with-in the company and experience. Something about the weather, lifestyle, hockey and getting away from American politics intrigues me.
LarryDaMan wrote: » Congrats!! Don't worry, it's only cold when you go outside.
jryantech wrote: » When I heard the company I work for has a Vancouver office, I was so happy.
skrpune wrote: » Canadian politics are fascinating to me. I mean, come on - the prime minister can close down parliament & tell them to go on vacation for a while so they don't try to vote him out? And how they yell at each other in parliament? It's downright entertaining!!
astorrs wrote: » Great news Aldur! I might end up in Edmonton mid-year (is that still where you're headed?) so maybe we can grab a beer, etc.
skrpune wrote: » Well...actually you will have to at least file taxes in both countries. The filing for the first tax year (2009) that you relocate will be a little messy but it will get easier after that. When I relocated up to Canada mid year, this is how it broke down: - Canadian taxes got calculated first. You'll see why in a sec.. - Canadian Revenue Agency didn't care what happened before I crossed the border. So you only declare your Canadian income in Canada to the CRA, and your deductible limits get prorated by the amount of time you were there for the year - from the time you "landed" to the end of the tax year. So if you're there for 6 months, then the standard deductible gets reduced to 50%. - Once you've gotten the Canadian side of things calculated, then calculate the US side. Since you're a US citizen, they want to know everything you've made everywhere in the world because they want their fair share. Declare your US income as usual, then... - Have your tax guy/gal calculate the US side TWO ways: taking a foreign tax deduction & excluding foreign income. It will take 5-10 extra minutes to do the calculation both ways, but it WILL pay off. Depending on how much you make & where you fall on the tax tables, one will work out significantly better than the other and both ways are legal. For my tax situation, the foreign tax deduction (deducting the whopping amount of Canadian income taxes we paid from our US taxes) worked out better. I got a refund from the US the first year and had to pay nothing to the US the second year. For tax year 2010, it's a bit easier - you calculate the Canadian side first (no prorating assuming you're there for the full tax year), then on the US forms declare $0 US income & do the quickie comparison of foreign tax exclusion vs foreign income exclusion to see which works out best. The tax rates in Canada are much higher than most places in the US, so you probably won't end up having to pay a penny to the IRS for 2010 (again, assuming you end up working up there for the full tax year). Find yourself a good tax person. Believe it or not, H&R Block up there was awesome for my US/Canadian taxes. I got hooked up with a guy that was finding deductions where I didn't even know they existed! He rocked. When it comes to tax time next year, just called H&R Block's main line & ask them for recommendations on who to go to that can handle stuff from both sides of the border and then book an appointment and you're golden. As far as the legalities of working in Canada...are you getting a work permit? Is the company going to be sponsoring you? Technically, unless you apply for some sort of residency or citizenship, you can only work in Canada on a work permit for a max of 3 years, and that's only if you get a contract/offer letter from your potential employer promising as much. You'll have to pay some fees & submit a pound or two of paperwork, but the work permit process is not so bad. Also, are you planning on taking a car with you? If you don't own it outright, then you'll have to get permission from the bank/official owner of record to allow you to basically flee the country with their vehicle. If you do own the car outright, then it's not so bad, just some forms to fill out. I couldn't get permission from my financing companies for my two cars, so I ended up having to sell one (hubby is STILL mourning the loss of his Wrangler nearly 3 years later!) and had to pay off the other by draining our savings (ugh). If you have any questions or need any help with forms or info or relocation across the border, let me know - I did the coordination for our temp relocation up there and our return, and I probably still have some forms/notes/links somewhere if you need them.
Aldur wrote: » Although, I would like to have duel citizanship since there's a good chance I'll be staying there for more then 3 years. Figure I'll get the work permit first then go for the citizenship after.
Aldur wrote: » Skrpune, you have just become my new best friend! I have been so worried about the tax issues that I heard rumors about that I might face when I head up there and that cleared up so much of it. Juniper is setting up a work visa for me, so I believe that is all taken care of... I think, I'll go check on that. Although, I would like to have duel citizanship since there's a good chance I'll be staying there for more then 3 years. Figure I'll get the work permit first then go for the citizenship after. Yup, the wife and I are planning on taking both our cars up there and from what you told me a while ago about that we were able to talk our banks into letting us take them up there. We'd have been in the same spot your where if not, would have had to drain the savings to pay off one and do a quick sale on the other, would have been horrible, you are a lifesave! Thanks for the offer of help, you answered my biggest question with the tax thingy but I'm sure I'll have other questions so expect some pm's coming your way
astorrs wrote: » You're probably looking at permanent residency, aka landed immigrant status in Canada (a "Green Card" in the US) as I don't believe the US government will allow you to gain new citizenship without relinquishing your US citizenship (it works differently if you get dual citizenship by birth than if you apply for non-US citizenship). Essentially be careful.
skrpune wrote: » No prob, happy to help. I spent an ungodly amount of time researching the move there & back, may as well put it to good use. One thing you might want to look into is how you can transition from work permit status to applying for permanent citizenship. I never looked too deep into this option since we always knew we were coming back to the US, but I did a quick search & you can extend your stay/become a permanent resident if you meet the criteria, such as being a skilled worker which is sounds like you qualify for. But again, this is about as deep as I've delved into that subject, so it might warrant a call/email. to the CIC to verify so you know what your options are ahead of time. If you're a US citizen, then you won't be needing a visa - just a work permit to authorize you to work up there. And your wife will need to apply separately, and she can apply as an accompanying spouse & get an open work permit allowing her to work for just about anyone (with some exceptions, like agriculture, teaching, etc.). If your employer has got this shite together, they will have the forms & procedures downpat...if not, then the CIC website has a link to download the forms & it details the procedures fairly well. SO glad you were able to convince your banks to be cooperative!! Hooray for not having to make yourself poor to relocate! I was so totally bummed that I couldn't convince our banks to play along, sigh. I guess they weren't too keen on the idea of letting us run away to a different country with cars that they legally owned and that we owed gobs of money on...you can't exactly extradite someone across the border for defaulting on a car loan, so I can see their resistance. Just give me a shout if you need anything or have any questions. Like I said, I did a good chunk of research on this stuff, and I'm more than happy to help out where I can. Good luck, and congrats again!!
Aldur wrote: » I heard something about that too. Was talking about it with some guys at work and they said they thought you could keep you US citizenship just as long as the US didn't know you were a canadian citizen. Why in the world would the US care if you were a citizen else where is beyond me...
Aldur wrote: » Yup, I'm a US citizen so it'll be a work permit, I take it that it's easier to get a work permit then a visa. I too was soooo relieved to hear that we were able to take our cars. The move is already costly enough just to move our stuff up there let alone attempt to pay off one of our cars I think Juniper has all the work permit stuff under control.... I hope. I'll call them on Monday to make sure. Nothing would suck more then to get tripped up by not having a work permit. About how long does it take to get a work permit to come through? Can they be expedited? I could see things getting held up if they hadn't already started it.
skrpune wrote: » In general, the US wants your main allegiance to be to the US and to the US only. If you're a dual citizen and you had to "choose sides" then that could get messy. But I'm only guessing here...
skrpune wrote: » Are you paying for the move yourself? If you are, then I totally recommend going the freight route. I used ABF U-Pack
skrpune wrote: » As far as the work permit timing, officially they will refuse to tell you how long it will take to review/process and there is no way to expedite the process. But you can check on the general review dates here. For me and my husband, it took about 45 days overall to get our permits processed including mailing time, but when I asked they said that it could take 2-3 months.
Aldur wrote: » Yup I'm moving myself and as a matter of fact I already have ABF moving me. It was cheaper then renting a uhaul before buying the gas for the trip up. And also the idea of not driving a moving truck and towing my car sat real well with me
Aldur wrote: » hmmm very interesting. So from what I understand it wouldn't be possible for me to work in Canada without a work permit, there's no temporally working until your work permit is approved, is there?
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