Hi,

We are a young family and have heard that we are able to buy a house in Canada and live as visitors as long as we stay a max of 6 months, then leave for a min of a day we can return. Does anyone know if this is true?

What is the easiest way we can move to Canada, we are all British Citizens with Valid passports. We just want out of the UK as the crime is so bad and we want our children to grow up in a better place.

We have considered loads of places, but our language is only English.

Please can someone help us, as we are getting very puzzled and just wish to finish working and spend the time with our children and enjoy life. Possibly we would work part time, but we should have about £50k to live on for a while after buying a house with some land.

Thanks to all who reply...

Welcome to the forum.............
You can go to Canada for 6 months...But what about the kids school? Healthcare? Car Insurance? the list is endless.... Start the immigration process NOW....The points have not been so low for ages, so go to www.cic.gc.ca and down load the forms....
Hope you enjoy the forum.
regards
Frankieforehead

"Live as visitors" is a contradiction in terms. You cannot *live* in Canada as a visitor, and leaving and seeking readmission in a short period is likely to lead to you being refused entry on arrival.

As someone else has asked - leaving this fundamental objection aside, what would you do for basic things like work, schooling and healthcare?


The *only* way to move to Canada long-term is to get accepted as an immigrant. Start at http://www.cic.gc.ca

There are short term solutions available, such as work permits, but these are not easy to obtain.

Jeremy

Thank you both for helping.

We would have sent the kids to school. Healthcare and insurance are things we would purchase too.

Would we be accepted on their NHS?

We will get the forms to apply.

thanks

As visitors you would have problems sending the children to school. You would have no access to provincial healthcare.

Forget the idea of trying to live in Canada as tourists - it will not work.
Look at immigration rules to see if you have any chance.


Jeremy

Things are more Bureaucratic in Canada you'll find.....It's not as simple as say moving to France...Finding somewhere to live, and put the kids into school....Any jobs that you are offered have to be "Validated" by the HRDC...and if not you won't get a work permit....So basically without having gone through the London embassy (I take it you are from the UK), then Healthcare, school, and such alike are out of reach.

NHS.....Pah...I'm going to Alberta and you pay for your healthcare, so I presume most other provinces are the same, and yet again you don't get the privilage of paying for healthcare, unless you have all the correct paperwork.

Buying a house seems the simplest thing to do in Canada if you are a non resident....but that is another page. Not to put you off but I think (no negative tone here) that you may find out how difficult it is to get into Canada, and you may understand the question my friends ask me...."How come it takes sooooo long"....pretty soon.

look into everything...most of the info is on that website...do a self assessment, download ALL the forms and the guide, and the waiting begins.

Good Luck Guys
Frankieforehead

No, that is not true. You can buy pretty much what you like if you have the money. Visitors, however, can stay up to six months in any consecutive twelve month period, and can apply to extend the stay if there is a good reason for them to do so. Stays over 182 days trigger tax liabilities anyway. This "leave Canada for one day pop over the border and pop back" is a myth. Upon attempted re-entry to Canada without an extension, you can be turned away and denied permission to enter. You may be permitted to re-enter with a restricted stamp, but they do not take kindly to people doing that.

I hope you have strong nerves and a lot of patience!!

The move you are contemplating is not for the faint-hearted, although if you commit yourselves to doing plenty of research, and follow the advice given by the other forum members, you will be well equiped for most eventuallities.

The very best of luck, and welcome to the madhouse!!

Good on yer for just wanting to pick up and go.
It's a shame immigration has such strict rules. How i wish we could all just pick up live wherever we wished providing we provided for ourselves. If only they had told me in school that you have a much better chance of emigrating all over the world if you have a respectable career qualifications.....i might of listened and tried harder.

Have you considered New Zealand? It appears to be rather straightforward to get in there.

What do you do for a living now?

My domestic partner of the past year and a half is a visitor to Canada. She leaves and reenters so that no stay exceeds six months. The advice of our specialist lawyer is that she can do this indefinitely and she makes no secret of it when entering the country. Obviously, it's not the most practical arrangement as she cannot work or be eligible for healthcare. She is not, however, mythical.

How long does she 'leave' for before re-entering the country?

When I lived in BC, I had a friend who was on a 6-month tourist visa and when it was close to expiration, she would drive down to Seattle for the w/e, come back up and have another 6-month tourist visa stamped in her passport. This was slightly pre 9/11 so I'm not sure how stamp-happy the border officials are now.

But back to the original question, if you've got 50K to keep you going for a bit, my advice would be to visit Canada for 6 weeks or so during the kids' school holidays, check out the cities that you're interested in, look around the communties, visit some schools .. basically look at what's on offer. Each Canadian city is very different. Vancouver has the lifestyle, Toronto the jobs (ok ... a simplification I know!). It all depends on what you're looking for.

Heck, why not rent an RV and experience the country coast-coast. Would be fun and then, having a better idea of which city/province you want to aim for, come back to the UK, fill out those pesky forms and at least you'll be getting your ducks in a row.

You can still buy a home in Canada from the UK - see my company's web site, http://www.AssignmentsCanada.ca which has a detailed explanation of how to buy in Canada as a non-resident.

Good luck.

A day or a few. On Wednesday we're going hiking in Arizona, we'll be back the following Monday, that's a typical duration. We're always back and forth to the US so there's no need to make a specific effort. In fact, I doubt that I've ever been continuously in Canada for six months.

Does she maintain a residence and other ties outside of Canada dbd33?

She has a mailing address. That is, her parents will forward mail sent to their house, but there hasn't been any need for pretense and the immigration staff don't seem startled by the arrangement. It's actually very common for Canadians to live in the US for 6 six months less a day; they typically come back only to keep their healthcare entitlement alive.