citizen

and how did it go?

another q?

how long have all you regulars lived in canada?

iaink

I have, still waiting to be called for the test, applied in May.

My sixth Canniversary is on Wednesday.

Iain

AndrewR

Short summary...
Have lived in canada about five years now. Married to a canadian. Quite like living here. Will move back to the UK within a coupe of years. Have no plans to apply for citizenship. Have no desire to be canadian.

iaink

I have no desire to be canadian either, but I would like to vote, if only to set an example to my daughter that it is something you have a responsibility to do. Plus it opens up a lot of options for working in the states under a NAFTA visa

Also married to a canadian , but resigned to never having enough money to be able to move back to the UK and have a similar house and lifestyle.

Iain

AndrewR

Yeah the voting thing is a fair point.
Not sure its gonna make much difference though....I reckon we're set fair for, oooh, probably another four decades of liberal rule....

gunner

Ian,

It seems you really gave your main reason for wanting the citizenship, because it opens up another door. I mean your wife that is a Canadian citizen, can just as much teach your daughter the values of voting.

Am also married to a Canadian citizen, and will be much obliged to accept the citizenship that will give me dual citizenship. As long as am not going into the secret service, i would not have to give up one for the other, for the sake of conflict of interests.

People come on here and slag of this country and say how they hate it and want to go back to blighty, bollock i say, why did they come here in the first place.

We say the same back home about imigrants that complain about blighty.

ClareBC

I landed August 2001, and after 3 years I will be applying (well 3 years and the 10 days I was out of the country).

BC is quicker than Ontario, and I hope to be a citizen by next spring. (I will be retaining the Brit passports though!)

Two reasons, always meant to (and yes, being able to vote against that drink driving premier is a goal of mine!)

But also - I am not going to go through that flamin' palaver of having to pay a fortune getting another PR card in 5 years!

And a trivial reason, as a citizen I won't have to buy a visa to nip down to the states! I was chatting to a friend last night, he got his last week and at the weekend drove down to Bellingham (WA) for some krispy kreme doughnuts!! Too funny

Clare

ClareBC

Not that it is cheap applying for Citizenship - for our family of three I think it will be $700 ish

Clare

gunner

Hello Clare,


How is it going over there in BC? Washinton is long way to go for krispy creme doughnut :-) Surely there must be one around your way somewhere, we have a bunch of them here in ontario.

My favourite is DEVILS FOOD !

iaink

True enough, but I also feel you have no right to complain about the current government if you did not vote.

As far as working in the states goes, yes that is a consideration for me, although I would not want to live there permanently. The work I do here is unique, there is only one company in Canada that makes this particular product, and they imported me from one of two companies in the UK who make it. Having been laid off once in my time here I realised that my employment options in my field in canada are very limited, so sure, citizenship opens up a lot of doors in the US which were closed to me as a Brit / Canadian PR last time I was looking for work. I dont have a problem with that. For what it is worth I would never want US citizenship, as I dont like the way the country behaves, and dont identify with US values .

My current boss is also an expat Brit, and he too has canadian citizenship for exactly the same reasons as me, regarding working in the US if necessary!

The irony of getting citizenship in order to make leaving the country easier is not lost on me!

Iain

ray1968

I have been here for 9 years applied for Citizenship after 3 years, took about 9 months wait to do the test and then the ceremony,..test was easy I was out in 5 mins (no lie!!)...

The reason I applied was
a) because I see Canada as my home now and would not move back
b) want to vote
c) pretty cool having 2 passports
d) with my Wife being American pretty much gives us free reighn to live anywhere in the Western world!!!

Interested

I've been here for 3 years. However I originally came over on a one year open work permit. After that I was on a tourist visa for a while, then applied for PR inland, which I recieved in August.

I can use my time before I became PR as Half time.

How many years do you have to wait anyway, 3 or 4?

I want to become a Canadian as I want to option of being able to live and work in two countries. For example I may go back to the UK for a bit and then retire some where in Canada.

Canada is also a socially progressive and open minded country and I would be proud to be a Canadian for that reason.

Int

babsi

One thing that really frustrates me is when people say stuff like 'People come on here and slag of this country and say how they hate it and want to go back to blighty, bollock i say, why did they come here in the first place.'.

Every individual case is very different. I didn't come to Canada because I wanted to live here but to be with someone and I am doing my best to get back to someone that is always 'home' for me. I don't like living in Canada and I never will after being here for 3 years.

I never will apply for citizenship, my husband did but only because he wanted a first world country passport that would open a lot more doors for him.

CaledonCaliforn

Well, we're just all cut up about that. (Just be sure to tell the immigration inspector how you feel about the US when you aplly for your TN visa, okay?)

citizen

and what ray, happens in the 5 minute interview?