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Originally posted by 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!!!


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and what ray, happens in the 5 minute interview?



Its not a 5 minute interview its a test - citizenship test made up of 20 multi choice questtions which I think u have to score 12 out of 20 to pass . (they provide a book about Canada months before for you to "study)- its very easy

ive heard you have to sing ~oh canada~
know all the provinces, capitals and government leaders








and be able to play hockey;)

I plan on applying for citizenship because it make sense to be a citizen of the country you are living in. Any other immigration status is never guaranteed, all it takes is a change in government and a change in rules. The Canadian immigraiton law changed recently and that changed all sorts of things about PR status and residency requirements and the PR card etc and remember you can always lose that status. That might not be as big a deal if it's just a place to live but if you are one of those like me who moved for family reasons (ie Canadian spouse) then losing your status is a serious deal and there is no way I want to go through the immigration hassle again. I want to ensure I have exactly the same rights as my wife and any future children where ever we are in the world to ensure I can be where they are. As long as relations stay the same as currently it's fairly trivial as Canadians and UK citizens can pretty much go to the same places but things can change and once you get citizenship you are 99% guaranteed to have it for life.

Making it easier to travel to the Us is I guess an advantage especially with all this crap about special biometric passports and photographing visitors etc, Canada usually stays exempt from that kind of stuff. However NAFTA only goes so far for working and only applies to specific jobs and for finite time limits, you still need a work visa like anyone else for most things. I couldn't see myself moving from Canada to the US anyway, if I had to leave Canada then it would be back to the UK or maybe somewhere like New Zealand.

Voting is another thing and just generally being at the same level as everyone else in the country you live. It's not like you have to give anything up to get it. If we were back in the day of choosing between one or the other then it would be a more difficult and serious choice.

Drew

hey drew, the canadian goverment wont allow citizenship to people from blackpool:D south shore excluded.

well i`m going for mine this year, not that i want to be canadian, but it will give my children(who were born in england) the extra opportunity to decide where they want to live/work when they go their own way

I am intrigued by the plethora of "I don't want to be Canadian, but .... " postings here. You don't have to give up your UK passport unless you want to, you gain certainty in your status, you get to vote (VERY important) etc etc so what's the big deal?

For myself (waiting for the test date) becoming a real Canadian is extremely important and a mark of commitment to this fine country. I imagine I will keep a UK passport somewhere about the house for sentimental reasons but I can't really envisage any need ever to use it once I get a Canadian one. We live here, we pay our taxes here, we are affected by government decisions and so it only seems right to take an active interest and personal (even if symbolic) responsibility for the place. Hey, this is home.

Secondary, but big, benefit will be getting away from the demeaning and snotty attitude of US immigration every time I cross the border. Question, question, intrusive question while my Canadian colleagues get waved through on the nod. You would think that these days brits were the only friends Americans have in the world but they sure don't give you that impression when you try to get in there.

And if Quebec ever start handing our passports I'll have one of those too - sign of commitment.

Well said que....most people come on here and say i don't want to be this and that, but i want this. Am ready to take it hook line and the rest of it, am sick like you said, of paying that $6 everytime me and the missus cross into the states. She gets waved through and i have to answer loads of questions, they won't even take pound sterling for the fee, they want Us dollars.

The only reason you might have to give up citizenship, is if you take a government secret service job, that will bring about conflict of interests. I don't see that for myself.

Am looking forward to the 20 questions and writing down the first three lines of OH CANADA. That is about the size of the test. I can then jump up and shout I AM CANADIAN, I AM CANADIAN !!!

Oh absolutely - I'll be jumping up and down with you.

Regarding the US$6 fee to drive over the border - the first time we did this we had no US money with us, intending to stop at an ATM the first chance we had. Well, the non-smiling US immigration man (with holstered gun) informed us that there was no way we wer getting in without paying the fee, in cash, up front, no we don't have an ATM here, no we don't take credit cards (they do now by the way) and if you don't like it, well tough getting in here is a privilege. The only way to resolve this was for me to leave car and wife at US immigration, walk back in the rain the Canadian side and get some US dollars at a duty free store - needless to say they dod not give me the most favourable rate of exchange. crazy thing is that if you fly into the country there is no fee.

Another occasion, I was flying over on a working trip to visit an office of the FDA. I was questioned about my purpose - "I'm going to the FDA" I said.

"The what?"

"Food and Drug Adminstration - government department. you know"

"DRUGS !!!!!!" - and he pressed the panic button

Thigs went downhill from then on - it took a lot of explaining and even then i was only let in uner sufference and told they'd be watching me.

Gotta love them

I used to travel with work over to Detroit a lot (auto industry). The first time I went I had to cough up the $6 (I knew about this after an aborted attempt to visit the US side of niagara falls on foot once, so i was armed with US$)

The dozen or more times I went to Detroit after that it was never an issue. Dont know why, but just told them I was canadian PR going for a meeting, and they waved me through..."Have a nice day"

I have a feeling it depends way to much on what kind of day they are having, and how long the queue behind you is. Short queue, hard time, long queue, easy time. Thinking about it that first visit was an emergency call out, and it was just after midnight with no one else around.

Iain