Moving to Canada

Hello there!

A little change from the recent posts of teaching resources, but I've been meaning to get this one out for a long while now so that maybe in the coming months someone will get use out of it.

Recently I've moved to Ontario (Canada) to join my partner who has started a Master's Program here.  When the excitement of getting into school wore off, we quickly realized that we don't know the first thing about moving ourselves across this seemingly unimportant border between the US and Canada, and how to legally have me be with him and work, while we are not married.

So first part - going with him to Canada.  As a US citizen, I'm sure I would be allowed to hang around in Canada for a couple of months, and no one would get bothered.  However, once you start hanging around for longer than that, they might get upset.  So you need a visa if you want to do this right.

We could of course get married, and that would automatically make me eligible for a spouse visa, but we opted instead for a Common Law Union situation.  The official information can be found here.  The form number is IMM 5409.

Important Note! - The form seems to refer to instructions that should tell you more about if you qualify and what papers to submit, but in all my long searching, I never found them.  If you can, congrats!

My partner and I had been living together for a while, and had leases to prove 2 and a half years of cohabitation.  I remember reading somewhere that you only have to prove one year, but I can't find that again.  Looking around again, I found this (perhaps unofficial) site, which mentions a few useful details.

We filled out the form, included copies of our past leases, and had it notarized, which can be done at the bank (and for free perhaps at your bank, just check ahead).  We were approved, no problem!

Second part - permission to work.  With my partner's student visa application, and our common law union application, we also filled out an Open Work Permit (or Visa) for myself.  My field is Adult education, which does not seem to have any restrictions on being allowed to work, but you many have to check that there are not limitations in your field.  Because I did not have an employer lined up, I went with the Open work permit.  You must include a letter of purpose to say why you are coming to work in Canada.  Mine read as follows:

"The intent of this letter is to explain my purpose for traveling to Canada and applying for an open work visa.  I will be accompanying my common-law spouse (name and DOB here) who is entering Canada for full time graduate studies and employment at (name of university here).  His enrollment at the university will begin (date here) and is anticipated to be completed in (length of time he will be in Canada here)."

There had been some mention of a physical exam related to the visa application, but it consistently said "if required" and I hadn't been told it was required (I figured it was a country my country thing).  I found out later it is required for working with children.  What I currently possess is a "Restricted Work Permit" which can be changed at any time provided I get a physical.  But the only thing it restricts me from is working around children, which I'm ok with at the moment.

Important note! - For US citizens, apparently you are not looking for a visa, but a permit, as there is a special work and study relationship between the two countries.  Doesn't change anything in the application process, but I kept referring to it as a visa, and the border guard corrected me.  So you know!


Third Part - Actually moving from the US to Canada.  We have moved a lot in the past few years.  We are getting pretty good at the Uhaul/Penske/Budget racket and shoving couches through spaces no couch should fit through.  However, this one was...different.

Some companies don't allow their trucks over the border.  This may seem obvious, but it is important.  The only one we could find near us was U-Haul.  It worked like a breeze!  So I recommend them for border crossing moves.

You will want to check out this page for the official information on border crossing moves.

In the case of US citizens (since that's all I have experience with), when you received the good news that your permit papers have been successfully processed, you will actually only be getting a letter of approval that you show to a border guard to get your official permit.  So make sure you have that letter since that's how you get the real document.

Make sure your Passports are up to date, and will be valid through the length of your permit/visa.  Mine was going to expire in 2014, but my permit was through 2015, so I had to rush renew my passport (for a chunk of change).  If you plan ahead, unlike me, you can save at least $60.  That being said, if you are like me and don't plan ahead well, the expedited service got my passport to me within the time they said it would take, and everything worked out great.  Visit this site for complete information, and do not use any company that is not the US Gov for expedited service.  They will charge you more for an unnecessary service.

The list is the most confusing part of this whole thing for me.  We made a list of all our possessions, in duplicate.  As we packed things in boxes, we wrote them in a big Excel file, and estimated just how much that box of textbooks from five years ago is worth now.  As the days went on of packing up boxes, we started getting less precise.  "A box of tea cups, glasses, a toaster, cutting boards, Christmas ornaments, and three towels?  Call it kitchen supplies and say it's worth 30 bucks, I dunno!"  Near the very end, when we were about to coldly abandon anything left that hadn't made it on to the truck, I'm pretty sure we just 'forgot' to include some items.  It wasn't even intentional; we were exhausted of listing items and their value.

The real kicker?  They never even looked at out list.  Not once.  I almost cried.

That being said, they might, and then you might get in trouble if you don't list things properly, so do the damned thing anyway, and cry like me when they ignore your hard work.

Important note! - Alcohol and potted plants.  There are limitations on how much wine/beer/liquor you are allowed to take into the country as a new resident.  Limits can be found here.  Again, they didn't check, even after we made relatives drink our excess alcohol with us the night before the crossing.  Oh well, a party!

Potted plants seem generally ok to bring as well, but there is always the chance that a border guard will not allow it, so be aware of the risk.  There is a website with the Canadian Customs Agency that you can search to find out the current permissions with certain plants and foods if you are concerned, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

In conclusion -
This is just a little of the advice I have to give about the process of moving from the States to Canada for Grad school (and bringing a partner with you).  I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can if someone visiting would like some more insight.  I can't guarantee that everyone will have the same success as we did, since it depends on the people reviewing your documents, but since we found a lack of internet guidance on the matter, we wanted to share our experiences with anyone who is going through the same thing.