Canadian Immigration: Testimonial

Until we have any better information, this is a section from here, used with permission. It was written in the time of COVID lockdown, so it is outdated.

Canadian Immigration Options

The most promising option was Express Entry, Canada’s points-based skilled immigration system for granting permanent residency. As tech professionals with bachelor’s degrees, native English fluency, and more than a decade of experience each, you’d think that it would be a slam dunk for us. However, the number of required points in the monthly draws has fluctuated between 470–480 over the past year, and my spouse and I only had approximately 430 points (since increasing age is penalized, and only 3 years of work experience outside Canada can be counted). For those who are 25-30 years old, have a master’s degree, and/or went to a Canadian University, Express Entry may be viable. But with an increasing number of Americans attempting to emigrate, it seemed unlikely that my spouse or I would be able to qualify soon without also having job offers from established Canadian companies (+50 points). And the processing time once selected is a long six months.

If we were going to need job offers anyways to enter Canada, what option might allow us to move in a matter of weeks?

Enter the free trade agreement USMCA (née NAFTA), which allows for Americans to work in Canada either as “intra-company transferees” between subsidiaries, or “professionals” holding specific job titles. Better yet, an American can apply at an air or land crossing and receive an on-the-spot work permit for them and for their spouse (regardless of their spouse’s occupation) without needing to wait for approval from a consulate in advance.

The paperwork is relatively straightforward: proof of nationality (passport), proof of funds to support living expenses, marriage certificate, and proof of a job offer from a Canadian company along with job description, resume, and college degree. Furthermore, NAFTA workers do not need to complete a medical exam, meaning that my disability was not an issue in the process. My spouse’s employer, which is a multinational tech company with a branch in Canada, agreed to write her a Canadian transfer job offer and provide legal assistance with immigration, so we were set there.

The Canadian border has been closed to non-essential travel because of COVID-19; it’s perfectly sensible for Canada to not allow the US’s mismanagement of COVID-19 to result in the epidemic growing in Canada. Thus, all skilled immigrants entering Canada must prove that their travel is essential, that their Canadian employer is still operating, and that they have plans to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in Canada. Fortunately for software professionals, our work falls under the umbrella of “critical infrastructure” and can still be done from remote worksites at home.

Crossing The Canadian border

With packets from the lawyers in hand, we set out to acquire airline tickets and rental car bookings. Elly and I chose to cross separately to make the logistics of moving a pet internationally easier. We didn’t want to have the dog yowling to be let out of her crate at baggage claim while we were stuck in immigration waiting for our paperwork, followed by quarantining for two weeks in an apartment without a yard.

Elly flew into Vancouver, spent half hour at immigration waiting for an officer to input her paperwork and print her a work permit good for 3 years, then went directly to quarantine in the furnished apartment we’d rented for our first few months. There were a few hiccups, notably that “furnished” doesn’t mean that housewares are provided, but she passed her quarantine a few days ago and is sending me pictures of the neighborhood!

After Elly’s work permit was issued, I loaded up a rental car and drove across the border with the rest of our stuff and one very silly dog. I brought with me a copy of her work permit, our marriage certificate, the dog’s rabies certificate, and an inventory of all of the goods in each shipment (traveled with Elly, with me, and to arrive separately). The officials at the border were initially perplexed as to why I crossed on my own, but I’m sure seeing the cute, rambunctious dog in the backseat was a useful hint in the right direction. Because the land border crossing was not busy at all owing to the border restrictions, they had me pull over for half an hour, got the paperwork processed, collected the service fee, and I was on my way with a 3-year work permit of my own.