During this years' Super Tuesday, Donald Trump led the Republican primaries winning 7 states and 256 delegates. Perhaps more interesting than the voting polls on Super Tuesday, was the Google trends that followed. Within hours of releasing the Super Tuesday results, the Google search for "how to move to Canada" by U.S. residents increased 1150% according to Google Trends" tool. Frequency of this search topic was higher than it had ever been in the history of Google, and at midnight that night, an error message also appeared on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's website, indicating that they were experiencing technical difficulties, as the website was having trouble loading. An analysis of the searches showed that the majority were from Virginia and Massachusetts, two of the states that Donald Trump had won.
The last time "how to move to Canada" spiked was in 2004 when George W. Bush was re-elected, This resulted in an increase in U.S. immigration to Canada of tens of thousands of people. However, the spike that was caused by George Bush's re-election pales in comparison to that caused by Donald Trump on Super Tuesday.
U.S. nationals considering making the move to Canada must first ensure that they are admissible to Canada. An individual may not be admissible to Canada due to criminality, health issues, financial reasons, prior non-compliance with Canadian immigration legislation including misrepresentation, or having an inadmissible family member. Many individuals are unaware that an impaired driving charge in the U.S. can make them inadmissible to Canada. We can assess your admissibility and assist with overcoming inadmissibility where possible.
If admissibility is not an impeding factor, the next consideration is determining the category under which to apply for permanent residence. There are a variety of options when it comes to applying for permanent residence in Canada, including family sponsorship categories, economic categories, entrepreneurial categories, caregivers, and refugee programs.
Family sponsorship allows eligible Canadian nationals who are at least 18 years old to sponsor their spouse, partner, children, parents, grandparents and other eligible relatives to become permanent residents in Canada.
Express Entry is the new online process for applicants in economic categories to apply for and obtain permanent residence as a skilled immigrant. Express Entry includes applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canadian Experience Class and certain Provincial Nominee Programs. Express Entry is touted as being a way for Canada to attract and retain the best and the brightest. The system compares potential candidates based on work experience, language ability, education and other skills that lead to economic success in Canada. With a six-month processing time for selected candidates, this is one of the most popular methods to obtain permanent residence within Canada.
The entrepreneurial categories include Start-up Visa, Immigrant Investor and Self-Employed categories and are more restrictive than the economic categories. Start-up applicants must have at least 10% of the voting rights of a business idea and the support of a government approved 'designated organization' which owns more than 50% of the voting rights. Investor applicants must have a personal net worth of at least $10 million, acquired through lawful, private sector business or investments, not inheritance or primary property value. Self-employed individuals must be self-employed and have experience in cultural activities or athletics at a world-class level or have experience in farm management and intend to make a significant contribution to Canadian economy.
Refugee applications can be made by people who are seeking asylum in a new country for safety reasons. A refugee must have left their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion, and be unable or, by reason of that fear, be unwilling to return. The potential that Donald Trump may be elected as President of the United States does not allow U.S. nationals to claim refugee status in Canada.
While the application process can seem daunting, we can assist you in determining which category is the most appropriate, given your specific set of circumstances, and help prepare a technically strong and detailed application package and assist you throughout the process of immigrating to Canada.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
