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I'm an American currently living in South America with my Canadian husband, Canadian/American daughter, and soon-to-be Canadian/American baby. We've visited Montreal several times and love it, and are considering it as a place to settle and raise the family after our South American adventure. We're hoping to move in a year or so.
I have several questions to which I haven’t yet been able to find perfectly clear answers by searching Google and forums:
• Quebec immigration requirements: As an American, I'm planning on having my Canadian husband sponsor me for permanent residency once we are living in Montreal. The website cic.gc.ca tells me that on top of the general Canadian sponsorship requirements, I must also meet Quebec immigration requirements. My husband is originally from Ontario, though he hasn't lived in Canada in nearly 20 years. Does he need to meet any Quebec-specific immigration requirements, or are those only for non-Canadian citizens? In other words, can he move to Quebec no problem, even though he is from a different province?
• Healthcare: I’ve read that residents of Canada must wait three months before being able to use the public healthcare system. If after three months I haven’t yet received permanent residency (and I’m sure it will take MUCH longer than three months!), will I as an American be able to use the system as long as I’m living in Canada, or is the public healthcare system ONLY for permanent residents and citizens of Canada? Does anyone have any recommendations for health insurance companies from which we can purchase temporary private insurance during the three-month waiting period? And important, any idea how much it would cost (general ballpark) for a family of four?
• Daycare and school: Depending on when we move, my daughter would be starting either kindergarten or grade 1 in Montreal. We intend to put her in a French public school. (Currently she’s bilingual in English and Spanish, and we’re hoping she’ll pick up the French fairly easily.) Is it difficult to get into certain public schools? Are there any that we should avoid, that have a bad reputation? How far in advance must one apply? Are there waiting lists? I’m originally from San Francisco, California, where getting into a decent public school is an insane process (one of the reasons we’re not moving back there). For the baby (who will be anywhere from five months to a year+ when we arrive), I keep reading about $7/day daycare, which sounds amazing. Who qualifies for that program? Are there long waiting lists, etc.?
• Working and income taxes: Currently my husband and I both work independently. He is co-owner of an American company located in the U.S.; I’m a freelance editor whose current clients are all in the U.S. I know we’ll both need to file taxes in both the U.S. and Canada. I’ve read about the U.S./Canada treaty that supposedly prevents double taxation. From what I understand, any tax you’re required to pay to the U.S. can be deducted from your Canadian taxload. Am I understanding the system correctly? Also, does it work differently for freelancers like me than for company owners such as my husband? If we wanted to look for work in Montreal (software engineering in my husband’s case; editorial work in my case), we would need to be quite proficient in French, correct? And would I need to wait until I had permanent residency?
Well, this has turned into a novel. If you’re still reading, thank you! Any tips would be much appreciated.
I will try to help, but I don't have all of the answers, so I'm hoping someone will help me fill in the blanks.
Immigration: Yes, those requirements are only for non-Canadian citizens. As a Canadian, your husband can move to Quebec and become a resident no problem and there's little paperwork or hassle involved in doing so. The fact that he's from another province is no barrier.
Healthcare: Yes, it's only for Canadian permanent residents and citizens, so you would need some private insurance until you got your PR status, but you wouldn't need to pay for it for a family of four as both your husband and your children qualify for the Quebec healthcare, although they too, of course would have to wait three months while their application is processed. This is the case in all of the Canadian provinces. I'm afraid I can't give you information about insurance as I've never needed it. I hope someone else will be able to help you or you'll be able to find the information elsewhere.
Daycare: While I haven't had to put a child through daycare, I'm familiar enough with the education system to assure you that we do not have these kinds of waitlists to get into public elementary schools. The funding of schools in Canada is very different from in the States. In the US, the funding for a school comes from the school district so can vary wildly depending on how wealthy it is. In Canada, they are funded by the province and through federal equalization payments in order for schools nationwide to be able to provide similar quality of education, so there isn't that element of competition. That said, some schools are better than others because they draw from populations where the parents are really involved in the school and in helping their children to succeed academically, which creates a good school culture. There are so many schools in Montreal, however, that I couldn't hope to advise you on that.
Seven dollar a day daycare is another story. There are indeed long waitlists to get a spot.
Working and Income Taxes: My understanding of the double taxation rule is from knowing Americans working in Canada and earning Canadian income. What I understand from them is that if your taxes to Canada are less than what the IRS assess you, you have to pay the IRS the difference. So if the IRS decides to tax you 15 thousand dollars and you pay 10 thousand dollars to Canada, you have to pay the IRS 5 thousand. If you pay Canada 20 thousand you don't have to pay the IRS anything, which is the most common as Canadian taxes are generally higher. With you earning your incomes in the states while living in Canada, I'm not sure what it'll be, but it's safe to assume you have to pay the higher of the two tax rates at the end of the day. I don't think it works differently for Freelancers, but consult a Chartered Accountant to be sure.
As for finding work, you wouldn't necessarily have to be proficient in French. There's a substantial native Anglophone population in Quebec that's centred on Montreal, and you could find editorial work in an English language publication. Estimating the number of Anglophones in the city isn't easy, but census says there's about half a million native speakers and it's estimate there's almost as many immigrants who like to use English as their primary official language. Quebec language law legislates that companies over a certain number of employees must operate in French, but there are plenty of small tech startups that might operate in English where your husband could find work. All that said, if you become proficient in French there will be many more opportunities available to you, and it will of course make living in Montreal more enjoyable. The government offers free French courses for immigrants. YOur husband wouldn't qualify, but you would, so I think it would be worth taking advantage of.
Just an opinion, I think it would be better for you to apply for outland sponsorship and just land as a permanent resident. Inland applications take over 18 months and if you screw up or something happens and you're denied, you have no right of appeal and will need to leave the country.
MexiQuebecois, thanks so much for your response. So does that mean my husband and I could start the sponsorship process while we're still living in South America? That would be wonderful, actually. Do you know how we start that process? There's a Canadian embassy in the city we're in-- do we go there? I'll take another, closer look at the immigration site.
I see that you're in Mexico City now. Are you following or have you followed the outland sponsorship process?
Also, perhaps you'll know the answer to this question too: Do you know how large the Latino population is in Montreal? Living in Uruguay we've achieved a decent level of proficiency in Spanish (especially our daughter!), and it would be great if we could occasionally find people in Montreal with whom we could speak Spanish. (Though I'm sure we'll have our hands full trying to learn French, too.
MexiQuebecois, thanks so much for your response. So does that mean my husband and I could start the sponsorship process while we're still living in South America? That would be wonderful, actually. Do you know how we start that process? There's a Canadian embassy in the city we're in-- do we go there? I'll take another, closer look at the immigration site.
I see that you're in Mexico City now. Are you following or have you followed the outland sponsorship process?
Also, perhaps you'll know the answer to this question too: Do you know how large the Latino population is in Montreal? Living in Uruguay we've achieved a decent level of proficiency in Spanish (especially our daughter!), and it would be great if we could occasionally find people in Montreal with whom we could speak Spanish. (Though I'm sure we'll have our hands full trying to learn French, too.
Yes you can start the sponsorship process from South America. The only requirement is that you have legal status in said country for a year after you apply, so your sponsorship can be processed there.
Yes I'm in Mexico City and my process is indeed outland spousal sponsorship, I opened a thread in the Canada section specifically for Immigration, check it out and ask away all your immigration questions!
A lot of Latinos seem to live in Rosemont - La petite patrie, which is around Jean-Talon and Beaubien Metro stations, I'm planning to rent there when I move back. (would be hard to adapt without having a place to find some nice Mexican food nearby )
Thanks so much. I'll contact the Canadian embassy here to see when we can get started. I'm not sure if we have the correct legal status, as our permanent residency here is in process but still "en trámite" after over two years (!), but I'm sure the embassy will know. I'll also check out your Immigration thread.
Great to know about the sizable Latino population as well and where to find it. You wouldn't happen to know if there are any bilingual French/Spanish elementary schools, would you? Not expecting them...seems like a long shot...but hey.
Thanks so much. I'll contact the Canadian embassy here to see when we can get started. I'm not sure if we have the correct legal status, as our permanent residency here is in process but still "en trámite" after over two years (!), but I'm sure the embassy will know. I'll also check out your Immigration thread.
Great to know about the sizable Latino population as well and where to find it. You wouldn't happen to know if there are any bilingual French/Spanish elementary schools, would you? Not expecting them...seems like a long shot...but hey.
That will be very hard, if not impossible to find. Bilingual English/French elementary school are quite common, but they'll have to be private schools. Since you didn't finish your education in English in Canada, your children will have to be enrolled in a French elementary school.
I replied to your immigration question in the other thread!
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