# american living in ireland and married to a british citizen



## brettie vedder (Jul 26, 2009)

its complicated, lol. i met my wife a few years ago and we got married and are now residing in the republic of ireland. she is still down as a british citizen on her passport. she never switched it over because ireland is in the EU and brits can live and work freely in any EU nation. we have been talking lately about moving to canada. i was wondering if it would be better to go through me being american, or her being british. we have read that canada openly accepts immigrants. i was wondering if there are any things i should know to make pursuing this any easier. the only real problem we have is selling our house, because the market is horrible here at the moment. we also have 1 dog and 2 cats. from what ive read, as long as you have a vet clear their health and give you a certificate then you are fine. they also need to be checked for rabies i believe. we were thinking of moving to british columbia because the weather tends to be milder around the coast. any suggestions for good places to try out for work? my wife is in the health industry and i have a degree in information systems and ive also worked in construction. any help would be appreciated. 

cheers


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

brettie vedder said:


> its complicated, lol. i met my wife a few years ago and we got married and are now residing in the republic of ireland. she is still down as a british citizen on her passport. she never switched it over because ireland is in the EU and brits can live and work freely in any EU nation. we have been talking lately about moving to canada. i was wondering if it would be better to go through me being american, or her being british. we have read that canada openly accepts immigrants. i was wondering if there are any things i should know to make pursuing this any easier. the only real problem we have is selling our house, because the market is horrible here at the moment. we also have 1 dog and 2 cats. from what ive read, as long as you have a vet clear their health and give you a certificate then you are fine. they also need to be checked for rabies i believe. we were thinking of moving to british columbia because the weather tends to be milder around the coast. any suggestions for good places to try out for work? my wife is in the health industry and i have a degree in information systems and ive also worked in construction. any help would be appreciated.
> 
> cheers


Your/Spouse's nationality has no bearing on your admissability to Canada. Canada welcomes immigrants but has very strict rules on who gets in. You and/or your wife require to have an occupation on THE LIST or have pre-arranged job(s) before you are eligible for admission. What exactly do you both do. If I know then I can perhaps help you further.


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## brettie vedder (Jul 26, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> Your/Spouse's nationality has no bearing on your admissability to Canada. Canada welcomes immigrants but has very strict rules on who gets in. You and/or your wife require to have an occupation on THE LIST or have pre-arranged job(s) before you are eligible for admission. What exactly do you both do. If I know then I can perhaps help you further.


my wife works with autistic adults and has been doing so for 8 years. i am currently self employed as a trader


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

brettie vedder said:


> my wife works with autistic adults and has been doing so for 8 years. i am currently self employed as a trader


Is your wife an Occupational Therapist with the appropriate educational qualifications? If so then she is on *THE LIST*. If not then neither of you qualify for a PR application. You (presumably she) then requires to obtain pre-arranged employment with an employer willing to apply for a LMO on her behalf.


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## JulianQ101 (Jul 17, 2009)

As mentioned above, your current citizenship (USA, UK etc.) has no bearing on getting permanent residency in Canada.

Your best bet would be to visit the government website (cic.gc.ca) and see how you do on the points test. They award "points" for job category, experience, age, language etc. You basically need to beat the pass mark to be able to apply for PR status. Your current citizenship doesn't get counted in the points test.

NAFTA does offer alternative work options for US citizens, but it's a temporary work category.

Good luck.


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## brettie vedder (Jul 26, 2009)

JulianQ101 said:


> As mentioned above, your current citizenship (USA, UK etc.) has no bearing on getting permanent residency in Canada.
> 
> Your best bet would be to visit the government website (cic.gc.ca) and see how you do on the points test. They award "points" for job category, experience, age, language etc. You basically need to beat the pass mark to be able to apply for PR status. Your current citizenship doesn't get counted in the points test.
> 
> ...


cheerio. 

i heard the whole process can take 18-24 months to become a resident. i think it might be quicker for us to go over on a temporary working visa and then just apply to become a citizen while living there. neither of us want to wait around 2 years for this to go through.


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

brettie vedder said:


> cheerio.
> 
> i heard the whole process can take 18-24 months to become a resident. i think it might be quicker for us to go over on a temporary working visa and then just apply to become a citizen while living there. neither of us want to wait around 2 years for this to go through.


You just cannot "go over" and work, temporarily or otherwise. To get a TWP you require to obtain pre-arranged employment from an employer who has applied/received approval for a LMO to employ you.


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## Punktlich2 (Apr 30, 2009)

Auld Yin said:


> Your/Spouse's nationality has no bearing on your admissability to Canada. Canada welcomes immigrants but has very strict rules on who gets in. You and/or your wife require to have an occupation on THE LIST or have pre-arranged job(s) before you are eligible for admission. What exactly do you both do. If I know then I can perhaps help you further.


Not exactly true. If (and only if) the Amcit spouse qualifies for a NAFTA visa (basically a qualified professional or businessperson) then a NAFTA work visa avoids much of the bureaucracy and red tape and is available as of right. Here's a list of qualified professions: NAFTA Professional Job List

Having a British (or any EU/EEA/Swiss) passport other than the one of the country of proposed residence facilitates settlement in any of those countries, and the spouse gets a residence & work visa (EEA family visa) gratis. I think all EU countries now have Friendship Commerce & Navigation treaties with the USA and no doubt Canada too, which makes getting visas in order to set up a serious business easier.

But for ordinary folk without much money or special skills the original answer is correct.


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