# Six month residency issues



## JoshATL (Dec 22, 2012)

My first post...

I'm posting on behalf of my father & stepmother (early 60's), who were recently sideswiped by Canadian immigration laws. I do not know all the details, and take my father at his word that he did the prerequisite due diligence before embarking on his quest to live abroad. Suffice it to say - he recently built a beautiful small home with a view of the Bay of Fundy in Port Lorne, Nova Scotia. He was 90% through the construction of this lovely house (he has been a carpenter his entire career), when he was informed he could only live in Canada for 6 months out of the year. So he and his wife are effectively nomads in their home country of the US, making arrangements to stay with a number of various relatives for various lengths of time before returning to NS.

He is a wonderfully sweet man, and took this news very hard. He is embarrassed that he allowed this to happen. So please, no hate - I merely seek advice from others that may have found themselves in a similar situation. My initial thought is: are there Canadian citizens out there with homes in the US facing the same 6-month residency restriction? Is a 6-month house swap a feasible option? My dear old dad does not want to burden his relatives. Any ideas?


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

JoshATL said:


> My first post...
> 
> I'm posting on behalf of my father & stepmother (early 60's), who were recently sideswiped by Canadian immigration laws. I do not know all the details, and take my father at his word that he did the prerequisite due diligence before embarking on his quest to live abroad. Suffice it to say - he recently built a beautiful small home with a view of the Bay of Fundy in Port Lorne, Nova Scotia. He was 90% through the construction of this lovely house (he has been a carpenter his entire career), when he was informed he could only live in Canada for 6 months out of the year. So he and his wife are effectively nomads in their home country of the US, making arrangements to stay with a number of various relatives for various lengths of time before returning to NS.
> 
> He is a wonderfully sweet man, and took this news very hard. He is embarrassed that he allowed this to happen. So please, no hate - I merely seek advice from others that may have found themselves in a similar situation. My initial thought is: are there Canadian citizens out there with homes in the US facing the same 6-month residency restriction? Is a 6-month house swap a feasible option? My dear old dad does not want to burden his relatives. Any ideas?


With all due respect but he didn't do his due diligence properly or he'd have found out that one cannot just move to Canada without an appropriate visa. Canadians cannot just move (immigrate) to the USA without approval from the US Government. All they can do is the same as your father and that is visit. Your father should also know that on entering Canada he is not guaranteed a six month visa. The length of the visa is entirely at the whim of the Immigration Officer at the border.
I'm sorry but would you please elaborate on the 6 month house swap question.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

I think it's rather arrogant of your Dad to assume he can just come into Canada and stay as long as he wants without any sort of visa...Canadians visiting the United States have been known to be subject to a customs inspection for shorter than 6 month visits... I know this for a fact because I've been sent in to show i.d. when travelling to a US border town to fill up the family car back in the late 1980's/early 1990's and I was detained for 30 minutes for no apparent reason when I went on a driving trip from Vancover to Minneapolis/St Paula, MN in August of 2010. They didn't ask me many questions and searched my car before letting me go without any explanation as to why I was being inspected... I suspect it was because I am an ethnic minority, (I am Vancouver born and raised and travelling on a _valid_ Canadian passport) as everyone else in the customs hall was also other-than-Caucasian... I put up with the whole inconvenience without any fuss because I didn't want to be denied entry as I had some non refundable prepaid activities booked and some friends along the way who were expecting me.

Most (if not all) Canadian Snowbirds are subject to the same 6 month restriction that your Dad and Step Mom are subject to, and they make sure that they have their documentation in order, lest they face the wrath of an unfriendly US customs agent. Our border may be the longest undefended border in the world, but it doesn't mean that crossing doesn't come without restrictions.


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## Jrge (Mar 22, 2011)

Hi,


JoshATL said:


> My first post...
> 
> I'm posting on behalf of my father & stepmother (early 60's), who were recently sideswiped by Canadian immigration laws. I do not know all the details, and take my father at his word that he did the prerequisite due diligence before embarking on his quest to live abroad. Suffice it to say - he recently built a beautiful small home with a view of the Bay of Fundy in Port Lorne, Nova Scotia. He was 90% through the construction of this lovely house (he has been a carpenter his entire career), when he was informed he could only live in Canada for 6 months out of the year. So he and his wife are effectively nomads in their home country of the US, making arrangements to stay with a number of various relatives for various lengths of time before returning to NS.
> 
> He is a wonderfully sweet man, and took this news very hard. He is embarrassed that he allowed this to happen. So please, no hate - I merely seek advice from others that may have found themselves in a similar situation. My initial thought is: are there Canadian citizens out there with homes in the US facing the same 6-month residency restriction? Is a 6-month house swap a feasible option? My dear old dad does not want to burden his relatives. Any ideas?


Welcome to the Forum!

I'm deeply sorry to hear the unfortunate situation your Dad and Stepmom are in. The one quick solution I see, is for him to get a job in NS. I don't know what the job market is like over there, but with his skills, he should be able to find a job. Think of an estimator, blueprint reader, foreman, big box store associate, etc. And if he goes this route, I reckon that in 15-20 months they could become Landed Immigrants (Permanent Residents)

Animo
(Cheers)


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## CanuckGirl (Dec 17, 2012)

Seriously? Your parents were 'sideswiped' by the immigration laws in Canada? Why is it that people take for granted that there are laws for immigrants to come to their own country, but are baffled when this concept applies to themselves? I see people on the forum for France who are asking whether they can just stay in France for years while 'working online' for an American company without considering that they need a visa and essentially permission from the host country to stay - all because they love the idea of living in France.

I hope your parents receive good advise on how to handle their situation, but please give your head a shake. As noted, as a Canadian I would not just set up shop in the US, build a home, and expect to stay there for as long as I like. Hawaii looks appealing... perhaps I can just move there, start working and ignore this pesky green-card thing. 

Please don't take me as too snarky, but your naiveté is a bit shocking.


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