> From: Tina Manley <tmanley@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> If climate change continues and Drumpf is re-elected, we will be moving.
> Maybe to the Salish Sea! Sounds wonderful.
If you're serious, better start on immigration NOW. Avoid the rush. (On
election night 2016, the Canadian immigration website crashed, due to excessive
demand!)
Many Merkins seem to think they can simply pack their bags and cross the 49th
and start a new life, but one can only spend six months out of any year in
Canada without Permanent Resident status, which can take 6-18 months or more to
attain — if at all! Canada doesn't seem to care for retirees very much; they're
looking for people who can work and contribute to society.
I have a number of friends here who are doing the "six month shuffle" because
they are too old, too poor, or have too few skills for Canada to be interested
in letting them in permanently.
In such cases, you're not totally screwed, if you have kids who can immigrate
and sponsor you, or if you are willing to be a student for some time — students
get two years of work visa for every year they study here, and after you have
five years of legal residence, it's fairly routine to get Permanent Resident
status.
Another option (which I used) is the little-known "Business Class,
Self-Employed" immigration. You must be able to demonstrate five years of
self-employment in professional sports, farming, or cultural activities. I
actually immigrated as a fine art photographer, as I had been hawking my photos
up and down I-5 for five years at the time. (But fine art photography was too
lucrative, so I took up farming. :-)
But they don't just take your word for it. You must provide adequate
documentation, which in my case, included art festival promo material, etc.,
listing me as an exhibitor. You also need to show that you have at least one
year's worth of living expenses in savings.
On the other hand, the Salish Sea does extend south into Washington State, but
you'll still have THOSE problems, then.
Jan
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