This week, I set up appointments for medical exams for Tonya, Priscilla and me in support of our Canadian immigration application. This is a big deal, as it is the final step in the process before receiving our Landed Immigrant status - or "Green Cards" to use the US parlance.
There are a number of ways to apply for permanent residency status here in Canada. The traditional way is to apply directly to the federal government using a point-system which looks at education, profession, language skills, etc. to establish a basis for admission to the country. It's a self-directed plan than can take several years and is mainly designed for people who are still living in their home country.
In additional, there's an employer-based program which allows companies to nominate foreign workers here legally on short-term work visas to become permanent residents. It's much faster (12-18 months) and I applied initially under this program while working for ATCO. The downside is it's tied to a specific job with a specific company, so if you change roles or employers you have to start over. Which is exactly what happened to me when I joined Suncor last spring.
Fortunately, Canada launched a new, self-directed program recently called the Canadian Experience Class or CEC. It allows people who have worked legally (i.e. hold a work visa) in Canada for two or more years to apply directly for permanent status. Since I easily qualified for the work piece, I started the process last fall.
The application forms are painstakingly detailed. We all had to catalogue our complete US residency history (including addresses and dates) as well as work history since the age of 18. Imagine how many times a 40-something couple have moved and changed jobs in 20+ years! We also had to obtain FBI criminal clearance as well as clearances from all state law enforcement agencies in every jurisdiction we've resided in since age 18. Whew!
Once all the documents are prepared and submitted (and healthy fees are paid) the government finally starts their piece. It's taken six months, but the fact that we've been requested to do our medicals means we are close to the finish line. Medical exams are the final step and are required to insure we don't carry diseases which endanger public health or create a drain on the health care system. Which is ironic, since we've been living here and participating in the health care system since 2006 - go figure!
If all goes well, we should have our permanent status confirmed in the fall. Once we are declared "landed immigrants" we can petition for citizenship in two years, provided we are not deported for hooliganism in the interim! So, step by step, we are approaching our goal: dual citizenship and two passports. Which can only mean one possible celebration: Cuban vacation - here we come!!!
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