The Ballad of the Eagle and the Beaver!

Dear Readers:

I ran across this article in Quora Digest today and thought it was interesting enough for Canadians that I should pass on!


Why can't Americans stay longer than 6 months in Canada? Why can't Americans become Canadian citizens after the age of 50 if we have our own health insurance?

Here are some of the answers:

- Why can't you? The answer is simple - Americans have no rights to enter Canada, let alone remain. Your question is loaded with preconceived notions about US rights.   You earn the right to be a Canadian, it isn't given because you are an American over 50. Canada makes their own laws and is under no obligation to allow any foreign citizen entry or citizenship. 

- The premise of the question is wrong. Any foreigner coming into Canada as a temporary visitor will only be admitted for 6 months. With valid reason this can be extended. Any visitor to the US will likewise only be admitted for up to 6 months (except for visa waiver, which is 90 days). No foreigner can apply for Canadian citizenship without first becoming a Canadian permanent resident. There are several options available to you, but the professional class deprioritizes people over 40. If you are a permanent resident being older actually can make the naturalization process simpler.

- For the same reason that Mexicans (or any other foreign national) has similar limitations in the US. Entry, Residency and Citizenship are privileges, not rights. A foreign national can't just decide that they're going to march into another country and set up shop without going through the appropriate visa processes and without meeting the basic requirements for residency and citizenship. It doesn't matter whether you're from the US or Elbonia. The good news is that immigration from the US to Canada is a pretty simple process. Essentially, you just have to prove that you're not going to be a burden on society or a threat to the community. Sure, there's paperwork involved and it's not exactly a speedy process, but it's not a difficult one. 

- The other posters have answered the question well. I'm only chiming in because I moved to Canada from the U.S. at the age of 52 and now, ten years later, I'm a citizen. For a variety of reasons, the process took me about seven years.

Especially since I live in Quebec, which has its own immigration selection process, I had to jump through a lot of hoops and fill out a lot of paperwork. It wasn't fun - at times nerve-wracking - but I sure did get choked up at the citizenship ceremony. Like most countries, Canada essentially wants to make sure that you are who you say you are, and that you really, really want to live here and be a member of the society. That's why they make it hard. Nobody immigrates here by accident; you have to want it.  

- If you lose your ability to pay your health insurance after becoming a citizen, or just decide to stop, what then? But in reality, all Canadians are assured of having subsidized healthcare access, just as all Americans have the rights listed in the US constitution. You cannot give those to some people, and deny them to others, and expect to have a just society.

- When signed more than 20 years ago the NAFTA agreement did allow US and Canada citizens to stay for up to 6 months in each other countries. Instead of getting closer both countries scrutinize the citizens from the other country who want to cross the border. If someone states that they want to stay for 6 months, they risk being turned back. Unfortunately, having a polarized political system in the US will prevent from making a new agreement to bring closer the US and Canada.