How to move to Canada from the US

This post is for Americans interested in moving to Canada from the United States.

I’ll include the steps I took to immigrate to Canada in 2022. Please note that provincial and federal rules and regulations may change at any time, and that the steps listed below are specific for Americans (though many of the steps are universal, I cannot speak to other’s experiences and potential issues/concerns). These steps are up to date as of January 2025, and are also focused on the steps to move to British Columbia.

How easy is it to move to Canada as an American?

This depends on your path to Canada. There are two main paths – marry a Canadian, or get sponsored work in Canada. By this I mean have a Canadian company hire you directly and/or have an American company that you already work for and that has an ‘entity’ in Canada, transfer you internally. You can’t just take a remote job from the United States and move to Canada with it – that would be illegal, as you need a legal right to work in Canada (and Canada will expect you to be paying taxes to them if you work within the country). There are third party companies that help you set up the payroll side in Canada if they don’t have a Canadian entity – this is called a PEO (learn more here). You might need to convince your existing employer to use them though.

If you are not concerned about working in Canada, and are for example already retired, then you can visit Canada up to 6 months a year on a tourist visa – however this is not the same thing as moving permanently. To do that, you will need to obtain some kind of temporary permit or apply for permanent residency, which is the Canadian equivalent of a green card. Canada has a dynamic immigration process that is constantly changing depending on the needs of the country, and so the number of points you need to qualify for permanent residency changes. You can learn more on the Canadian immigration website.

Once you’ve figured out what your path to get to Canada looks like – then take the steps below to begin your move.

Step 0: Apply for Nexus

Nexus is a program that lets you come and go quickly and easily through a fast track lane between the US and Canada across the borders of land, sea or sky. It’s like global entry, and you apply through the same portal for Homeland Security. This is step zero because it can take a long time for the paperwork to go through, so once you know you are moving to Canada, apply! It costs $120 USD and often is included on most major travel credit card perks. You can use global entry to re-enter the US at the border, but will need Nexus to re-enter Canada for the US. This can save you hours of time!

Step 1: Get a job in Canada (and get an LMIA letter and exemption number)

There are many ways to move to Canada, but in our case we moved to Canada for work – specifically, for my husband’s work. In order to get a job in Canada and receive a work permit (as Americans, we only needed work permits, not work permits + visas), your future employer must prove to the Canadian government that a Canadian could not have filled that exact role. This is standard work permit processing across many countries including the U.S., but is worth calling out. So step one involved:

Getting the job offer —> Signing the offer —> Employer letting the government know that no one else could fill the role —> receiving proof and recognition that everyone agrees on this, which is called getting an LMIA letter/exemption number.

Step 2: Find somewhere to live

…And sign up for Hydro (electricity) and internet.

Okay, so this doesn’t have to be step 2 necessarily, but I’m putting it here because you need an address to put on all of your documents once you arrive – so it’s good if it’s somewhere you are actually going to live, since it’s going to go on your license, the social security office will have it, the border control office will ask for it, etc, etc.

We actually found an apartment sight unseen, which, while I don’t recommend for your own peace of mind, is definitely doable in the post-pandemic world. We did this by:

Stalking craigslist for postings —> messaging, calling, and texting landlords, including sending out a sweet and thoughtful cover letter with our photo which explained why we were moving to Canada, how we could afford to live there, that we planned to stay for a long time, and that we weren’t serial killers and they could trust us —> setting up virtual tours / getting videos and photos of the properties —> sharing lots of personal information about ourselves including our credit score, background check, credit report, bank statements, previous paychecks, etc —> Signing a lease and putting down a deposit (which of course required wiring money internationally, so make sure you have a bank that can do that quickly and without much charge, we used Bank of America).

We were able to use our American credit score to prove our financial responsibility as tenants, however this is the only time American credit is useful in Canada, and it’s important to start building Canadian credit as soon as possible upon arrival.

Once you secure an apartment, take ownership of the electric/gas bill through BC Hydro and schedule an install for internet through one of the main providers like Rogers or Telus. It’s important to note that these services require payment through Canadian banking institutions, so you will want to set up a Canadian bank account as soon as possible to pay these bills.

Step 3: Think about your phone options

Sometimes you can get away with holding on to your American phone plan, but in our case, we switched over to Google Fi, and eventually they shut off our data once they figured out we were mostly roaming on it in Canada. I know of people who manage to stick with T Mobile or if they are on a family plan and the family member is still based in the USA, they can continue on AT&T or Verizon. But, know that eventually this might actually catch up to you, like it did for me.

We ultimately got a plan with Freedom Mobile – they had a great US/Canada plan which was about the same as what we were paying for Google Fi back in the states.

Before we got that number though, we ported our American numbers over on Google Voice so that we still ‘possess’ them. Please note that you have to be in the United States to do this, so my recommendation is to get a Canadian SIM card, then go back to the states to set this up.

We also set up VoIP Canadian phone numbers using TextNow for free. That could be useful if you want to keep your American SIM as your primary number, but need a local number for some reason.

Step 4: Think about your mail options

USPS doesn’t forward mail to Canada. In order not to lose mail in transit, we decided to open up a P.O. box in Washington that we check sporadically. It costs about $120/year. We also can have packages sent there which is helpful because not all American manufacturers ship to Canada, or if they do, you have to pay international shipping fees, so this saves us money in the long run.

Step 5: Set up temporary health insurance

That famous, amazing socialized healthcare that Canada is known for only kicks in once you have lived in the country for 3 months. So in the meantime, you need to buy temporary private insurance. I purchased through David Cummings Insurance Services, but there are a few options out there.

Step 6: Obtain your work permit

You get your work permit upon arrival in Canada, either by land or air. We drove from California, so it went something like this:

Show up at the Washington/Canada border and present your passport —> When the officer asks why you are coming to Canada, tell them you are moving there and that you want to obtain your work permit today —> they give you a piece of paper with information on it and tell you to drive up to another office and park in a certain stall —> you park and go into their office to do the paperwork.

Pro tip: Try to do this at a random time of day on a week day. The border can be busy on holidays and weekends, and while there is always someone there, better to do this on a day and at a time when things are quiet and the officers are in a good mood.

Once you enter the border control office, you will go to a counter and provide your documents to the officer for processing. These documents include:

• Printed offer letter from your employer
• LMIA/exemption number (mentioned in step 1)
• Marriage certificate, if you are bringing a spouse
• Proof that you are capable of the job at hand, in my husband’s case, this was a copy of his PhD certificate and a copy of his CV/resume
• Your passports

You hand over the documents, you wait about 45 minutes, and then you go back to the desk and they give you shiny printouts of your work permit, which is a 7×11” piece of paper that you now have to carry with you every time you enter Canada. They also make you pay for it, about $250 CAD in our case. My husband received a work permit for his employer only, and I received an open work permit which means I can work for anyone in Canada. They are both for 4.5 years before they need to be renewed, which is nearly the maximum amount of time they can make them, though it is possible the border control could be upset one day and give you the permit for say, only 1-2 years. That would be no bueno because who wants to go through that process over and over again?

Side note: we entered Canada with our dog, but no one seemed to notice or care. Technically you need to carry proof of rabies vaccine with you when traveling with an animal across the border, and we keep that in our car at all times. Also as of late 2024, the CDC has implemented some new documentation rules that may be worth noting.

Step 7: Obtain your car importation documentation

If you are planning on driving an American registered and licensed car into and using it in Canada, there are a few steps you need to take, and the first one happens at the border. This is an important step to get right quickly because you technically only have 30 days upon arrival to register the vehicle, and usually, American car insurance will only cover you abroad for 30 days as well. So the clock is ticking. They asked me which day I crossed the border when I registered my car, so if you think they won’t care, think again!

When you pull up at the border control and say you want to obtain your work permit, ALSO tell them you need to obtain a Form 1. We forgot to do this and ended up having to go back again and take care of it (though later we learned there is another border control office in downtown Vancouver, so you don’t necessarily have to cross the border to deal with it).

When you get the Form 1, you need to make sure you have the vehicle’s title. You will hand this over to the officer along with your Passport, work permit, and car keys, and then you wait about 45 minutes for them to inspect your vehicle (to confirm the VIN and condition) and draw up the paperwork. They will generate a Form 1 and should stamp it in two places. They will also provide a casual goods accounting document that will show you aren’t paying taxes on the vehicle yet. Once you have these forms, you can take the next steps to temporarily import the vehicle.

A note on temporary import: this term is not commonly used in Canada. Essentially you ARE importing the car, but you aren’t paying taxes on the import – YET. If you leave Canada before becoming a permanent resident, you won’t have to pay these taxes, but if you do stay you will eventually have to pay. While it’s temporarily imported, you can’t sell or dispose of the vehicle without first paying taxes on it.

Important in BC: when we received the Form 1, we were told we wouldn’t have to do inspection. This is not true. All vehicles in BC require inspection.

Step 8: Import your goods

You may be moving your items to Canada on your own, or you may have hired a moving company. If you hired a moving company, they may or may not have beat you to Canada. When we moved from San Francisco, it took our goods about 9 days to arrive. They were brought over the border and put in a warehouse awaiting customs clearance. The moving company needed the Canadian government to grant permission for them to deliver the items to our address. In order to ‘free’ or items, we had to go to the Canada Border Services Agency in downtown Vancouver and show them some paperwork from the movers, then they stamped a document, and we had to send that information back to the movers.

We were advised that things like spices and plants would not be able to be imported, but ultimately we didn’t run into any issues with the items we moved.

Step 9: Get a Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Hurray, you’re in Canada! Good work. The next thing you want to do is get an SIN number so that you have an identity in the Canadian tax system. In order to do this, you must visit a Canada Service Center. These offices do not take appointments and handle things like unemployment, social services, and other federal benefits.

Pro tip: Do NOT apply online. You’ll get your SIN same day if you walk in and apply in person, but online the process can be very delayed.

Once you locate your closest Service Center, you show up and you fill out a little card with your parent’s maiden names and some other demographic information. You then wait in a line, and then meet with an officer who takes down some basic information. At this appointment, bring:

• Passports
• Work permit

You then sit down again for 1-2 hours and wait. And then they will call you back eventually and print out pieces of paper with your new SIN number.

Note: unlike in the US where you receive one social security number (SSN) for your whole life, in Canada you will get a new ID once you become a permanent resident. So this temporary SIN is tied to your work permit.

Once you have an SIN, you can do financial things in Canada, like open up a bank account and build credit.

Step 10: Open a bank account and credit card

Once you have an SIN number, you can open a bank account! Once you pick a bank (I recommend CIBC, they have good intro accounts for immigrants), walk in or make an appointment to open an account. Bring with you:

• Passport
• Work permit
• SIN number

When you open a bank account, you get a checking account with a debit card. Some banks also help you apply for a credit card, which normally would be impossible to do as a new immigrant because you have no Canadian credit (American credit does not help you at all in this case). We opened accounts with CIBC because they have a ‘new immigrant’ credit card that, while a low amount, is a great way to get started and is free. Having a credit card is very important to build Canadian credit and be eligible for loans, other credit, and other services like buying a home. We started with about $1000 credit limit and in two years have over $15,000 credit limit and have excellent credit (so it doesn’t take that long to build good credit as long as you are fiscally responsible).

Step 11: Apply for Canadian health insurance (MSP)

Once you arrive in Canada and have an SIN, you can apply for health insurance. It won’t kick in for 3 months, but at least you will be set up to receive it once that time passes. The application is available online here.

Step 12: Get a provincial license

Please note, the following is relevant to British Columbia, and other provinces may have other rules or names for their institutions.

It will probably be handy to have a Canadian ID besides that 7×11” piece of paper that is your very important work permit, right? Right. So now it’s time to get your driver’s license. This is also important if you plan to register your vehicle (see steps 13 and 14). You CAN drive in Canada with an American license (like renting a car, car share etc) but technically you are supposed to switch over to a BC license if you are in the country more than 90 days.

Unlike in the US where there is only one department of motor vehicles per city, in BC there are more smaller offices throughout the city. In BC, the institution that controls all driving related things – licensing, registration, insurance, is called ICBC. You want to find an ICBC Driving Centre and make an appointment to exchange your license. Canada accepts American licenses at face value and will let you exchange your current one for a BC license without taking any tests. They will have you read over a few minor traffic differences between the two countries. The only one that was relevant for us was that in BC, they have a ‘flashing green’ light which gives you right of way but also allows cars at those flashing green intersections to turn onto the primary street without the light changing (kind of like a 2-way stop sign). This is honestly a brilliant move by BC as it allows there to be lights at many intersections but keeps the primary flow of traffic moving at all times.

Make an appointment online, and bring the following with you:

• Your passport
• Your work permit
• The license you are forfeiting
• Proof of driving history
  • NOTE: This is the most important thing you need to figure out in advance, ideally before you make an appointment. It is very helpful to prove to Canada the extent of your driving history, because it will significantly reduce your insurance premium. For example, the maximum amount of years of driving history they let you transfer is 15. If you can prove you have 15 years of experience already, your insurance goes down by 30%!
  • So how do you prove driving history to Canada? First things first, CALL ICBC and ask them how they want to receive the information! In our case, they wanted the department of motor vehicles in the US to fax them directly proof of driving history. They would not accept a copy. This is not very straightforward, but call the records department at your state and beg them to help you with this, as it may not be enough to just order the records online. Also, states don’t communicate with each other, so don’t assume that the last state you drove in has your previous history (they don’t). You’ll want to get the history for the state you first received a license in, to go as far back as possible. Once ICBC has your driving history, it’s on your file forever and other agencies that do registration and insurance can reference it.

Skip the next 2 steps if you don’t have a car.

Step 13: Get Your vehicle inspected

In British Columbia, all vehicles being brought in from out of province or out of country require inspection by a licensed inspecting auto shop. I conducted the inspection at Canadian Tire, mostly because it was easy to make an appointment online. There may be other, cheaper options.

The inspection report looks at power, train, suspension, brakes, hydraulics, steering, instruments, lamps, electrical, frame and body, tires, wheels and other various aspects of your car to make sure it complies with provincial laws. Something that is unique to Canada is the requirement of daylight running lights. As this isn’t required of cars manufactured for the American market, you can pretty much count on having that changed on your vehicle. The way this works is the following:

Take car to shop for inspection —> wait 2 hours —> have shop tell you all the things you have to change in order for your vehicle to pass inspection —> get the changes made, either at that shop or elsewhere if you want to price shop —> have the vehicle reinspected for 2 hours —> receive a ‘passing’ inspection report that you can take to get the car registered. The inspection costs money, and the repairs cost money, and it’s a complete racket, but this is how bureaucracy works in Canada. Pause. Take a deep breath.

Step 14: Register and insure your vehicle

Once you have your license, your driving history, your passed inspection report, and your Form 1 and corresponding tax document, you are FINALLY ready to get your car registered and insured!

Note: insurance in BC is provincially controlled. So, the province sets the rates and while there are many various auto brokers throughout the province, they are all conduits for ICBC which is the umbrella body that manages all things vehicles. As a result, you can’t price shop, and it doesn’t really matter where you get insurance, but maybe pick somewhere close to where you live. I ultimately chose BCAA for two reasons 1) I’m an AAA member in the US, and they have a relationship and 2) it was across the street from the inspection center.

It can take about 2 hours to do all the paperwork for this process, so the auto broker may require you make an appointment. In my case, I walked in and did an initial document review, and then came back another day to do the final paperwork. I needed:

• Proof of ownership (Bill of Sale because the original title was not in my name), as well as the Title
• Passed vehicle inspection report (called MV3199 or MV3104) (given by the auto shop)
• Vehicle import form (Form 1) with 2 stamps (given at the border)
• Casual goods accounting document (either B15, B3, or B4E) (given at the border)

Once you make an appointment and show up with the above documents, you will get your vehicle registered with new plates. They also conduct a visual inspection and confirm the VIN is what you said it was. You will switch the plates then and there and forfeit the old title. They will issue a new title/registration document.

After, you will sign up for car insurance. There is a basic insurance that is government price controlled based on your vehicle age, condition, type, and safety features. You can then upgrade and add collision insurance, liability insurance, and total coverage insurance. In BC, you cannot be sued for an auto accident and it’s also a no fault system meaning if anyone hits you, insurance will cover it, and if you hit someone else, that person’s insurance will cover them. If you damage your own vehicle and it’s your fault, and you want repairs of your own vehicle, then you have to add on collision insurance.

If you want to pay monthly premiums, bring a voided check from your bank. It is cheaper, however, to pay annually. If you have a long and good driving history, you can reduce your rate by 30%!

Step 15: Find a financial advisor / international accountant

As an American, you always have to file taxes anywhere in the world where you live. And if you live and work in Canada, you have to file taxes in Canada too. There are trade agreements between the two countries that keep you from being double taxed, but it’s important to get someone to help with this tax nightmare!

Step 16: Start the Permanent Residency Process

Even before you get your work permit, you can start working towards permanent residency (PR). Achieving PR affords all the benefits of Canadian citizenship except for the ability to vote. It’s also important if you want to buy property in Canada, because without it you are subject to a 20% foreigner’s tax. Take a look at the steps relevant to your path to citizenship to determine which tests or documentation you can start working on today. The PR process requires a lot of documentation, an English language test, medical exams, and some fees, and you are only eligible if you have enough points, which can be earned based on age, occupation, educational background, or other factors. Canada has a dynamic immigration policy that is constantly changing to accommodate the needs of the country.

So to summarize, the steps to move to Canada are:

1. Get a job
2. Apply for Nexus
3. Find somewhere to live so you have an address
4. Determine your phone plan
5. Determine your mail plan
6. Set up temporary health insurance
7. Process a work permit
8. Process vehicle import documents
9. Clear your items from customs
10. Apply for an SIN number
11. Open bank accounts / credit cards
12. Apply for MSP (health insurance)
13. Get a provincial driver’s license
14. Conduct a vehicle inspection
15. Register and insure your vehicle
16. Find a financial advisor / international accountant
17. Apply for PR

Let me know if I missed something, and if this helps!