I want to find out if i can have best of both worlds.
I got my Canada PR visa stamped on my passport and I’m visiting Canada in March to start the clock.
My company is okay with me working remote.
I’m trying to find out if i can get my canada citizenship while Im on H1B without having to permanently move there so i can keep same salary
I plan to split my time between US and canada over next couple of years, ideally spend winters in USA and summers in canada.
Are there any minimum number of days i am required to spend inside USA to keep my H1b?
This is a very interesting question. I have always wondered what the chances of passing a Canadian citizenship interview are if you were being paid by a non-Canadian employer, as I have found very scant information regarding this. As far as I know you have to be able to establish a Canadian connection when you apply for promotion from PR to citizenship. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable responds here.
In my opinion, as long as you are paying taxes in Canada (which I assume OP will pay as he stays in Canada, regardless of being on H1B pursuant to tax residency rules). as well as maintain a strong connection to Canada (Family, home), there shouldn’t be any issue in promotion from PR to Citizenship.
Not a lawyer, so awaiting feedback from experts.
In order to get Canadian citizeship, you need to be in Canada for 3 out of 5 years on PR. If you plan to spend just the summers in Canada, you won’t be able to meet the requirement.
You must be physically present in Canada as a permanent resident for 1,095 days within the five (5) years immediately before applying for citizenship.
Only the five (5) years preceding the date of your application are taken into account. Within that five-year period:
Every day you spent in Canada as a permanent resident counts as a full day.
Every day you spent in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before you become a permanent resident counts as a half day, up to a maximum of 365 days. Therefore, in order to get the maximum 365 day credit you need to be physically present in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person for 730 days during your eligibility period.
Time spent serving a sentence in Canada does not count towards the physical presence requirement (i.e. you cannot count time spent serving a term of imprisonment, probation and/or on parole, as physical presence).
In very rare cases it is possible that time spent outside of Canada can count towards the physical presence requirement when applying for citizenship, learn more.
Never held an H1B so not sure what the conditions are on that, but having an H1B implies you are physically working in US for most of the time, from what I’ve heard. Typically, if you have been living for most of the time outside the US you can have trouble with CBP while coming back (again, hearsay).
If your company is willing to let you work remotely why waste those years on the H1B. You should probably ask them to “suspend”/“freeze” your H1B to pause the clock on that (if that is at all possible), and apply for B1/B2 visa. Afaik, if you’ve lived outside the US for a year, you can apply for a new H1 even if previous one for 6 year expired. But you will have to be counted against the cap again.
After your physically live in Canada for 3 years you can get the citizenship and move here after reactivating the H1B. You can also opt for TN visa once you are a Canadian. Note that you have to be physically present in Canada for 3 cumulative years, and every year more than half the period should be spend in Canada. This will increase your time-to-citizenship from 3 to 5-6 years.
Hey @basavanagudi,
I’m kinda in the same boat. I’m in US west coast workin on H1b. I’m about to do softlanding in vancouver.
I wanted to see if I can spend few months every year to get citizenship. Can you tell how was your experience?