Moving from United States to Canada
Moving from United States to Canada: United States passport holders get visa-free (180 days) for short stays and need a residence permit to settle. Canada is about 13% cheaper than United States, around $2,600/month for one person. Citizenship takes about 3 years of residence.
Last updated August 2026 · How we calculate this
Visa & entry
Visa-free (180 days) for short visits. To settle you'll need a residence route:
- Express Entry (Federal Skilled Worker) — Rank high on the CRS points system for skilled workers — no job offer required.
- Start-up Visa — Get a qualifying business idea backed by a designated Canadian investor group.
Documents & apostille
Single apostille each end. Both countries are in the Hague Apostille Convention — one apostille from United States makes your documents valid in Canada.
Where in United States: Secretary of State of the issuing state (state-level documents) plus the US Department of State, Office of Authentications, for federal documents — official source
↳ Canada: Apostille in force 11 Jan 2024; ON/QC/AB/BC/SK issue their own apostilles for docs issued/notarized there, Global Affairs Canada handles federal docs and all other provinces/territories
Check each document →Cost, tax & salary
Canada is 13% cheaper than United States — around $2,600/mo vs $3,000/mo for one person.
Citizenship & residency
1095 days (3 of last 5 yrs) physical presence as PR; skilled migrants often get PR directly via Express Entry. Test/language ages 18-54.
Your path to a passport →Arrival checklist
- Get a tax number: SIN (Social Insurance Number)
- Residence permit: PR Card (or work permit); landing confirmed via eCOPR
- Healthcare: Provincial health insurance (OHIP / RAMQ / MSP etc.) — enrol by province
No address registration. Land as PR (eCOPR) -> SIN (needed to work) -> provincial health card (waiting period in some provinces) -> bank (passport suffices).
Your move, step by step →Driving
Province-specific. Ontario e.g.: all provinces/US states + AU, AT, BE, DK, FR, DE, GB, HU, Isle of Man, JP, NZ, N.Ireland, Ireland, KR, CH, Taiwan exchange without test; others full retest. Other provinces have similar but differing lists.
No national licence — rules/reciprocal lists differ per province; non-listed countries retest regardless of experience. Under 2yrs experience from a reciprocal country may only get G2.
Exchange your licence →Pets
- Microchip: Not mandatory for personal dog/cat import (recommended; ISO 11784/11785 if used). verify per current CFIA form
- Rabies: Required for dogs/cats 3 months and older; valid rabies certificate (English/French) from licensed vet. No fixed pre-entry waiting period mandated. Exempt if under 3 months or from a CFIA-recognized rabies-free country
- Quarantine: None if compliant
Canada — quick facts
Start your move from United States to Canada
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