10 Questions You Always Wanted to Ask a Canadian Immigration Lawyer

Judging by the regular threats Americans post on social media about relocating to Canada, it appears some of you could really use advice from an immigration lawyer.

The Canadian immigration site experienced such a high volume of traffic that fateful election day that it crashed; Americans are now applying in droves to Canadian universities. But for those of you who haven't quite developed an escape plan but want to, we reached out to Canadian immigration lawyer Raj Sharma to ask questions that may have been weighing on your mind while living in Trump's America.

VICE: Can I just move to Canada?
Raj Sharma: No. I want to deal with the underlying arrogance by Americans whenever this question pops up. Many times they expect to stroll into Canada, and I want to make it clear… Canada is not a consolation prize. All of a sudden you feel like America is not your country anymore; Rolling Stone has put our very photogenic prime minister on its cover, and we have health care.

No, you can't just move up here. That being said, we will treat Americans basically the same as any other applicant for permanent residence to Canada. There's some ways it's easier for an American to get a work permit in Canada, under NAFTA, which apparently Donald Trump might rip up and throw into the wastebasket. But there are some additional routes for Americans to get status here.

Should I marry a Canadian to immigrate there?
Marrying is a great option… For worker or economic class, we look at your qualifications and work experience. We'll even request an English language test from an American. Marrying someone or being in a common law relationship or even a conjugal relationship with a Canadian is a great way to immigrate to Canada: There's no language test, there's no education or income requirement.

Americans have an advantage here because they are visa-exempt—they can enter as a visitor and file an application from within Canada and get a work permit within a few months… Assuming you have a willing and eligible Canadian spouse, processing time [for spousal sponsorship] is about 12 months.

Can I get "free" healthcare if I move to Canada?
As a permanent resident, yes. Let's say you're an international student here, you'd get health care. If you're a temporary foreign worker, you could get healthcare. You have to comply with whatever provincial residency requirement there is [where you're living]; for example, in Alberta you might have to be there for two to three months before.

Visitors do not [get healthcare].

What's the fastest way for me to immigrate to Canada as a 20-something?
The fastest way is if you qualify as a skilled individual under express entry. Processing times there could be six months or so. Express entry, again, requires all your ducks in a row: post-secondary education, very high language proficiency, work experience in a skilled occupation. Express entry is almost like a dating site where you put up your profile [for Canada to consider], and your profile is ranked against all the other profiles in the pool. Each month there is a selection, and the profiles or points go up or down… Canada is somewhat ruthless is its selection of workers from abroad. We truly do get the best of the best.

Studying in Canada is a gateway for young people to get residency here, but those studies will be expensive [with international student fees]. It does get you a work permit [after you graduate], it allows you to work 20 hours per week [when you're studying], it allows you to get a lot of points for express entry.

How do I know if I'm eligible to immigrate to Canada?
Our website is actually really good… If you can't figure out that immigration website, you probably don't qualify for immigration to Canada. There's a points calculator on it that tells you what kind of points you have.

There's a lot of immigration advice: A lot of it is bad immigration advice. There's no regulations on immigration consultants, so they do get away with a lot shittier service than a lawyer can. I would really suggest people do their research… Sometimes it pays to do things on your own, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it pays to go to a quick consult and verify your research.

How much would it cost me to immigrate?
It sort of depends… You might be able to do it all with one consult, lots of research, you're diligent, you could do a lot of it on your own. The government sees $550 for the application [for express entry], $495 for the permanent residency fee, there's medical exam fees, the language test [fee]. You [may] have to get your educational credentials assessed—there might be a cost to that. It's certainly not cheap, even if you did it all yourself… I've seen it from a couple thousands dollars to five figures.

Can I legally buy my way into Canada?
Money always matters… You could buy a business in British Columbia or Saskatchewan—provinces have different provincial nominee programs. It depends on the province, but certainly business owners or people who create employment for others. Certain provinces may want to develop certain sectors, like Saskatchewan and their young farmers program.

Could I have a refugee claim if I identify as part of a marginalized group being negatively affected in Trump's America?
That would be a difficult claim to prove because one of the hurdles is going to be state protection. One of the issues is going to be there's a difference between discrimination and persecution. Certainly members of the LGTBQ community face discrimination… But persecution is a legal term of art.

Certainly there's no doubt in my mind that if a transgender person is barred from serving in the military that that's discrimination… I'm going to leave the door open a little bit on this because this is a developing area there where there is now discriminatory action by the state. Whenever the state gets involved in targeting specific communities, it does open the door for refugee protection.

If not refugee, there's another process called the humanitarian and compassionate application. There may well be a viable humanitarian and compassionate application available to individuals and members of groups who've been historically disadvantaged or persecuted and can show hardship, adverse circumstances, or other sympathetic considerations.

If I go to school on a study permit in Canada (as a growing number of Americans are trying to do), can I legally stay in the country after I graduate?
Make sure it's a designated learning institution. Make sure it's a program that leads to an acceptable credential. Then you have to apply—this is important—for something called a post-graduate work permit. Read up on that because we are kind of strict about it. Hopefully after that, there should be roots for a permanent resident application through a provincial nominee program or the express entry. Frankly, if there are international students or Americans thinking about this, I would definitely check out the eastern provinces—they have very generous provinicial nominee programs for international students.

Can I immigrate to Canada if I have a criminal record?
Yes, but you will definitely need to speak with an experienced immigration lawyer. It also depends on the criminal conviction. There is a process of rehabilitation and deemed rehabilitation, provided certain periods of time have elapsed. There are ways of getting around that criminal record, but it depends what that criminal record is and how much time has passed since that record and subsequent behaviour.

It does get complicated very quickly. This is one area of the law where you really can't fake it until you make it. You really need professional advice at that point.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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