Hello everybody
Now I have opportunity to go Canada but I have a good job in Germany and I had no problem here till now. I have GC and I have been here about 4 years.
If you have some information about Canada, Could you please compare Canada and Germany, and tell me which ones is better for living_?

Thanks a lot

take this into account:
in 1 years you get PR
in another 3 years (8) you get citizenship and with CS you are free to work in whole EU.

I do not know how much years man needs in Canada for those things, but here you allready have 4 years. You'll need a lot more time in Canada to achieve the same thing, and even than you can work only in Canada, and here in whole EU.
Btw I heard that in Canada unemployment is big.

What land are you from is also important.
I am from southeast Europe and I preffer Germany because it is near.
What is Krankenversicherung like in Canada is also important.

Hi SSR,

I had started one link on this topic few days back. Try to find it, there has been lot of disscussion on this topic.

What DvD said is right. Unemployment is a problem in Canada otherwise Canada is better. I also have a chance for canada but i have cancelled it. If u get any positive things related to immigrating to canada, then please let us also know, through this forum.

Its true that you will have to start from begning in canada. One of my friend told me that the market is competitive, means, we will have to compete with the unemployed people from US trying to get job in Canada, plus canadian education is given lot of importance. So, if you have lots of energy to handle such challenges, then you should proceed. But, I dont have. I have expelled my all energies in Germany. No more left. :-)

One friendly suggestion, which I have also learnt. Do not only listen to good things about a place. Do not try to see just what you like to see. Instead, also try to find out the disadvantages of that place.

One more thing, in canada you get only 15 days holiday, here its 30. So think about all factors.

But, if you find out that all this is not true and canada really is good, please tell me for sure.

DvD:
After getting PR in canada, 3 years more are required for getting citizenship, same as here.

"After getting PR in canada, 3 years more are required for getting citizenship, same as here."

true but here he allmost has PR.
in Can he starts from zero

For Canada, it needs 3 years of residency to get citizenship.
The job market in Canada is bad for technical persons. The unemployment rate is around 6 - 7%. But Canada is the best country to live which is recognized by the UN. Once you get the passport of Canada, you have a easy access to US job market under NAFTA. When you get the citizenship of Canada, you can certainly feel that is your own land. The soil on what you walk is your own! But in Germany you can never be a German even though you hold the German Passport. It’s too hard to be integrated in Germany. Your next generation can adopt very well in Canada. But this is not so easy in Germany.
Several weeks back, I talked to the kids of my friend who is living in the UK. In the UK, the school teachers of the kids suggest them to learn and practice their mother language in home. In Germany, I have heard the teachers in the school suggest the kids to speak and practice GERMAN in home. Integration should not be done forgetting your own identity.
My opinion is that : except earning of money, Germany is not a better country than Canada by any means!

mk

Hello SSR,

I am also a canadian immigrant before and lost the status. Due to some personal reasons I was out of that country for a while and I did not apply further for extension, which is quiet possible. But the fact is I found a job and I am here so why would I risk my job and go to canada, which is not a welcome place for jobs and even you study in canada it is very difficult to find. If you think you need to looking for a future without risk try staying in canada and try to find short term projects in IT field, work elsewhere(blue colar jobs) and ofcourse if you can get a job then it is good. Once you get citizenship check for dual citizenship if available in your country and then once you have canadian passport in your hand you could always go to US on alien visa for working there and it is manageable. The other way around hope next year some miracle happens here in Germany and you are applying for immigration and you are successful then you could stay here in Germany because you are already accustomed to these surroundings.

regards,
Nitin

Hello,

I had a chance to spend two years in Canada and I could say couple of words about it. I met a lot of friendly people there and I can say Canada is a big and nice looking country. My son was born there also. But I have to admit that at the end my expectations were much higher than that. What I found there, was a slightly modified copy of the US system with what the Canadians proudly call a better social system - this is something between the "real" social system we have in Germany and a practically non existing social system in the US.

I lived in Germany before I went to Canada and I always compared Canada with Germany. That was my problem. I found Germany to be much better in the majority of the issues. Very few were better over there. That is the reason why I came back.

Here some things to know:

1. The Canadian economy is very dependant on the US economy. This means the half of it or even more is owned by the US companies.
2. Salaries are lower than in Germany. I would say some 30 to 40%. You get the same amount of Canadian$ in Canada what for what you get in the US in US$ for a similar job. The only difference is in the rate of the US$ to the Canadian $ - 1:1,5.
3. There is no pension plan like here. You got to take care of it yourself. This amount you can deduct from your taxes. When you then receive you pension, it will be taxed according to your yearly income.
4. Taxes are very high. Of course, like everywhere - the more you make, the more they take. But thehe max. tax rate I think can even exceed 50%. If you for example earn 5000$ a month, you got to pay 35-40% taxes.
5. There is no Kindergeld there – only for the people with low income. I used to get 5$ a month.
6. There is no Weihnachtsgeld and Urlaubsgeld there.
7. You get two weeks of vacation per year. After working more then 5 years at the same company, you are entitled to get one more week. If you change the company, you start from scratch. This is a pity since Canada is a nice country and you would like to explore it. But at the end, you simply have no time to do that.
8. Health insurance doesn’t include the dentist. This you have to pay yourself or in some cases the company takes care up to a certain amount. For the first three months in Canada you are not covered by the health insurance – you got pay out of your own pocket in the case you need it.
9. If you own a house or a flat you got to pay taxes. An average house would cost you between 2500 and 3000$ in taxes per year. If you want a swimming pool please ad 50% to that amount.
10. Car insurance over there is quite high for the newcomers. I had to pay 4000$ the first year. Every time you sell a car you got to pay – of course – taxes. 15% I think.
11. And here the most important: a six pack beer (6 x 0,3l) cost between 10 and 12$. A bottle of wine you can hardly get under 10$.
12. And here the most weird and bizarre one: If you do not make a testament (will) and it happens that you die for some reason, the Queen of England will get a part of your property. I am not sure but I think either a third of a half of it.

I hope this helps you to make a decision.

James

Hi,

I have been in Germany for over 3 years now. I am impressed regarding the social security in Germany - crime, health insurance, arbeitlossgeld, 6 weeks urlaubzeit, kindergeld, free (almost)education for children, being in the center of Europe. I am looking forward for the PR after 5 years.

I have also received the immigration visa to Australia - which is valid only if I have an entry by the end of this year. But we decided not to go there...cause there we have to start from the zero again. All the "investments" that we made here will be lost.

And the best thing is my family likes europe...:-))

Ahmed

To mk,

I forgot to say couple of words about the integration. I see thats there are still people that think there is a difference between becoming a canadian and becoming a german citizen. If you think you are more canadian just because you have a passport then you are wrong. Something like canadian identity simply doesn't exist - except their flag.

There are native Canadians that live prety much like the people in the US - the same life style. The most of them are English, Irish, Scottish... And there are a lot of imigrants, you can recognize on their look and their accent. People are gathering there either arround a church (plenty of different churches there) or they are gathering arround their nationality.

Almost every nation presented in the significant number, lives in a parallel cultural circle. Every bigger town has it's ethnic areas where Chinese live together with Chinese, Pakistani together with Pakistani, Indian with Indian and so on... A lot of them don't even speak English. The contacts between these groups are rare or none. This is simmilar to the problem of the Turks here in Germany, what they started to show in TV recently. Where there is a small Turkey in Cologne or Berlin. Where the children neither speek German nor there mother tongue. The only difference is that in Germany these are mainly Turks and in Canada almost all bigger ethnic Groups.

In your case, I would not think that for becoming a Canadian three years are enough. Integration is much harder to acomplish than only by getting a passport. Integration means adopting of certain rules. It is mostly a choice: either - or. But not both.

James

Hi James,

Thanks for the info. You detailed lots of points. I appreciate it. I was looking for such detailed answer. Now I am sure, I have not made mistake by not taking the chance of migrating to Canada.

regards!

Hi *,

I guess the comprehensive account of james was really embracing all the details about Canada.

Hope it answers all questions about immigration in Canada.

-Fred

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate all the thinks that James mentioned, because I have as well the possibility to go to Canada. From my point of view in any case you should not miss the opportunity to get Permanent Resident Cards (PRC) and then you have three years more to decide if you really want to go there. Do NOT forget: If you do not entry in Canada until yours VISA expire you close the path to there forever.

Regards

Dont loose what U have rite now for what U might get in future.

As far as I know, You have 3 years to permanently move to Canada. And in these 3 years, U will have to visit Canada once each year, even though it is for just 1 day. I believe that U must have invested a lot of money, time and patience in getting this Canadian PR. So dont leave it like that. It is worth making a visit to Canada and looking around Urself, before making a decision of never having to live in Canada.

If You follow this way, You can handle both PR hand in hand, atleast till the time Ur 3 years expire.

Since U only have 1 year to go b4 U get Ur German PR, my suggestion would be to definitely get it before moving to Canada. However, if Ur Canadian PR requires U to visit Canada before Ur Canadian PR visa expires then jolly well make a short trip to Canada. Take it as Ur annual vacations. And mind U, Canada is a very very beautiful country, so You wont be in a bad deal.

And when finally U have the German PR, go ahead and make the decision of Ur life. To be in Germany or to be in Canada. Atleast at this point U will be in a position to make a choice.

If Ur Canadian PR expires this year end and U dont make this short trip to Canada, then U loose this opportunity to make the choice.

I too have the Canadian PR and I plan on going ahead this way. I am in a better position bcos in my case the 3 years deadline starts sometime next year, when I finally get the Visa stamped, which I have been able to postpone from this year to next year.


Cheers
Nitin

hi all,

james put it 100% right. I lived for 2 years in germany than 1 year in canada... now I'm back in germany... I'll leave you to say which one I have chosen.
Go visit ... but dont confuse turism with emigration )

Good luck

Hi *,
In fact what Nitin said above is not exactly correct. The law say something else:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/skilled/after-3.html
You can visit just one time Canada to apply for RPC and then you have 3 years to choose where you want to live

Regards,
George

Hi George.

What is RPC ? I guess U meant PRC ( Permanent Residence Card ) and not Resident Permit Card ;)

George is correct. The rules have changed. Previously You had to visit Canada atleast once a year to keep You PR alive, before the 3 years deadline expires.


Keep enjoying
Nitin Malhotra