Saturday 24 October 2009

Nova Scotia?

Where can I get a detached house with some land on the water with great scenery for circa £100k?

Nova Scotia.

I've been thinking about Nova Scotia again as a base. I say again because DH and I have discussed in the past NS as a possible place to Escape too. At that point we were interested in buying a property large enough to run a small B&B operation. The main obstacle to this was/is the immigration rules. To run a business as we wanted you needed evidence of experience of managing or running your own business of choice etc with evidence of turnover figures. So that was a non starter.

But, what if we just bought a property as a base? We are not looking to work in Canada, we don't want Canadians' jobs and we would not be a drain on the economy. Apparently anyone can buy property there but you have no right to reside there. You have to take your chance everytime you go through immigration and enter the country.

My understanding of the immigration rules is that we can stay 6 months in Canada and then you have to leave. Well, could we just go over the border and go shopping and come back or would we actually have to fly out and get our passport stamped as evidence we have left? Is this a viable option? How strict are they at immigration?

My real concern is falling fowl of the immigration rules. The trouble is there is actually very little written in the rules about this scenario. It just seems that one is at the mercy of the immigration officer at the point of entry. If they think that we are in reality living in Canada and just going back and fourth to every so often would we run into trouble? Its a real concern.

I have heard of people having 2nd homes in north america before without any problems. We have all heard of the older British "snowbirds" who have houses in Florida.

Can anyone shed any light on this. Or does anyone have any thoughts.

I am not thinking of Canada just because we can buy a house for cheap. I love the great outdoors and have always found the people to be warm and friendly.

Any comments or advice are welcome.

7 comments:

Anya said...

I would be more concerned if you decided to purchase a house in the US. Our immigration laws are the worst and the officers tend to treat their own citizens with disgust when they return from abroad. I can only imagine how they treat foreign visitors.

Dreamer said...

Hi Anya thanks for posting - I do understand what you mean having been to the US more than a few times - I am hoping that the canadian officials might be a bit more laid back, or is that wishful thinking?

its me, sam said...

Good morning, I stumbled across your blog via Frugal Trenches and as I'm from NB, i thought I've give you some #'s to call for immigration. Plus if your a lawyer you could to practice here in Canada. ( I don't know the whole process, but I do know of a few British lawyers around)

1-888 242 2100 ( citizenship and immigration) or the web address www.cuc.gc.ca

Nova Scotia is beautiful, but don't forget about New Brunswick or PEI. Good luck with your journey!

The Accidental Author said...

Hi, I found your blog through Fanciful Alice. We escaped the 9-5 several years ago but were credit crunched back to real life. I don't know about immigration but I love Nova Scotia. One of my oldest friends is from PEI and I've spent some lovely times with her on the island and in Halifax. Best lobster I've ever tasted too. Good luck

Dreamer said...

Hi Ostrich - thank you very much for the info and the link. THe plan is to semi retire and downsize and I dont want to work as a lawyer once we escape unless i REALLY have to. I'm off to look at your site now.

Hi Lost in france - I would love to hear more about your adventure, sorry to hear you were credit crunched back. I will go and have a look at your site. :)

Cassia Chen said...

I live in Montreal, Canada and have gone house hunting in New Brunswick. Like Nova Scotia, houses in New Brunswick are very cheap. In the end, we decided against it due to the harsh winter.

Regarding immigration, going over to the U.S. is considered leaving the country. Once you are in Canada, it is fairly easy to become a landed immigrant. But unfortunately you have to get a job first.

I am in my forties and have successful escaped 9 to 5. So it is possible. Keep it up.

Anonymous said...

You guessed correctly on the blog, but no announcements yet. Feel free to email me though!!!