CAN perm resident, living in US, working in CAN- staus

Hello,

The calculations for residency and medical are misunderstood fairly often.

Maintaining Residency: If you have been a Permanent Resident for Less than 5 Years, you must "show that you will be able to meet the minimum of 730 days physical presence in Canada at the five (5)-year mark." - this does not mean traveling in and out - it means a 24-hour day. (http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/information/applications/guides/5445EA.asp)... also see: http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/newcomers/about-pr.asp#keep_status.

Maintaining Medical Benefits: Medical benefits in Canada are generally maintained only where you are resident in Canada for a period of days in a given year. "An individual must be a resident of B.C. in order to qualify for medical coverage under MSP. A resident is a person who meets all of the following conditions:

• must be a citizen of Canada or be lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence;
• must make his or her home in B.C.;
• must be physically present in B.C. at least 6 months in a calendar year; and
• dependents of MSP beneficiaries are eligible for coverage if they are residents of B.C."

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html#who

Again, dates present in Canada refer to 24 hour days not cumulative days.

So, unfortunately, what you describe will mean that you are not going to legitimately be able to maintain healthcare in Canada if you reside in the United States. And also, unless you can establish the minimum total days you may be at risk of losing your Permanent Resident Status as well.

It would seem that you have a choice to make: 1) remain resident in B.C. and maintain your residency and healthcare or, 2) relocate to the US and risk losing both the residency and healthcare. If you intent to continue working and paying taxes in Canada relocating your residence to the US may not make sense if you want to keep both your Perm. Residence and Canadian healthcare.

The B.C. Bar Association offers a great Lawyer Referral Service that can help you meet up with a local immigration lawyer that can advise on structuring your plans in a manner that may be more beneficial to your long-term plans. Their link is: http://www.cba.org/bc/initiatives/main/lawyer_referral.aspx.

I think you may be wise to pursue Canadian citizenship (becoming a dual US/Canadian citizen) and then look at pursuing the remainder of your plans further (in that way all you would lose is the healthcare by relocating to the US which you would be able to reclaim if you relocate back into Canada at some future point).

I hope the above clarifies your eligibility and requirements.