As an American looking to move to another country, Canada might be the easiest place to move to. Not only is it the closest country to the United States, but they also speak English in most of the country, which makes it a fairly easy transition for someone from the United States. However, you should remember that French is also widely spoken in the Canadian borders.
If you move to Canada from the United States, you will most like want to take up some sort of legal employment, unless of course you are independently wealthy. To be able to legally work in Canada it is necessary for you to obtain a work permit. Now, the easiest way to do this is to do it through your employer. If your place of employment has an office in Canada, then it is as simple as applying for the job, getting the job and thus a transfer to Canada and being told when your work visa is ready so you can move. In this scenario, your company takes care of all the paperwork for your work visa, since they are sponsoring your stay in the country, and they take care of all the fees associated with it as well. This is by far the most painless way to get across the border to Canada.
If you do not have a job that will, or can, transfer you to Canada, then it is a task that you must take upon yourself. Canada is a popular destination for Americans looking to escape to another country, so keep that in mind when you apply as you are not the only person that wishes to move there.
As is the case with moving to just about any country, there is a list of requirements that must be met before Canada will grant you a work permit and allow you entry into the country as a worker. Usually, they do not want to let someone in to take a job that can be filled by someone that is already a Canadian citizen. Keeping that in mind, you should check and see what there is a skills shortage for in the country. This will give you a good idea of your chances of your work permit getting approved.
You can try finding a company in Canada that will hire you directly. This is as simple as accessing job banks to see what positions are available, applying to those that you are qualified for, and waiting for an interview. If you get a job offer from a Canadian company, it will be rather easy for you to get your work permit. When you get the job offer, the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, or HRSDC, is notified. The HRSDC must then review the job offer, ensure that it is indeed a legitimate offer for a legitimate position. Then they will review the position against your skills to make sure it is in the best interest of Canada for you to be hired. This means that they will review it to see if there is a skills shortage for this sort of position or the skills that you possess. Additionally they will look to see if there are any qualified Canadians that are seeking the same position. If everything works out in your favor, congratulations, you have yourself a work permit.
Fortunately for some groups, not everyone has to get their application reviewed by the HRSDC. Certain groups of skilled workers have been identified as a bona fide shortage in various fields; therefore they are required to be reviewed by the HRSDC. The groups are professionals, traders and investors who are citizens of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries, certain types of entrepreneurs, intra-company transferees and other types of workers, who have been identifies as providing significant benefit to Canadians, persons whose employment in Canada provides similar employment to Canadians abroad, such as participants in youth exchange programs, exchange teachers and other reciprocal programs, like wise foreign students studying in Canada who need to work in order to fulfill co-op placements, spouses and common-law partners of skilled foreign workers, spouses and common-law partners of certain foreign students, spouses and common-law partners of a person doing post-graduation employment for certain foreign students and post-doctoral fellows, those undertaking charitable or religious work, and certain people who need to support themselves while they are in Canada for other reasons such as the refugee determination process and certain persons who have been accepted for permanent residence in Canada.
Once you have been granted a Canadian work permit there is one additional step that must be taken before you are able to legally join the workforce in Canada. All workers in Canada must obtain a Social Insurance Number, or SIN, card before beginning employment in Canada. The card is obtained through the HRSDC simply by presenting a valid passport and work permit.
