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Our Awesome Travels

Our Awesome Travels
Taken In Quartzsite Arizona Dec 7th 2015

Monday, April 22, 2013

Possible good News for Canadian Retiree Snowbirds

Where are we today ?
New Hamburg Ontario


        I was sent this information from fellow rver's and Bloggers Ron and Sharon, that we had the pleasure of meeting this spring in Willis Texas and again in Wapakoneta Ohio. Their blog is here.

        Sounds very promising, mind you us Canadians from Ontario do need to spend 5 months in Ontario to be eligible for our government health care. But to legally be in the USA for seven months instead of six would be a nice bonus for us.


Canadian Retiree Visa Update

Release date : Apr 19, 2013
Dear Snowbirds,

The Canadian Snowbird Association applauds the inclusion of the JOLT (Jobs Originated through Launching Travel) Act in the comprehensive immigration reform legislation filed April 17th in the United States Senate. The JOLT Act is a bipartisan bill which seeks to expand international travel to the United States in order to increase economic growth. One of the provisions found in the JOLT Act, known as the ‘Canadian Retiree Visa,’ would allow Canadian retirees, who meet certain requirements, to spend up to eight months in the U.S., two months longer than current policy allows.
The CSA has been working closely with New York Senator Charles Schumer’s office for the past 18 months regarding the two month extension for Canadian retirees.
Canada is the largest international tourism market for the United States. In 2011, Canadians made an estimated 21 million trips to the U.S. and spent approximately $24 billion.
To be eligible for the Canadian Retiree Visa, one would have to satisfy the following criteria:
  • Have Canadian citizenship;
  • Be 55 years of age or older;
  • Maintain a residence in Canada;
  • Own a residence in the U.S. or have a rental agreement for the duration of stay;
  • Will not engage in employment while in the United States; and
  • Will not seek assistance or benefit.
The Visa will also allow the retiree’s spouse to be admitted for the same duration. Further, time spent outside of the United States, during the eight month period, will not be counted against the Visa holder or their spouse. Real estate investment will not be required to obtain a Visa.
While the CSA remains optimistic, we would like to emphasize that the bill has only just been introduced. The bill must go through committees before it is brought to the floor for a vote. We will keep members updated on the status of the legislation as it progresses.
If you have questions or would like further detail related to the Canadian Retiree Visa, please email us atcsastaff@snowbirds.org or call us toll-free at 1-800-265-3200.
Sincerely,
Bob Slack
President
Canadian Snowbird Association
The Voice of Travelling Canadians
www.snowbirds.org

Check out the map below to see where we have been this summer
View Summer 2013 in a larger map

11 comments:

  1. •Own a residence in the U.S. or have a rental agreement for the duration of stay
    This could be a trouble for travelers who wander the USA.

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    1. Yes Barney could be a problem for us because we like to wander, but its not passed yet guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

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  2. We will be happy to have you for the additional month. Never met a Canadian we didn't like!

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    1. Hey thanks guys, but you haven't met us yet!

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    2. But we have and we know there is no way they wouldn't like the two of you...

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  3. This proposal is part of the Immigration Bill (GOP calls it the Amnesty Bill) currently before the U.S. Congress. It has a long way to go before it ever becomes law so I guess we'll just have to wait. We'd qualify under the current proposal as we do have a rental agreement with the Sands for our stay in the U.S.

    However, it's all irrelevant to this Canadian as we'd never stay away for 6 months let alone 7 or 8 anyway!!

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    1. But you guys live on the Island, pretty good weather year round, we don't have that option here, if we want to come back and see family in the summer months. Just can't convince everybody to move to the west coast.

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  4. Very interesting indeed. Our neighbours who winter in Palm Springs already have to travel with their rental agreement, they have been asked for it twice in the past few years.

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    1. We have never been asked, just tour with our RV, wil see what becomes of this, probably years down the road anyway.

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  5. Hope they make the change, you are certainly welcome to stay as long as you would like!

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    1. Would make our travelling experiences better and more options available for us., Because we have only have 6 months to travel in the USA and we don't want to travel the northern states in the winter.

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