Read the general eligibility basics overview
Assess citizenship person by person. A Canadian citizen and a Canadian permanent resident may live at the same address yet face different principal-route eligibility and procedural questions. Use each person’s actual passport and status today rather than extending one household member’s citizenship to everyone. The first review produces a table listing each adult’s citizenship, Canadian immigration status, passport validity, proposed role and intended U.S. activity. That table determines which options deserve detailed work now and which depend on a later event. Hypothetical example: a prosthetist who holds Canadian permanent residence receives a U.S. offer, while the Canadian-citizen spouse has no offer. The couple must decide whether to plan an independent route for the prosthetist, wait for citizenship, or treat the spouse’s route only as an accompanying option.
Separate the proposed principal applicants
Hypothetical example: a couple in Baie-D’Urfé has two employment opportunities, but only one partner is a Canadian citizen. Describe each offer independently. TN requires Canadian or Mexican citizenship, so Canadian permanent residence alone cannot establish that partner’s TN eligibility. Other routes need their own assessment. Use the passport and current immigration documents as the starting records, then list the route-specific facts beside them. A household address or a Canadian permanent-resident card does not prove treaty nationality. The immediate decision is which person, if any, can be the principal applicant on the facts already established.
Do not confuse a future event with a current fact
If a citizenship application is pending, record that as pending. Ask which planning steps can use the facts established now and which would need a new review if citizenship changes. Avoid committing to a departure based only on an anticipated outcome or date. Separate a submitted citizenship application from the date citizenship is actually acquired and documented. Keep a calendar for passport issuance, job start, travel and any filing option. The decision is whether to preserve flexibility or to rely only on a route whose eligibility can be shown today.
Compare independent and accompanying plans
Explain whether each person intends to work, study or accompany the other. A possible dependent route does not answer all employment questions. List the relevant visa, admission or status steps for separate review, alongside questions about retaining Canadian status. One person’s approved plan should not become an assumed solution for the other. For each dependent proposal, identify the principal person, intended classification, work plan and evidence of the relationship. A partner may need a separate route for employment even if travel together is possible. This comparison lets the household decide whether a common move date is realistic or whether stages reduce legal and practical risk.
What else is on your mind?
Does Canadian permanent residence give me access to TN?Is a matching job title enough for TN?Can years of experience replace a degree for TN?Can my own U.S. company employ me under TN?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.