Permanent resident question

[francoisuk]

i'm not sure if i'm in the right board but i need help. I'm Canadian and i have permanent residency in the uk. i want to know if i can work anywhere else in the europeen union or if i need visas everywhere. i work in the entertainment industry and i tour a lot.

[Wanderer]

i'm not sure if i'm in the right board but i need help. I'm Canadian and i have permanent residency in the uk. i want to know if i can work anywhere else in the europeen union or if i need visas everywhere. i work in the entertainment industry and i tour a lot.

U'll need visas I think since you are not a British citizen and therefore not an EU citizen.

I think u'd need to naturalise as a BC.

You're not Neil Young are you!?!

[mym]

On what basis were you given permanent residency in the UK?

[francoisuk]

No i'm not neil young. I was given permanent residency as i was married to a british citizen.

[mym]

No i'm not neil young. I was given permanent residency as i was married to a british citizen.

Are you still (in which case you can get schengen visas free and easily)?

If not then you can probably still get them without too much trouble, but you will have to pay.

[JAJ]

No i'm not neil young. I was given permanent residency as i was married to a british citizen.

Why don't you become a British citizen?

[francoisuk]

I don't want to become a british citizen as i don't want to lose my canadian passport. Isn't the schengen visa a tourist visa only

[Christophe]

Isn't the schengen visa a tourist visa only?

Yes, the Schengen visa being discussed above is a visitor visa only, generally valid for all the countries in the Schengen area. As a Canadian, you don't generally need a Schengen visa for short visits to the Schengen area countries anyway. However, to work in a Schengen area country you need a work permit issued by that country.

I don't want to become a british citizen as i don't want to lose my canadian passport.

You won't have to lose your Canadian citizenship if you naturalise as British and you can keep, and use, your Canadian passport as well as a British passport: the UK will not require you to renounce your Canadian citizenship if you naturalise as British, and Canada does not object to you obtaining another citizenship and retaining your Canadian citizenship, so you would be have double (or dual) nationality. If that is the only reason for not naturalising, then it's probably advisable to do it now: it will simplify your life living in the UK, it will enable you to spend time working in another EU country (which you want to do) - and who knows if the rules might change at some point the future!