Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed that they plan to live part-time in Canada and the U.K. after announcing that they will be stepping down from being senior royals. They shared that they want to focus on their family and charities.
Initially, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle only wished to resign from their senior royal duties. But, after Monday’s Sandringham summit, it was confirmed that the couple will no longer formally represent Queen Elizabeth at all.
Also, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be based in Canada after the confirmation of their royal exit. However, their transition in the Commonwealth country is not going to be that easy.
“There are no provisions in the Citizenship Act that confer Canadian citizenship status to members of the Royal Family,” the Canadian government department Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada have stated. “In order to become legal permanent residents of Canada, they would need to apply through our normal immigration processes.”
Canada uses a points-based immigration system based on an individual’s skills and status. To qualify for immigration, a minimum of 65 points out of 90 should be met. Some Canadian commentators then noted that Prince Harry will not have a special treatment and will go through this process like everyone else.
“[Harry is] going to have a very tough time,” Mario Bellissimo, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer, said. “This might surprise people, but Meghan would likely be the principal applicant – and not Harry."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could only live in Canada as visitors at the moment. So, there’s no need for a special visa to say in the country. However, this will only allow them to stay there for six months at a time.
But Dory Jade, head of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, pointed out that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wealth may play a significant role.
“If the couple is willing to invest some of its fortune, estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, in Canada, they could probably qualify for one of the business/investor class visas,” she said. “It’s very common for wealthy people to come to Canada, open a business under a work permit and then convert it to [permanent residency]. We’re talking maybe less than 12 months, and they could start operating even before getting the work permit, I would say.”
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and the Buckingham Palace have yet to release more information regarding this matter.
