Read the general life across the border overview
Hypothetical example: a household in Roxton Pond is weighing a move where the principal could go either as a listed professional or as a company transferee, and the spouse is a graphic designer who intends to keep working. That second fact changes the analysis, because Graphic Designer appears on the professional list in its own right, met by a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree or, in the alternative, by a post-secondary diploma or post-secondary certificate together with three years of experience. The household may have two independent applicants rather than one applicant and one dependant.
The dependant rules are not the same in both routes
This is where households make expensive assumptions. A dependant of a listed professional holds TD status: the family may accompany, unmarried children under twenty-one qualify, everyone may study, and nobody may work. A dependant of a company transferee holds L-2, and the spouse in that status is employment-authorized incident to status. Two routes that look interchangeable from the principal’s point of view therefore produce completely different household incomes. Work out which route the principal will use before the family budgets anything, and confirm the current position rather than relying on what a colleague experienced some years ago. Write the household income under each option on the same sheet; the gap between them is often larger than any other factor in the decision.
A spouse with her own listing has her own route
Where the spouse’s occupation appears on the professional list and she holds the qualification that entry names, she can be assessed in her own right rather than as somebody’s dependant. That means her own prearranged professional engagement, her own credential evidence, and her own citizenship documents. It also means two applications running in parallel, which is more work and considerably more freedom: each spouse’s status then rests on their own arrangement rather than on the other’s continuing employment. Not every occupation is listed, and a Canadian professional designation in an unlisted field does not create an entry, so check the list before building a plan on it.
Children, study, and the twenty-first birthday
Derivative status for unmarried children ends at twenty-one in these categories, and the date is knowable years ahead. For a child who will cross it during the assignment, the usual alternative is study in her own status with a school authorized to enrol foreign students, which has its own admission calendar and financial documentation. Start eight to ten months out. Younger children may study as dependants, and school enrolment generally asks for status documents, so keep copies for each family member together. Marriage also ends a child’s derivative eligibility, which is worth saying out loud in a family conversation.
What else is on your mind?
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?Can my spouse work if I hold TN status?Editorial source review: 2026-09-07. General preparation guidance, not an individual assessment.