can anyone answer a reader's questions about student loans?

If anyone has any info for "BS" from the US, she would be most appreciative. Email copied with her permission.

...we both have massive student loan debt to pay off.

Our main concern is that my boyfriend owes much more than I do and his deferment period will end around the time that we expect to move to Toronto. He has also exhausted the income sensitive repayment period that is allowed on his loans.

It's a long story, but he basically consolidated his undergrad and graduate school loans at a time when the interest rate was exceptionally high, so now the amount that he owes is more than double the original loan amount and we're worried that he won't be able to make the regular payments.

It's going to be a tough situation, since neither of us make a lot of money and then there's the exchange rate to consider. We're not flakes and don't want to come off that way, but we need to know what the reality is going to be if he can't pay off his loans and we're living in another country.

Some countries have reciprocal agreements regarding student loan debt, but we haven't been able to find any info online as to whether there's a reciprocal agreement between Canada and the U.S. and I'm not even sure where you're supposed to find this sort of information.

If there is, then we need to know what the details of that agreement are, who takes responsibility for administering the debt, and if there is a possibility of renegotiating the terms of the loan.

If there isn't an agreement and my boyfriend ends up defaulting on his loan, then we need to know what that means for us as Canadian residents, whether it will affect our ability to become citizens, if it will affect our Canadian credit record, etc.

I'd appreciate it if you could ask around or maybe post something about it on your blog. . .

I don't want it to come off like we're moving to Canada so that we can blow off our student loans and live high on the government hog. We just want to settle down in a country that reflects our political and cultural values, and that certainly isn't the United States.

I told "BS" that wmtc readers were unlikely to interpret her question that way. And later, she said...

The most important thing is that we find some firsthand information from reliable sources. Every time the subject comes up with people here, they usually respond with a combination of horror and paranoia.

We've heard everything ranging from sober estimates that we'd have to file for bankruptcy in Canada, to warnings that Canada will deport us if my boyfriend defaults on his American student loans, and even shadowy reports of people being arrested at the airport when they return to the U.S. to visit family, etc. We don't believe any of this, since most of it's ludicrous and the people who've offered this
"advice" have never even step foot in Canada, or have any idea what they're talking about. [Ed note: gee, that sounds familiar...]

We're willing to prepare for the worst, but like I said, we need to know what that reality is before we start freaking out. I'm just amazed that it's been so difficult finding official information on the subject, unless of course we're missing
something completely obvious. Hopefully one of your readers will be able to point us in the right direction.

If you can help, or know someone who can, please give a shout, either in comments or by email. Thanks.