Visa for a self-employed Australian?

[dan2907]

Hi all,

My wife and I are Australian citizens looking to live in Canada for 6-12 months starting sometime in 2012. The primary reason for the trip would be to experience the country, and we will have $50,000+ AUD in savings to our names. While we travel though, it would be nice if I could continue working to support our travels. I am a self-employed web designer here in Australia, and I have clients both domestically and internationally (including one in Vancouver) that pay me using my Australian bank account.

Is there any visa that I could apply for that would allow me to continue operating my business remotely from within Canada and continue earning money (and paying taxes) in Australia? Likewise, is there any situation where my wife could continue to perform her role at her current job here in Australia remotely from Canada, assume she too would be happy to continue being paid in Australia? (this is an offer that has been made to her).

I've been going through the different visa options and I am not all that hopeful of an adequate solution, which is concerning. We have no intention of living permanently in Canada, but for the time we are in the country experiencing life day-to-day, we would like to be able to support ourselves. Alternatively I had thought my wife (33) could enter on a visitors visa and I (27) could apply for the WHP and just pick up Barista work if our savings weren't enough, but that is far from ideal.

Thanks in advance for any help offered

 

[scuudz]

Hi Dan,

I've run into a lot of Aussies and Kiwis that have taken the WHP route, and are probably earning considerably higher wages than a barista. I'm not sure of how good/close a relationship you share with your client in Vancouver, but perhaps you could ask him if he knows of a way. Similarly, your wife could also ask her potential employers the same question. It wouldn't hurt. The worst case scenario is that they'd say they don't know and can't help in that regard.

The other option is the TWP for which your wife could see if her employer is willing to apply for an LMO for her. Being an Australian citizen, I believe you can just apply for a TWP at the POE. However, if you are only planning to stay 6-12 months, I doubt any employer would want to invest that kind of time and effort to get her an LMO. If she does manage to get one though, then you could easily get a Spousal Open Work Permit and continue doing web-designing while you are there.

Good luck!

 

[dan2907]

Thanks for the fast and informative reply

My trepidation regarding the WHP isn't so much potential reduction of income, it's more that I would need to essentially put my own business on hold for 12 months, damaging the relationships I have with my existing clients... which I suppose is a frustrating thought given I have the sort of job that can be carried out anywhere in the world with internet access (meaning I could easily keep doing my job while we travel). This is why I was primarily trying to discover if there was a way I can continue doing what I am doing now, only from within Canada. Can I gather from what you are saying, that to the best of your knowledge this can't be done legally?

Further on from that... just say I did apply successfully for the WHP and went down that road, if I was to retain a few small ongoing support contracts (paid monthly in australia)... is it fair to say that on top of whatever I was doing in Canada, if a few hours a week I did a some minor work on my laptop for those clients back home... while it wouldn't be legal i'm sure, it's the sort of thing that is pretty unenforceable? Something like this would allow me to be less picky with whatever work I pick up in Canada, and allow my wife to just travel as a regular visitor and not worry about earning money.

 

[scuudz]

I don't know of a way in which this can be done legally, unless there is some program that specifically deals with self-employed workers. Perhaps some of the more experienced members of this forum can chip in on this.