Can I do OnlyFans while waiting for PR without a work permit?

[ian889]

I am currently living in Canada with my husband who is applying to sponsor me under "Spousal in Canada class". I have been in Canada for a year and a half now on extended visitor records (we renew it every 6 months) but I do not have a work permit. We are in the middle of the PR application where its gotten to the job section and I did not delete my OnlyFans when I got here. So I am technically earning income as people are still subscribed for this last year and a half, I am required every 90 days to upload something to keep my account active which I have done, I am worried now this is against the rules.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if OnlyFans is considered "remote" work and if I can earn money through it being in Canada? It did not occur to me until now this may be an issue. or maybe not.

I have read online that I am able to work in Canada remotely without a permit as long as its not a Canadian Company or Canadian clients, and I have read people paid through OnlyFans are earning a commission and Onlyfans is the one with the clients. I have also read that is it considered pornography and not sex work. I have no idea what to do, I am willing to delete my OnlyFans but when it comes to putting a date down of this job I've had for years I do not know what to put for when I stopped. Do I put that I stopped when I came to Canada?

OR am I allowed to keep earning income since OnlyFans is a UK Company?

 

[canuck78]

I am currently living in Canada with my husband who is applying to sponsor me under "Spousal in Canada class". I have been in Canada for a year and a half now on extended visitor records (we renew it every 6 months) but I do not have a work permit. We are in the middle of the PR application where its gotten to the job section and I did not delete my OnlyFans when I got here. So I am technically earning income as people are still subscribed for this last year and a half, I am required every 90 days to upload something to keep my account active which I have done, I am worried now this is against the rules.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if OnlyFans is considered "remote" work and if I can earn money through it being in Canada? It did not occur to me until now this may be an issue. or maybe not.

I have read online that I am able to work in Canada remotely without a permit as long as its not a Canadian Company or Canadian clients, and I have read people paid through OnlyFans are earning a commission and Onlyfans is the one with the clients. I have also read that is it considered pornography and not sex work. I have no idea what to do, I am willing to delete my OnlyFans but when it comes to putting a date down of this job I've had for years I do not know what to put for when I stopped. Do I put that I stopped when I came to Canada?

OR am I allowed to keep earning income since OnlyFans is a UK Company?

Earning an income from onlyfans would be considered working illegally.

 

[ian889]

Earning an income from onlyfans would be considered working illegally.

Do you know why this would be considered illegal work? I’m trying to determine if it actually is.

“Remote work inside Canada for a company and clients based outside of Canada. If you are a foreign national working remotely from inside Canada for a foreign company, attending to clients entirely outside of Canada, and are paid by an employer outside of Canada, you are not required to obtain a work permit.”

so would you be able to explain how it’s illegal like if you have personal experience. Cause it is a little confusing.

 

[armoured]

Do you know why this would be considered illegal work? I’m trying to determine if it actually is.

“Remote work inside Canada for a company and clients based outside of Canada. If you are a foreign national working remotely from inside Canada for a foreign company, attending to clients entirely outside of Canada, and are paid by an employer outside of Canada, you are not required to obtain a work permit.”

so would you be able to explain how it’s illegal like if you have personal experience. Cause it is a little confusing.

Speak to a lwayer, this area of law is quite complex. And no, in my opinion, that poster does not know either, but still has strong opinions that all should wear hairshirts.

 

[olios1332]

I am currently living in Canada with my husband who is applying to sponsor me under "Spousal in Canada class". I have been in Canada for a year and a half now on extended visitor records (we renew it every 6 months) but I do not have a work permit. We are in the middle of the PR application where its gotten to the job section and I did not delete my OnlyFans when I got here. So I am technically earning income as people are still subscribed for this last year and a half, I am required every 90 days to upload something to keep my account active which I have done, I am worried now this is against the rules.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if OnlyFans is considered "remote" work and if I can earn money through it being in Canada? It did not occur to me until now this may be an issue. or maybe not.

I have read online that I am able to work in Canada remotely without a permit as long as its not a Canadian Company or Canadian clients, and I have read people paid through OnlyFans are earning a commission and Onlyfans is the one with the clients. I have also read that is it considered pornography and not sex work. I have no idea what to do, I am willing to delete my OnlyFans but when it comes to putting a date down of this job I've had for years I do not know what to put for when I stopped. Do I put that I stopped when I came to Canada?

OR am I allowed to keep earning income since OnlyFans is a UK Company?

Maybe I missed something, but is the income from OnlyFans deposited into you Canadian Bank account? If yes, then it is a source of income and it can be a problem if you don't have a work permit, but if the income is deposited into the account of your home country, that shouldn't be a problem in my opinion, it is technically the same thing as if a YouTuber is recording and uploading whilst visiting Canada.

 

[canuck78]

Do you know why this would be considered illegal work? I’m trying to determine if it actually is.

“Remote work inside Canada for a company and clients based outside of Canada. If you are a foreign national working remotely from inside Canada for a foreign company, attending to clients entirely outside of Canada, and are paid by an employer outside of Canada, you are not required to obtain a work permit.”

so would you be able to explain how it’s illegal like if you have personal experience. Cause it is a little confusing.

Onlyfans has a global presence so it would also be extremely difficult to prove that nobody in Canada is accessing any of your material. Same things for many types of content creators who want to live in Canada. Yes I agree that you should check with a lawyer. Don’t believe you can ban people from Canada seeing your content. At this point onlyfans must also have offices or clients outside of the UK as well.

 

[canuck78]

Maybe I missed something, but is the income from OnlyFans deposited into you Canadian Bank account? If yes, then it is a source of income and it can be a problem if you don't have a work permit, but if the income is deposited into the account of your home country, that shouldn't be a problem in my opinion, it is technically the same thing as if a YouTuber is recording and uploading whilst visiting Canada.

How you get paid doesn’t determine whether you are working legally or illegally in Canada. In order to work in Canada while a visitor you have to be able to show that your employer has no offices in Canada and no clients/customers. Other content creators politician have a business visa but realistically many probably get away with temporarily being in Canada while working because they aren’t applying for any longterm permits or immigration and are primarily living in their home country.

 

[Ponga]

Are you able to guarantee that no one that is in Canada can be a paying `fan' for whatever service you are providing (not at all familiar with the `Only Fans' platform)?


A person can work remotely from Canada without needing a work permit IF:

They are working for a person, company or other entity that does not have a presence in Canada (such as an office, for example).

They are remunerated from outside of Canada.



Having said this, have a look at the new Digital Nomad program to see if it's something to consider. If the old policy, allowing a person to work via the internet or telephone for someone that is outside of Canada, is still in place that should be sufficient for your situation.

 

[armoured]

Are you able to guarantee that no one that is in Canada can be a paying `fan' for whatever service you are providing (not at all familiar with the `Only Fans' platform)?

A person can work remotely from Canada without needing a work permit IF:

They are working for a person, company or other entity that does not have a presence in Canada (such as an office, for example).

They are remunerated from outside of Canada.

Seriously, amateurs (including me) should not think that our thoughts on this have much bearing on how this is seen. Consult with a lawyer.

Personally I would agree with OP's original comment that the 'performers' (or whatever they're called) probably would not be deemed to have a 'client' just because the platform/channel has viewers who are in Canada. I presume there is some minimal test for the 'locus' of work/client relationship to be in Canada, not just some random clients.

Because no: the test is NOT going to be whether there's one 'client' in Canada, no matter the importance of the client or minmality of that client's revenue.

Think about it: otherwise - by extension - you could claim that no musician who has things on Spotify should show up, in the case that they may have streaming listeners in Canada, etc.

Leaving aside the fact that CRA is highly unlikely to bother in such a case.

Note, I'm NOT encouraging anyone to develop a channel or whatever as a way around work permit requirements. I'm saying anyone for whom it matters, when they have an existing income stream, should consult a lawyer, and not take guesses from random types on the internet.

My _hunch_ is the lawyer will say not to worry about it as long as you don't do [short list of three things] while waiting for the right to work.

 

[Ponga]

Seriously, amateurs (including me) should not think that our thoughts on this have much bearing on how this is seen. Consult with a lawyer.

Amateurs? Really?!

How many other `amateurs' are posting in these forums? I suspect that in your eyes it's an overwhelming majority of members here, right? Unless a person has been paid for their `opinion', that no longer deems them an amateur, since getting paid for opinions elevates one into the `professional' category...I guess.

I fully support your opinion that the OP should confer with a lawyer.

 

[armoured]

Amateurs? Really?!

How many other `amateurs' are posting in these forums? I suspect that in your eyes it's an overwhelming majority of members here, right? Unless a person has been paid for their `opinion', that no longer deems them an amateur, since getting paid for opinions elevates one into the `professional' category...I guess.

Yes, I mean amateur in the sense that not getting paid for it as one's business. Where one has specific qualifications in knowing the applicable law and tax regs.

So yes, really. Almost all of us here.

That said - there are some areas where an amateur's point of view can be right on the money.

This area - in my view, as an amateur with some experience - is not one of them. Lots of opining on here about whether having an only fans' client in Canada violates terms of visitor visa. And I say - if not a professional, too high a risk of those opinions being hooey.

I include my own POV in that judgment.