CEC eligibility

[USNick]

As I've read the instructions for eligibility to apply under the Canadian Experience Class, I've run into a grey area where I'm not sure my unusual employment situation will qualify me in this category.

As a performing artist, I've worked in Canada the required 24 months within the past 36 months and fulfilled all the other CEC requirements. I've been issued a work permit with a job title on the NOC code list that is Skill Level A. My work permit and positive Labour Market Opinion from Service Canada list my specific employer, location of employment, wages, full-time hours of work, etc. However, when I file my taxes with revenue Canada, as a performing artist, I apply as a self-employed person -- this is the way all performing artists in Canada are categorized for tax purposes, not just those of us on a work permit.

My question is: is there a difference between "self-employment" as considered by Revenue Canada and as considered by Immigration? Self-employment cannot be used to qualify for CEC, but it seems to me that it's only the tax designation that makes my Canadian work "self-employment;" after all, my work permit doesn't name myself as my employer.

Can anyone clear this up for me?

 

[jes_ON]

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it525r-consolid/it525r-consolid-e.html

Your statement that all performing artists file as self-employed appears to be wrong.

Did you receive a T4 or T4A? By the terms of your work permit, you are supposed to be an employee (T4), not a contractor (T4A).

If you are self-employed, then not only are you not eligible for CEC, but you and your employer are in violation of the terms of your TWP...

 

[jes_ON]

USNick, Sorry, hope that doesn't sound too harsh, and perhaps the above info is out of date, but ... If it is an honest mistake, it might not hurt to have a chat with an immigration lawyer...

 

[USNick]

Hi jes_ON: Thanks for your response, and no it didn't sound harsh. It just points up (for me, anyway) how difficult it is for me to be able to determine my eligibility.

You're right in that I should've been more specific about "performing artists": I was speaking primarily about theatre actors, all of whom in Canada that I know are considered self-employed. Reading through the info at the link you posted, and from what I read on the website for the theatre actors' union, the distinction has to do with actors' having a "contract for services" rather than a "contract for service" with an employer, i.e., a theatre. And I guess this is where I get muddled -- as you say, my work permit may state that I should be an "employee," but as I understand it anyone doing the work I do (as an actor in a play) would be considered by Revenue Canada to be self-employed. Perhaps, yes, my best bet is to talk to an immigration lawyer to see if they can help me understand this, and help me verify whether or not there is a distinction between the way Revenue Canada and the way CIC determines "self-employment."

And while it's possible that I and my employer are in violation of the terms of my TWP, the place where I work (not to sound pretentious) is one of the oldest and most prominent in the country and hires a lot of actors, occasionally but pretty regularly from the States...not to mention that I myself have been working there and filing taxes for eight years...so if we're/they're in violation it seems that someone sometime would've called them on it by now. Which is what leads me to believe that it must be possible for me to be both "self-employed" for tax purposes, but not as per the terms of my work permit. I do receive a T4A at the end of the year but, again...I've checked with the payroll department, and they've confirmed that all actors do so.

By the way, for what it's worth, I've called the CIC National Call Centre a couple of times to try and ask them about this, and each time the agents have said that I should be fine to qualify for CEC. However, it's a complicated question to ask without going into a lot of detail, and it's hard for the agents (I think) truly to grasp the thrust of my concern since I'm sure they don't get a lot of questions of this nature, so I've never been 100% confident that I've gotten a definitive answer. (Too, frankly...I've gotten some differing answers from different agents about questions much less vital than this one, which is why I've called a few times just to see if I'd get the same answer about eligibility. I figured if I did, odds were greater that it'd be the right one.) One agent advised me to contact the Consulate in Buffalo since they would be the ones to process the application under CEC, but the response I got from them was that they were unable to answer any of my questions until I'd actually applied. Which is kind of a Catch-22.

In other words, thank you for your response. I just wondered what kind of answer I would get from someone else; someone who was knowledgeable about CIC but didn't actually work for them. It's very useful to know what kind of concerns my predicament raises.

 

[jes_ON]

Hopefully it is one of those "gray areas" where the rule of thumb doesn't apply -

But pretty much everyone on this forum has had the same experiences trying to get any info, let alone reliable info, out of the CIC Call Centre and Buffalo...

This is a pretty small group (CEC) tho, and so the depth of experience isn't quite as broad as some of the other categories of applicants. There are people here who might give you a more authoritative response than I - PMM comes to mind, perhaps you can send a PM. (do a search).

And the sponsor of this forum - the David Cohen law firm - seems to be rated pretty highly by users (most of us here are DIY). Good luck and let us know what you find out!