Is a work authorization required to work remotely from Canada?

[marshallseo5]

Hi everyone

I have a question and would appreciate if you could help me out:

1. I am a Canadian citizen living in Toronto

2. My wife is an Indian citizen currently living and working in Massachusetts, USA on a H1B visa. She is employed by Accenture India and currently on site working for a US company. on a US exclusive project.

3. Her Canadian PR application is in process and expected shortly (hopefully). She wants to visit me in Toronto for 7-8 days every month and work remotely from Toronto.

My questions are:

1. Is it legal for her to work remotely for her US client from Toronto? Will she need a work authorization? She for sure will be getting onto work related calls while she is in Toronto. (The work she will be doing will be exclusively for a US client and be paid in USD).

- While Accenture is a global company (with subsidiaries in US, Canada and India), she will not be interacting with any Canadian client and will not be competing with Canadian labor.

2. Is there any official Canadian literature / guidelines that anyone could point to that she could show to her boss who appears to be reluctant on the grounds that it may be illegal to work that ways.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks a ton!

 

[IndoCanadian2015]

Dont know about any literature, but if she were to go on a vacation to some other country and then respond to emails or take work calls; would that be illegal - I don't think so. Same logic applies here.
As long as she is not working for the Canadian Accenture, and/or being paid in CAD, and/or not competing with Canadian labour, I think it is all legal.

Good luck to you. I hope you get some resourceful responses. Worst case, you might have to consult an immigration lawyer for getting documents or legal advice to show to the boss.

 

[Jalex23]

No work permit required.

For "official texts" look around work permit requirements.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/work-temp.asp

 

[speakvishal]

CBSA officer could question if her frequent visits are noticed. Also, I remember watching an episode of border security on national geographic where an Asian guy was apprehended and sent back while entering Canada. He was a IT guy who wanted to work from Canada remotely for non-Canadian clients without WP.

 

[Ponga]

No WP required.

Take a look at CIC Resource Manual FW01-eng.pdf, Section 5.1:

What kind of activities are not considered to be “work”?
• An activity which does not really ‘take away’ from opportunities for Canadians or permanent
residents to gain employment or experience in the workplace is not “work” for the purposes of
the definition.
•
Examples of activities for which a person would not normally be remunerated or which
would not compete directly with Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents in the
Canadian labour market and which would normally be part-time or incidental to the reason
that the person is in Canada include, but are not limited to:

• volunteer work for which a person would not normally be remunerated, such as sitting on the
board of a charity or religious institution; being a ‘big brother’ or ‘big sister’ to a child; being on
the telephone line at a rape crisis centre. (Normally this activity would be part time and
incidental to the main reason that a person is in Canada);

• unremunerated help by a friend or family member during a visit, such as a mother assisting a
daughter with childcare, or an uncle helping his nephew build his own cottage;

• long distance (by telephone or internet) work done by a temporary resident whose employer
is outside Canada and who is remunerated from outside Canada;

 

[Slashy]

I'm so happy to find this topic being discussed.

But I do have another related question here. Please allow me to tag along this thread.

So if I plan to stay for 4 months, while working remotely (as independent contractor for a US company), do I have to pay Canadian income tax?

Thanks for any help in advance!!

 

[Jalex23]

I'm so happy to find this topic being discussed.

But I do have another related question here. Please allow me to tag along this thread.

So if I plan to stay for 4 months, while working remotely (as independent contractor for a US company), do I have to pay Canadian income tax?

Thanks for any help in advance!!

You can't pay income tax without a SIN number, to get a SIN you need a work permit, to get a work permit you need to work in Canada.... are you working in Canada?

 

[Slashy]

You can't pay income tax without a SIN number, to get a SIN you need a work permit, to get a work permit you need to work in Canada.... are you working in Canada?

I see. Thanks!!