Physical Presence While Working Outside Canada Remotely

[Madi667]

Hi all,

I am a permanent resident (it's been a year since I became a PR) and currently working outside Canada remotely for my Canadian employer (just for 2-3 months then I will go back to Canada). Does the time I am spending outside Canada working remotely for a Canadian employer count towards my citizenship physical presence?



Can someone please explain the difference between the two?

1-
Can my time abroad count toward my permanent resident status?
It depends on what you do and who you travel with. Your time outside of Canada may count toward your permanent resident status if you meet 1 of these conditions:
You work outside Canada
You need to work full-time for:

• a Canadian business or organization, or
• the Canadian federal, provincial or territorial government

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1466&top=10


2-
Can I count any time I’ve spent outside of Canada toward the physical presence requirement when applying for citizenship?
The time you spend outside of Canada doesn’t count toward your physical presence requirement, except in some cases.
You can count time spent outside Canada toward the physical presence requirement for citizenship if you:

• were a permanent resident employed in or with the:
  • Canadian Armed Forces
  • federal public administration
  • public service of a province or territory
• lived outside Canada with your Canadian spouse or common-law partner or permanent resident spouse, common-law partner, or parent who was employed in or with the:
  • Canadian Armed Forces
  • federal public administration
  • public service of a province or territory

This doesn’t include employment as a locally engaged person.

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=370&top=5

 

[scylla]

Hi all,

I am a permanent resident (it's been a year since I became a PR) and currently working outside Canada remotely for my Canadian employer (just for 2-3 months then I will go back to Canada). Does the time I am spending outside Canada working remotely for a Canadian employer count towards my citizenship physical presence?



Can someone please explain the difference between the two?

1-
Can my time abroad count toward my permanent resident status?
It depends on what you do and who you travel with. Your time outside of Canada may count toward your permanent resident status if you meet 1 of these conditions:
You work outside Canada
You need to work full-time for:

• a Canadian business or organization, or
• the Canadian federal, provincial or territorial government

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1466&top=10


2-
Can I count any time I’ve spent outside of Canada toward the physical presence requirement when applying for citizenship?
The time you spend outside of Canada doesn’t count toward your physical presence requirement, except in some cases.
You can count time spent outside Canada toward the physical presence requirement for citizenship if you:

• were a permanent resident employed in or with the:
  • Canadian Armed Forces
  • federal public administration
  • public service of a province or territory
• lived outside Canada with your Canadian spouse or common-law partner or permanent resident spouse, common-law partner, or parent who was employed in or with the:
  • Canadian Armed Forces
  • federal public administration
  • public service of a province or territory

This doesn’t include employment as a locally engaged person.

https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=370&top=5

No, it doesn't count.

You are mixing up the rules for PR residency obligation and Citizenship residency obligation. The first bit you quoted above is for PR, the second is citizenship.

Ultimately your situation doesn't count under either.

For citizenship, it only counts if you are working for the following:

• Canadian Armed Forces
• federal public administration
• public service of a province or territory

For PR, it only counts if your employer moves you to a role outside of Canada with their operations in another country. Working remotely outside of Canada doesn't count.

 

[dpenabill]

. . . currently working outside Canada remotely for my Canadian employer (just for 2-3 months then I will go back to Canada). Does the time I am spending outside Canada working remotely for a Canadian employer count towards my citizenship physical presence?

Fully concur in the comments posted by @scylla

Am posting to emphasize the last observation, that this time abroad working remotely will also NOT count toward compliance with the PR Residency Obligation.

It does not appear you are likely to need any such credit to be in RO compliance, but to be clear there can be a tendency to overlook the conditional "may" in the IRCC information about the possibility that working abroad for a Canadian business could count toward PR RO. This credit is approached as an exception, is fairly narrowly applied, and the additional criteria to qualify for the credit are typically strictly imposed.