PR Status as UN employee outside Canada

[energized]

Hello,
My Current Situation is as follows:

• My family and I received our PR in March 2017.
• However, currently (and since early 2016) I'm employed at one of UN organizations outside Canada.
• My family still lives in Canada, and I'm planning to return to Canada at the end of contract (not at retirement age).
• I visit Canada once every two or three month for a week.

Q1 [Status]: Is there any possibility to have my years at the UN considered towards the days required for keeping the PR status to secure its renewal?

Q2 [Tax]: while filing our taxes this year, I was told by my agent to wait until I'm back to report my income as I'm not in Canada right now, and as my salary is non-taxable anyway. Any advice?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Rob_TO]

Q1 [Status]: Is there any possibility to have my years at the UN considered towards the days required for keeping the PR status to secure its renewal?

No, as it's not a Canadian company you were employed with that sent you outside Canada on a temporary basis.

If you don't meet the 2-in-5 year residency obligation, you have a good chance of having your PR status revoked. If you have a PR/Canadian spouse, they can always sponsor you again for PR if this happens.

Q2 [Tax]

: while filing our taxes this year, I was told by my agent to wait until I'm back to report my income as I'm not in Canada right now, and as my salary is non-taxable anyway. Any advice?

Having all your family in Canada most likely makes you a deemed or factual resident for tax purposes, and would require you filing taxes each year and paying your share to the CRA even if not physically living here. Read here for more: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/tchncl/ncmtx/fls/s5/f1/s5-f1-c1-eng.html

Not sure about the UN pay being "non-taxable".

 

[scylla]

You cannot count time spent working outside of Canada for an organization like the UN or World Bank towards RO. This has been unsuccessfully challenged at the Federal Court level. Only your time physically spent in Canada is going to count towards RO. If you lose your PR status, your spouse can always sponsor you for PR.

 

[energized]

Thank you very much.

I don't think it would be easy to go through the application process again for PR, I've had three fail trials for our application through the last 6 years and I don't think I should take the risk
Specially, with the new law, I think I can have 50% of my stay on student/work visa prior to getting my PR towards the period demanded for citizenship.

I will try to contact CRA to check how to process my tax claim. Canadians employed at the UN are tax exempted. For the last year, I only stated in my spouse claim that I'm not in the country (the Tax agent said we report my salaries when I'm back to Canada at the end of my contract).

 

[Rob_TO]

I will try to contact CRA to check how to process my tax claim. Canadians employed at the UN are tax exempted. For the last year, I only stated in my spouse claim that I'm not in the country (the Tax agent said we report my salaries when I'm back to Canada at the end of my contract).

You better be careful here. If your spouse is getting any benefits from the CRA (i.e. child benefits, GST tax rebates, etc) then this should be calculated with her family income which includes your income earned even outside Canada. If she's getting tax benefits based on her single income, CRA may demand she repays them all back-dated to when you got married.

Did she change her status to married on her taxes? As long as she does this, then CRA will ask for your world income if they require it.

 

[energized]

True, this is why I feel the advice of this agent was not proper. Actually my spouse applied with married status. My Canadian salary was put as zero and it was noted that I'm not in Canada (this was prior to landing in March 2017. I was in Canada until end of 2015. During the year of 2016 I was abroad for work).

 

[Rob_TO]

True, this is why I feel the advice of this agent was not proper. Actually my spouse applied with married status. My Canadian salary was put as zero and it was noted that I'm not in Canada (this was prior to landing in March 2017. I was in Canada until end of 2015. During the year of 2016 I was abroad for work).

CRA would want your world income, so including income earned from anywhere outside Canada This is what is used to calculate your spouse's "family income" for benefit purposes.

Again this will all catch up to her eventually, so better to sort it out as soon as possible. CRA can demand re-payments going back many years if needed if she is currently getting benefits without your proper income included.