PR working with US and Canadian contractors

[Catherine14]

Hello there,

I am a permanent resident due to renew my PR in 2015. I am currently thinking of pursuing a change of professional careers. A US company whose work I deeply admire has shown their interest in employing me.

Option a) I am hired by said US company for a fulltime, permanent position but would physically remain in Canada, paying taxes in Canada too. The nature of the work would demand intense travel to the US, meaning that I would spend a lot of time physically in the US for work. I do not have a US working visa.

Option b) I am hired by said US company as a freelancer, remaining physically in Canada, paying taxes in Canada too. Same situation, the nature of the work would demand intense travel to the US, however, I would in addition also work with Canadian companies as a freelancer.

My question is the following: If I am employed by a US company doing fulltime or freelance work, but physically remaining and paying taxes in Canada, do the days spent in the US count towards my PR? Is there a difference between working as a freelancer for a mix of US and Canadian companies, and working fulltime for a US company?

Thank you very much in advance for your help! It is really appreciated as the job opportunity sound too good to decline.

Catherine.

 

[scylla]

Neither option will allow you to count the days you spent in the US towards your PR residency requirement. Only days spent in Canada will count towards the residency requirement.

To be able to count days spent in the US towards your residency requirement, you would have to be hired by a Canadian company for a job within Canada - and then at a later date transferred to a position in the US with that same Canadian company.

Unfortunately the scenarios you've described to not meet this criteria. So only your days spent in Canada will count.

 

[Catherine14]

Thank you for the quick and very helpful reply.

I was hoping that as a freelancer I could work with different US and Canadian companies and that the days would count towards my PR no matter where work takes place. Too bad this isn't working out.

One additional thought I had was to launch my own company that offers i.e. consulting services. In that scenario US and Canadian companies would hire me as a contractor for various projects. In that case, would the days spent in the US count towards my PR?

Thank you.

 

[keesio]

Thank you for the quick and very helpful reply.

I was hoping that as a freelancer I could work with different US and Canadian companies and that the days would count towards my PR no matter where work takes place. Too bad this isn't working out.

One additional thought I had was to launch my own company that offers i.e. consulting services. In that scenario US and Canadian companies would hire me as a contractor for various projects. In that case, would the days spent in the US count towards my PR?

Thank you.

The only way you can live/travel outside Canada and have days count towards your residency is if:
-You work for a Canadian employer and your position REQUIRES you to be abroad (military service, foreign service position, managing a team in a foreign branch of a Canadian company, etc). The note about the position requiring you to be abroad is pretty strict (and hard to prove) for a private employer. Government and military employment is much easier to prove.
-You are married to a Canadian and is living abroad with that person.

 

[zardoz]

Agreed. There is absolutely no possibility that being self employed will ever provide you with the exemption to physical presence. CIC, with the legislation in IRPA and IRPR, have made quite sure of that.

 

[Catherine14]

Ok, thank you so much for the provided information. That was exactly what I needed to know.