Shotokan said:
Hey fellow US Outlanders, I had a kinda weird question:
I’m a dual U.S./Canada citizen, and my wife is a U.S. citizen. Right now, we live and work in the U.S. and both of our jobs (American companies) allow us to work remotely.
Our application arrived 10-21-15
And I received my AOR today 12-08-15
If all goes well, hopefully I should get the SA around/before Christmas.
If I do get my SA, would it be possible for my wife and I to move to Canada early (before PR is approved), and she continued working remotely for her American employers during the wait period? Presumably she would enter for six months as a visitor, and then extend after that period to get implied status.
I was told in another thread that while this is legal, it’s weird in terms of accounting/tax purposes. I was just curious if any of you folks had personal experiences with the above or would like to totally dissuade me from doing it (I feel uneasy about it because it seems like it could easily go wrong).
I've looked into this as well. My husband did his college online full-time from an American institution during his PR process with only visitor status. We put all this on his application and he had no problems at all.
Now, I've read various things and the consensus is, as long as it is a US company that has no Canadian clients, it's fine, and could actually be a good thing as there's less of a risk you'll take any jobs from a Canadian, since you already have a job.
Now for the taxes. Under Canadian tax law, you pay taxes if you are a "resident" of Canada. In my mind, if you are a visitor with no status and the benefits that come with it, you are not a resident. However I am not the Canadian government and sadly I don't get to decide who pays taxes
Just having a spouse or partner in Canada is enough to claim residency according to the government. So does staying over 183 days.
The reality is though it's unlikely they are going to come after a visitor for taxes. This assumes you are the American one. It's a different story for your spouse, she must file a Canadian tax return.
The US stuff I am way less versed on. But one thing I know, US citizens no matter where they are in the USA have to file taxes. Lucky you! Apparently there are some agreements in place about CPP and what not, but that would be your employer's responsibility.
Here's a thread with some more information. We are gonna be in the same boat soon and I'm not looking forward to it. http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/work-remotely-from-canada-for-us-employer-t97746.0.html
