Workaway in Canada - do I need a Work Holiday Visa?

[cvbattum]

The title sums up most of it. In 2018, I'm planning to visit Canada for a few months. Part of it will be staying in hostels and hotels, but I'd also really like to do a volunteer exchange à la Workaway. The places I've been looking at mostly offer 'payment in kind', i.e. accomodation in a bedroom and sharing meals - no money or anything realistically taxable. The takeaway: I'll not be earning money in Canada during my stay. I (will) have saved around €2500 for my entire trip.

What I've read on the internet mostly contradicts eachother. Some say that you absolutely, definitely need a Working Holiday visa even if you only receive payment in kind. Others have said you most likely need one if it's work that can be done by a Canadian too for payment. I'm pretty sure every work qualifies for this. Somewhere else I read that I'd be okay with a tourist visa/eTA when the place I go to only offers work to people who don't get paid for it (so all the positions are volunteers). I've also seen accounts of people who did Workaway, while their countries didn't even have the Working Holiday visa program. I've basically seen everything from "you'll be sent on the first flight back" to "dozens of people I've met were a hundred percent fine with a simple tourist visa/eTA". Most posts were also over 3 years old. So, I decided to turn to the experts here.

I'm a nineteen year old from the Netherlands. Our country has a Working Holiday program with Canada. I can apply for the IEC twice, and each time must be in a different category. I'm assuming this means that I can only apply for a Working Holiday visa once in my life. I'd rather not spoil that chance by doing it unnecessarily or by making a mistake. I've also seen it costs quite some money.

If you need any more information to evaluate my situation, let me know.

 

[scylla]

The rules are pretty black and white. You need a work permit. If you are being compensated in any way (including lodging and meals) - you need a work permit. I'm sure there are those who engage in these kinds of activities without a work permit. They are working illegally. Most probably aren't caught - those that are caught can expect to be sent home (and then face complications returning in the future).

 

[PMM]

Hi

The rules are pretty black and white. You need a work permit. If you are being compensated in any way (including lodging and meals) - you need a work permit. I'm sure there are those who engage in these kinds of activities without a work permit. They are working illegally. Most probably aren't caught - those that are caught can expect to be sent home (and then face complications returning in the future).

1. if the OP was working for room and board on a farm for a short period of time 1-4 weeks, then no work permit required.

"There may be other types of unpaid short-term work where the work is really incidental to the main reason that a person is visiting Canada and is not a competitive activity, even though non-monetary valuable consideration is received. For instance, if a tourist wishes to stay on a family farm and work part time just for room and board for a short period (i.e., one to four weeks), this person would not be considered a worker. Work on a farm that is expected to extend beyond four weeks would require a work permit."

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/work/permit/farm.asp

Assessing farm work

• Is the volunteering incidental to the main reason for entering Canada?
  Note: The farm work cannot be the main reason for entering Canada; the foreign national must have other plans for the majority of their time in Canada. Volunteering is to be secondary (incidental) to the main reason (i.e. tourism, visiting family/friends, etc.).
• Is this a commercial or a non-commercial (family) farm?
  • Commercial farm: A commercial venture undertaken with an expectation of profit. Thus if the farm owner realistically expects to make a profit from the farming activities, this is considered a commercial farm. Commercial farms generally hire outside (steady) employees.
  • Non-commercial farm: A non-commercial farm generally means a farm where the farm family provides much of the capital and labour for the farm and where the production of agricultural products is to provide for the basic needs of the family, with little extra to sell for the profit of the family. This form of farming is commonly known as ‘subsistence’, ‘hobby’ or ‘family’ farming.

 

[cvbattum]

Very interesting. So, my takeaway from this is that this only works in the case of a place that has the legal status of a farm (I'm guessing there is such a thing in Canada as well?), and if I spend no more than four weeks working on a farm (or any farm?).

A few questions:

• Is four weeks a maximum quote of my work time on a farm? What if I go to, say, Quebec for a month, spend a a week in a hostel in the city and then spend three weeks on a farm in the countryside. Then I go to BC, spend two weeks in a hotel and try to find some other place via Workaway. Can I stay there for max. one more week? Of course, there won't be an immigration officer a few steps behind me at all times checking what I'm doing, but I'm trying not to fuck up my relations with Canada. I might want to immigrate at some point in life.
• Is the rule "a majority of the time doing something else" a hard rule? I'm guessing it won't be a huge problem if I spent something like three weeks in paid accommodation and four weeks on a farm, especially since I will have a lot of time to be a tourist while I volunteer on a farm. But will it become a problem if I spend one week in paid accommodation while spending four weeks volunteering?

Thanks a lot for the information!

 

[alemc]

Hi there,
I'm assuming you're now in your trip or have completed it. Could you share what your experience has been? I'd like to go to Canada at the end of the year and would like to spend some time either WOOFing or on a workaway project and can't find any information on whether I need a Work visa or not. I'm an Italian citizen and have unfortunately thought about this too late! Thanks