Working for a US based firm in Canada (Open Work Permit)!!!

[dahl]

Hi Folks,

I am in a unique situation and would appreciate your advise. I have a 3 year open work permit. I have been offered a full-time job by a US based firm to work in Canada on its projects with Canadian clients. So, I will be based in Canada only. The US firm does not have any office in Canada as such. Do you see any issues in that arrangement?

Specifically,
1. Can the US based company put me on their payrolls and transfer my salary to my Canadian bank account directly? Or,
2. Do I need to have a US bank account?
3. Also, will my work experience in Canada on these Canadian client projects be counted against my PR application?

I appreciate your reply in this regard.

Thanks!

 

[jsm0085]

Without a formal Canadian setup it's unlikely to work. If the following are available your application may succeed: -

- Ideally an address for the company in Canada.
- A supervisor / manager in Canada.
- Canadian payroll / tax would be a requirement.
- A formal corporation setup within Canada.

If the above conditions aren't met, it's very unlikely the experience would count.

 

[dahl]

Without a formal Canadian setup it's unlikely to work. If the following are available your application may succeed: -

- Ideally an address for the company in Canada.
- A supervisor / manager in Canada.
- Canadian payroll / tax would be a requirement.
- A formal corporation setup within Canada.

If the above conditions aren't met, it's very unlikely the experience would count.

Thanks a lot for your response. I sincerely appreciate the help.

The US employer will transfer my salary to the Canadian bank account and I shall take care of the personal tax requirement. Also, since they have projects and clients in Canada, they must be taking care of their corporate taxes in Canada. The only issue is the address for the company in Canada. I guess in order to pay my salary or to manage the finances related to their projects in Canada they must be having a registered office in Canada. Still, I will confirm that with them.

In worst case, in this situation the work experience might not count. But, I am also eligible for PNP, having done my MBA from Ontario, which does not require me to have 1 year work experience in Canada. In my case, would you recommend me to go with PNP option for PR application?

Thanks again!

 

[zardoz]

Thanks a lot for your response. I sincerely appreciate the help.

The US employer will transfer my salary to the Canadian bank account and I shall take care of the personal tax requirement. Also, since they have projects and clients in Canada, they must be taking care of their corporate taxes in Canada. The only issue is the address for the company in Canada. I guess in order to pay my salary or to manage the finances related to their projects in Canada they must be having a registered office in Canada. Still, I will confirm that with them.

In worst case, in this situation the work experience might not count. But, I am also eligible for PNP, having done my MBA from Ontario, which does not require me to have 1 year work experience in Canada. In my case, would you recommend me to go with PNP option for PR application?

Thanks again!

Because your tax obligations are not being handled by a Canadian employer but by yourself, I suspect that you will be assessed as a self-employed contractor, regardless of what you claim. Perhaps PNP is a safer option.

 

[dahl]

Thanks Zardoz.

So, I called CIC today and the immigration officer confirmed that I could work for the US based firm w/o any issues as I have an Open Work Permit. Also, once the work permit expires I can continue to work as a self-employed worker. She also mentioned that since I would working in Canada and gaining Canadian work experience, it will be counted for my PR. However, she did mention that it is normally based on the CIC officer's discretion who is reviewing the file but it should not be an issue. You can anyways explain your case.

Still, I feel that PNP would be the best option for me.

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[jes_ON]

So, I called CIC today and the immigration officer confirmed that I could work for the US based firm w/o any issues as I have an Open Work Permit. Also, once the work permit expires I can continue to work as a self-employed worker. She also mentioned that since I would working in Canada and gaining Canadian work experience, it will be counted for my PR. However, she did mention that it is normally based on the CIC officer's discretion who is reviewing the file but it should not be an issue. You can anyways explain your case.

Call centre agents often are not well-trained on the specifics of a given program, and there's a bunch of errors in what you wrote above (whether you were misinformed or whether you misunderstood, I don't know).

Yes, with an open work permit, you can work for a US-based employer, and self-employed is OK too. But self-employed experience is specifically excluded from the CEC class (under current rules). (Under the FSW class, self-employment experience can count count).If you are paying your own taxes, that is usually a sign of being self-employed. So you would have to look to qualify under a different program.

Second, you absolutely cannot continue working (employed or self-employed) if your work permit expires (unless you apply for a new one). You can't even remain in Canada without some sort of permit (e.g. change to a visitor's permit). It is true that you can work (e.g. telecommute) for US-based employers and clients without a work permit (as long as you have some kind of residence permit), but you have said that you will be assigned to work for Canadian clients. In that case you would need a work permit.

 

[gates1580]

Your application typically requires the following:
1. Letter from employer
2. Canadian paychecks
3. T4 & Notice of Tax Assessments

Company paying you in USD and transferring the money into your Canadian bank account is not the same as getting paid in CAD with a Canadian payroll.
This is definitely not a straight forward situation. Double check if your case satisfies all of CEC requirements.

 

[B.patel]

Hello Everyone,

I have some what same situation, however, US employer will do my payroll in Canada. But they do not have any branch at Canada. Now will it be counted as a Canadian work experience?

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hello Everyone,

I have some what same situation, however, US employer will do my payroll in Canada. But they do not have any branch at Canada. Now will it be counted as a Canadian work experience?

1. No, with the employer having no presence in Canada, it would be unlikely to be counted as Canadian experience.

 

[B.patel]

Hi


1. No, with the employer having no presence in Canada, it would be unlikely to be counted as Canadian experience.

Thank you for your response. Can you please take a look on new topic, which describes a situation briefly!!

Topic: Working for US company in Canada(Travel Throughout Canada) Post-grad Work Permit

Really appreciates your advise.

 

[ct21]

Hi Folks,

I am in a unique situation and would appreciate your advise. I have a 3 year open work permit. I have been offered a full-time job by a US based firm to work in Canada on its projects with Canadian clients. So, I will be based in Canada only. The US firm does not have any office in Canada as such. Do you see any issues in that arrangement?

Specifically,
1. Can the US based company put me on their payrolls and transfer my salary to my Canadian bank account directly? Or,
2. Do I need to have a US bank account?
3. Also, will my work experience in Canada on these Canadian client projects be counted against my PR application?

I appreciate your reply in this regard.

Thanks!

Hey dahl,

I am in the same situation, can you help me out if you worked for US firm on Open work permit and what was the result?
Thanking you. Waiting for your response.

 

[ct21]

Hi




1. No, with the employer having no presence in Canada, it would be unlikely to be counted as Canadian experience.

Hey PMM,

In my situation, I have a employer having presence in Canada as a contractor for the US firm and payment in USD. would it count as Canadian experience. Thanking you.