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Working for Canadian Company Abroad and Residency Obligations

Jan 24, 2014
2
0
I am a Permanent Resident and I would like to continue working with a Canadian based company abroad to continue earning a living as it is very difficult to obtain employment in my field in Canada. At the same time, I am doing online courses to obtain a job and to be able to settle successfully in Canada upon completion of these courses. The company I work for is the Canadian branch of a large USA based company and they have operations worldwide. My employment letter says that I am employed by the branch in Canada and I continue to work with the branch in my home country as my skills are needed there.
Would my time living abroad be counted towards Canadian residence in order to renew my PR card and later to apply for citizenship?
Please advise.

Thanks.
 

zardoz

VIP Member
Feb 2, 2013
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Canadian To Be said:
I am a Permanent Resident and I would like to continue working with a Canadian based company abroad to continue earning a living as it is very difficult to obtain employment in my field in Canada. At the same time, I am doing online courses to obtain a job and to be able to settle successfully in Canada upon completion of these courses. The company I work for is the Canadian branch of a large USA based company and they have operations worldwide. My employment letter says that I am employed by the branch in Canada and I continue to work with the branch in my home country as my skills are needed there.
Would my time living abroad be counted towards Canadian residence in order to renew my PR card and later to apply for citizenship?
Please advise.

Thanks.
I don't believe that would count towards your residency obligation requirements. The exemption is very clearly defined and I don't think that this meets the definition. I think that CIC would treat this as being posted abroad by a USA company, regardless of what the paperwork tried to claim. They might see this as a cynical attempt to subvert the RO.
OPTION 2. Employment outside Canada

You may count each day you were employed outside Canada if your employment meets the following requirements:

you are an employee of, or under contract to, a Canadian business or the public service of Canada or of a province or territory and
as a term of your employment or contract, you are assigned on a full-time basis to:
a position outside Canada
an affiliated enterprise outside Canada or
a client of the Canadian business or the public service outside Canada
For this application, a Canadian business is defined as:

a corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada or of a province and that has an ongoing operation in Canada
an enterprise that has:
an ongoing operation in Canada
is capable of generating revenue
is carried out in anticipation of profit
in which a majority of voting or ownership interests is held by Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or Canadian businesses as defined above or
an organization or enterprise created by the laws of Canada or a province
Supporting documents:

You must provide a letter signed by an official of the business stating:

the position and title of the signing official
the nature of the business and how it fits the description of a Canadian business (see definition above)
details of your assignment or contract outside Canada such as duration of the assignment; confirmation that you are a full-time employee of the “Canadian business” working abroad on a full-time basis as a term of your employment, or that you are on contract working on a full-time basis abroad as a term of your contract; and a description or copy of the position profile regarding the assignment or contract abroad, and
confirmation that the business was not created primarily for the purpose of allowing you to satisfy your residency obligation
 

scylla

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Jun 8, 2010
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What you've described won't work. You need to be hired by the Canadian company for a role in Canada first and then at some point later moved to the post outside of Canada.

So the time you spend outside of Canada can't be counted towards your PR residency requirement. And it certainly can't be counted towards citizenship. For citizenship you need to be physically present in Canada.
 
Jan 24, 2014
2
0
Thanks for the information.
Could someone say if working abroad for PAHO, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, IDB count as working for a Canadian company to satisfy my residency obligations?
These organizations are affiliates / partners of CIDA.

Thanks.
 

Msafiri

Champion Member
Nov 18, 2012
2,667
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Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Canadian To Be said:
Thanks for the information.
Could someone say if working abroad for PAHO, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, IDB count as working for a Canadian company to satisfy my residency obligations?
These organizations are affiliates / partners of CIDA.

Thanks.
No - these are international institutions not Canadian Businesses. Canada is party to various treaties dealing with formation/ operations of these institutions as part of a full member state or other class of membership. Close but no cigar!
 

canadabells

Member
Dec 24, 2018
17
2
I am a Permanent Resident and I would like to continue working with a Canadian based company abroad to continue earning a living as it is very difficult to obtain employment in my field in Canada. At the same time, I am doing online courses to obtain a job and to be able to settle successfully in Canada upon completion of these courses. The company I work for is the Canadian branch of a large USA based company and they have operations worldwide. My employment letter says that I am employed by the branch in Canada and I continue to work with the branch in my home country as my skills are needed there.
Would my time living abroad be counted towards Canadian residence in order to renew my PR card and later to apply for citizenship?
Please advise.

Thanks.
Friends, I am working for Canadian company too and would like to know for residency requirement, what does Canadian company mean? How to show or provide proof that mine is Canadian company? Do I need to get any papers from company?
 

Bs65

VIP Member
Mar 22, 2016
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Friends, I am working for Canadian company too and would like to know for residency requirement, what does Canadian company mean? How to show or provide proof that mine is Canadian company? Do I need to get any papers from company?
Others can comment as well but In the context of this thread you would need to show that the company you work for is incorporated/ registered in Canada as its primary HQ and you worked for said company in Canada for a period of time before being assigned temporarily outside of Canada and even possibly continued to be paid a salary in Canada whilst on temporary assignment.

The latter points are key given just working for a Canadian company that has a branch office in another country would not qualify to maintain the residency obligation without meeting the assignment criteria. In my view As far as residency is required an individual would need a letter from the Canadian employer confirming the temporary assignment abroad from their position working in Canada, the job role, the location and possibly even the timeline of the assignment.
 
Last edited:

Buletruck

VIP Member
May 18, 2015
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One other point to mention is that company can not have been created specifically for the applicant to maintain RO. The company must have business within Canada.
 

dpenabill

VIP Member
Apr 2, 2010
6,252
3,018
Friends, I am working for Canadian company too and would like to know for residency requirement, what does Canadian company mean? How to show or provide proof that mine is Canadian company? Do I need to get any papers from company?
IN ADDITION to the observations posted by @Buletruck and @Bs65 --

See the instructions and document checklist for a PR TD or PR card application. In the checklist for a PR Travel Document, for example, item 10 enumerates what should be included in a letter signed by an official of the business AND also lists additional documents to include (will quote the checklist below, BUT it is always important to follow the instructions and checklist applicable at the time). To see this checklist follow link from IRCC's web page about applications for a PR TD; see https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/application-permanent-resident-travel-document.html

The list identifies what will show that the business is a Canadian business, but it does NOT reveal the underlying issues. There are several. One issue that has been litigated extensively in the last few years is whether or not the business has "ongoing operations" in Canada . . . for example, for a business to be an ongoing operation in Canada there must be more than just paperwork. (see, for example Petrov v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2018 CanLII 13985 (CA IRB), http://canlii.ca/t/hr31f )

Thus, if there is a question about whether the employer is a Canadian business, a severe CAUTION is warranted --


CAUTION: Qualifying for the working-abroad-for-Canadian-business credit can be TRICKY.

The requirements for this credit tend to be so narrowly and strictly interpreted, and applied, it tends to be rather difficult to qualify for the credit if the PR actually needs it. So much so it sometimes seems:
-- If the PR needs the credit for time working abroad, odds are the time working abroad does NOT qualify for the credit.
-- If the time working abroad qualifies for the credit, odds are the PR meets the RO based on time actually present in Canada and does NOT need the credit.​
While this is overly-generalizing, overstating the difficulty some, how tricky it can be should NOT be underestimated.

I have discussed issues related to qualifying for working-abroad-for-Canadian-business credit in another topic, where I am working on developing a thorough outline of what is required, what the issues are, where there are pitfalls, which is still largely a work-in-progress. But I have already addressed many of the relevant issues there; see https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/working-abroad-ro-credit-including-business-trips-an-update.607559/

As noted, being a Canadian business on paper does not suffice.

Thus, for example, among the relevant issues is whether there is a nexus or connection between the work performed outside Canada and the ongoing operation of the business in Canada, and the ratio of work done in Canada to that done outside Canada is a relevant factor. In addition to the Petrov decision I linked above, among numerous IAD decisions addressing this particular issue see Waraich v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2017 CanLII 64590 (CA IRB), http://canlii.ca/t/h6csq

Overall there are more than a few nuances which lurk beneath the surface of the question "what is a Canadian business" that meets the requirements to qualify for the working-abroad-for-Canadian-business credit. This is not to dismiss some of the easy, yes the business qualifies, scenarios. A PR employed at a manufacturing facility in Canada who is sent abroad to assist with something like the installation of equipment manufactured in Canada and sold to a client abroad will easily qualify for the credit, including for example whether the trips abroad are described as "business trips" or otherwise (the actual details of the assignment are what matter, not labels or general characterizations). Similarly if the PR is employed in the sales division of such an employer, that is an employer whose business is primarily the manufacture (in a Canadian facility) of something like machinery, and the employee is regularly sent on business trips abroad related to the sale, delivery, installation, or maintenance of that machinery for foreign based customers.

BUT we generally do NOT see queries here about such easy cases. And there are few IAD cases of this sort.



PR TD Instructions and checklist:

While there are multiple sources of information regarding compliance with the PR Residency Obligation which includes details about qualifying for the working-abroad-for-Canadian-business credit, the instructions and checklist provided for PR TD applications provides the best outline of what is required. Again, some caution is warranted because these do not adequately reveal how narrowly and strictly the requirements are interpreted and applied. But they do specifically enumerate the minimum.

So that information is the minimum a PR should be prepared to provide in the event of a Residency Obligation determination. There is, of course, a Residency Determination when a PR applies for a new PR card or applies for a PR Travel Document. Additionally PRs may be examined at a PoE about RO compliance. Obviously a PR will not typically be carrying all these documents every time the PR is traveling, BUT for a PR who is spending a lot of time abroad it will be prudent to be prepared for a PoE examination about RO compliance and have at least some of the key documentation in hand . . . some of the IAD cases describe PRs being cautioned at a PoE they should have proof the next time.

The guide for the PR TD application includes a section specifically about the Residency Obligation, and it specifically addresses the working-abroad-for-Canadian-business credit. See https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/application-permanent-resident-travel-document.html

For the PR TD application checklist, follow the link from IRCC's web page about applications for a PR TD; see https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5529-applying-permanent-resident-travel-document.html

In any event, for reference: FROM the PR TD application checklist enumerating documents to include if the PR is seeking credit for time working outside Canada:

If you are working outside Canada, you must include a letter signed by an official of the business that confirms:
-- the position and title of the signing official;
-- the nature of the business and how it fits the description of a Canadian business (see definition in Residency Obligation section);
-- details of your assignment or contract outside Canada;
-- that you will continue working for the employer in Canada after your assignment; and
-- that the business has not been created primarily for you to meet your residency obligation.

You may also include:
-- articles of incorporation and business licenses,
-- partnership agreements and corporate annual reports,
-- corporate Canadian Income Tax Notices of Assessment and financial statements,
-- copies of the Employee Assignment Agreement or Contract,
-- copies of any agreements between the Canadian business and the business or client outside Canada concerning your assignment to that client or business,
-- pay statements,
-- Canadian income tax notice of assessment or T4 slips,
-- any other proof that you want us to consider.

The PR TD application Instruction Guide further defines what constitutes a Canadian Business:

For this application, a Canadian business is defined as:
-- a corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada or of a province and that has an ongoing operation in Canada
-- an enterprise that:

-- -- has an ongoing operation in Canada
-- -- is able to generate revenue
-- -- is carried out in anticipation of profit
-- -- in which a majority of voting or ownership interests is held by Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or Canadian businesses as defined above or
-- an organization or enterprise created by the laws of Canada or a province

The Instruction Guide also elaborates some regarding what the letter should describe as to details of the assignment; that is, the letter from an official of the business must confirm:
details of your assignment or contract outside Canada such as:
-- length of the assignment;
-- confirmation that you are a full-time employee of the “Canadian business” working abroad on a full-time basis as a term of your employment, or that you are on contract working abroad on a full-time basis as a term of your contract; and
-- a description or copy of the position profile regarding the assignment or contract abroad;
 

CanadianDreamer@TO

Hero Member
Jul 23, 2021
205
25
I am working in the Canadian Branch of a US company. Work is primarily from home. For 3 weeks, as agreed with the management of my company, I would be working from home but from India. Will this time spend count towards the resideny obligation?