Location restriction on WP
- Thread starter akaur13
- Start date
No you cant. Your work permit only allows you to be employed in the location as stated on the work permit. If you work for an another employer in a different location, it is a breach of your work permit conditions. Besides any gainful employment should be issued a T4 for tax purposes and government would know where your income is generated.
But one would be paying taxes in the Canadian province for which the work permit is issued, as they are living there and working for a remote employer based in another province. Is this a breach of the stated condition ?
If it's stated on a province specific open work permit, one would be paying taxes in the Canadian province for which the work permit is issued as they are living there and working for a remote employer based in another province. Is this a breach of the condition ?
What provinces? If you show residency in another province, then you pay taxes there too. So if your permit is based from Alberta then your pay slips/T4 show that as where you work. But if you are living in Ontario and working remtotely, that is your residency so you file your taxes from that province. So yes, it is a breach.
For example, my spouse works in Quebec but we live in Ontario. It is complicated but his residency is Ontario so income taxes are filed from Ontario, not Quebec. Taxes like CPP, EI and Quebec taxes are taken off his payslips but again, his income tax return is filed from Ontario and then he pays Ontario tax but gets back some of his Quebec taxes that he paid. It balances out in the end.
If you are in a province specific work permit which states you must work in that province, then you must. You cannot work remotely from another province. You work at the address stated. Maybe you can work remotely in that province if you are close to the office.
Does your employer have an office in the province you want to live in? If so, your employer may be able to change the conditions of the LMIA to be based at the officer in the province you want to live in. Employer would provide proof that it has an office there through business registration, lease agreements and filing taxes in that province.
Last edited:
What conditions of the LMIA ? It is a province specific (LMIA exempt) open work permit, not a closed permit. There is no employer address stated on the permit, just the province i.e. Quebec as the employment location (More details in https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/provincial-nominees-permanent-resident-applicants/bridging-open-work-permits.html#toc6).
The case you mentioned above (i.e. "If you are in a province specific work permit which states you must work in that province, then you must. You cannot work remotely from another province. You work at the address stated. Maybe you can work remotely in that province if you are close to the office.") is not exactly what I meant to ask. My question is if the employment location condition is mentioned as Quebec on the permit and one pays taxes to Quebec as one is already living there and continues to do so, can they work remotely for an employer with an office in let's say Alberta instead of Quebec (if the nature of the job does not require them to be physically present at the office) ? Whether the Employment location restriction means the employer has to have an office in Quebec ?
Also, if yes, then whether this still holds true if their status changes from a Quebec specific open work permit to a Quebec PR (meaning have become PR through the Quebec PNP) ?
The link you posted is for those who have a PR application in process through Express Entry and are eligible for a Bridging Open Work Permit. So that is your situation? If not, you cannot be on a LMIA exempt open work permit. Do you have another LMIA for the remote position?
Quebec immigration has its own rules not through IRCC so the link you posted may not be relevant if getting PR through Quebec.
The link I posted (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/provincial-nominees-permanent-resident-applicants/bridging-open-work-permits.html#toc6) is also applicable for those who have a PR application in process through the Quebec Skilled Workers program (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/extend-permit/bridging-open-work-permit.html), which is my case and hence eligible for LMIA exempt open work permit. Lmk, if you have an idea about the query in https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/location-restriction-on-wp.804501/post-10493959.
You never said in your first post that you had a PR application in process. You should have clarified that in your first post. So have you received AOR and applied for BOWP? If you are living in Quebec and your application is in process then contact IRCC and get final confirmation on whether you can work for an Alberta based employer too. This is complex because your current work permit specifies that you can only work for your employer in Quebec.
If WP holders were able to work remotely there would be no need to actually work from Canada. As already stated there is a work location as part of your WP and so you are breaching the conditions of your WP. A province is still specifying a location you just have the flexibility to work anywhere within Quebec.
I think people really don't understand the impotance of PNP programs. A province selects peoples to help their local businesses and employers.
A Province does not just need people to generate provincial revenues through paying taxes.