Working for Canadian business abroad as an exclusion rule...

[phoenix148351]

Hey everybody!
I am a Canadian PR and I am planning to leave Canada but I am working on a legit solution to keep my PR despite my future absence. I am starting a professional services business and I have no incentives or any special reasons to stay in Canada. I want to keep the PR though, for business reasons.
I came up with a solution that if I form a Canadian corporation and thus qualify for exclusion rule while working from abroad I am referring to the rule that allows you to stay abroad beyond 3 years of physical absence from Canada without loosing your immigration status if you work for a Canadian business abroad.The business does not really require incorporation and will be cheaper without it, but it can be done incorporated too and I d prefer so if it helps me to keep my residency.

Does anybody know what specific requirements that Canadian business should have for that rule to apply?
I'd really appreciate your responses.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Bs65]

Others can comment as well but you will probably find plenty of examples on here where people have suggested the same thing in setting up a business then claiming they are working for said business abroad so should keep their PR status. If it were so easy then everyone would do this but IRCC are wise to this so it is doomed to failure.

The rule about maintaining PR status working out side of the country is intended to support a scenario where an individual has been working for a number of years for a Canadian enterprise in Canada and is then assigned on a temp basis , 1 or 2 years outside of Canada. The Canadian enterprise would be expected to be well established in Canada, still employing a work force in Canada and still conducting significant business operations in Canada.

Setting up an entity specific for this purpose would likely fail on so many levels and as said IRCC have seen all these schemes many times before.

Ultimately though this is a public forum with public views so you are fee to contact an immigration lawyer for professional advice, good luck.

Read section 2 in link below

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5445-applying-permanent-resident-card-card-first-application-replacement-renewal-change-sex-designation.html#appendixA

 

[phoenix148351]

thanks.

Setting up an entity specific for this purpose would likely fail on so many levels and as said IRCC have seen all these schemes many times before.

just to be clear, there will be no sham structure there whatsoever, as mentioned but a real business and money from business going through it, just incorporated in Canada. It is not just for keeping PR but makes sense from business perspective as well. It could serve both purposes while being no sham. Moreover there are business related reasons for working from abroad coz I will be working with clients from certain countries. Yet business has to do with Canada, at the same time. Incorpoating is not 100% a must have but up to a business owner. But f it additionally helps to keep my PR, then in this case I will incorporate. Although from money saving standpoint alone it is cheaper not to incorporate or incorporate elsewhere, just to save on taxes... Worse-case scenario will be if I run into extra business related liabilities and expenses due to incorporation and maintaining the company, but screw the PR at the same time. That would be a useless waste of resources indeed.
.
"...an enterprise that has:

• an ongoing operation in Canada..."

It is planned as a professional services and consulting business, under the name of a Canadian company, and money can be received to its business accounts. But no people will be on the ground in Canada. I am not sure if this will qualify as ongoing operation in Canada- that is my concern. And there is no need to hire anybody on the ground too other than an agent which does not count I guess...

 

[scylla]

Hey everybody!
I am a Canadian PR and I am planning to leave Canada but I am working on a legit solution to keep my PR despite my future absence. I am starting a professional services business and I have no incentives or any special reasons to stay in Canada. I want to keep the PR though, for business reasons.
I came up with a solution that if I form a Canadian corporation and thus qualify for exclusion rule while working from abroad I am referring to the rule that allows you to stay abroad beyond 3 years of physical absence from Canada without loosing your immigration status if you work for a Canadian business abroad.The business does not really require incorporation and will be cheaper without it, but it can be done incorporated too and I d prefer so if it helps me to keep my residency.

Does anybody know what specific requirements that Canadian business should have for that rule to apply?
I'd really appreciate your responses.
Thanks in advance!

The short answer is no. You are by no means the first person who has thought of this and IRCC is way ahead of you.

We've seen many examples over the years where people have tried this on the forum and it's clear IRCC will not accept this under the exception. You won't be able to count your time outside of Canada towards PR. Ongoing operations in Canada means that the company must actively do business in Canada, have income from Canadian sources, have staff on the ground here, etc. Simply incorporating the business in Canada does not meet the requirement of having operations in Canada.

If you want to take advantage of the exception, you'll need to first be hired for a job in Canada by a company with established and ongoing operations in Canada. You'll want to work in the job in Canada for a number of months. Your company could then transfer you to a role outside of Canada. This transfer must be temporary in nature and you must intent to return to Canada to work for that company in Canada again after your overseas assignment is complete.

 

[zardoz]

The short answer is no. You are by no means the first person who has thought of this and IRCC is way ahead of you.

We've seen many examples over the years where people have tried this on the forum and it's clear IRCC will not accept this under the exception. You won't be able to count your time outside of Canada towards PR. Ongoing operations in Canada means that the company must actively do business in Canada, have income from Canadian sources, have staff on the ground here, etc. Simply incorporating the business in Canada does not meet the requirement of having operations in Canada.

If you want to take advantage of the exception, you'll need to first be hired for a job in Canada by a company with established and ongoing operations in Canada. You'll want to work in the job in Canada for a number of months. Your company could then transfer you to a role outside of Canada. This transfer must be temporary in nature and you must intent to return to Canada to work for that company in Canada again after your overseas assignment is complete.

I concur. No chance this will work.

 

[phoenix148351]

thanks again!

 

[Buletruck]

As others have noted and Expressly noted as a reason you can’t use this plan. ENF23-7.4 (c) & R 61 (1)(a)

For greater certainty, a Canadian business does not include a business that serves primarily to allow a permanent resident to meet their residency obligation while residing outside Canada A61(2).

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf23-eng.pdf