Clarification on leaving Canada on implied status, re-entry during COVID19 pandemic.

[article82]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can clarify some details on rules about travel. I'm possibly going to travel to the UK -- if I can determine a safe and responsible way to do so. I'm currently on implied status: I applied for an extension to my work permit because I had my contract renewed for an extra year in my job, but since processing times are long, it presumably won't be approved for quite some time yet. My old permit has now expired.

So what I want to know is:
Do O remain employed when I leave Canada, and is it only if I were to return before work permit approval (which is not currently possible anyway) that I'd not be able to continue working? I work in academia so I've frequently worked overseas, including in the UK without issue, but is my employer legally allowed to continue to pay me if I leave while on implied status?

With regard to re-entry: I'd wait until my work permit was approved before travelling back (likely not until at least late January; even then I might wait if it's safer to do so). With an extension, does it work in the same way as the initial permit? Do I get an invitation letter that I can use at the border when I arrive? Or is there some difficulty here because I applied within Canada?

 

[canuck78]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can clarify some details on rules about travel. I'm possibly going to travel to the UK -- if I can determine a safe and responsible way to do so. I'm currently on implied status: I applied for an extension to my work permit because I had my contract renewed for an extra year in my job, but since processing times are long, it presumably won't be approved for quite some time yet. My old permit has now expired.

So what I want to know is:
Do O remain employed when I leave Canada, and is it only if I were to return before work permit approval (which is not currently possible anyway) that I'd not be able to continue working? I work in academia so I've frequently worked overseas, including in the UK without issue, but is my employer legally allowed to continue to pay me if I leave while on implied status?

With regard to re-entry: I'd wait until my work permit was approved before travelling back (likely not until at least late January; even then I might wait if it's safer to do so). With an extension, does it work in the same way as the initial permit? Do I get an invitation letter that I can use at the border when I arrive? Or is there some difficulty here because I applied within Canada?

Once you leave Canada you lose your implied status and no longer are able to work until you have your new WP. Without proof that you are returning to a job you will struggle to return to Canada until you get your new WP and have proof that you are returning to a job.

 

[article82]

Once you leave Canada you lose your implied status and no longer are able to work until you have your new WP. Without proof that you are returning to a job you will struggle to return to Canada until you get your new WP and have proof that you are returning to a job.

Ok, thanks for the reply. This is the point that I seem to be finding contradictory information about: some sources say leaving is fine (you're still on implied) but you cannot re-enter unless you have a valid WP otherwise your implied status ends. Other sources are more ambigious, i.e. "you lose implied status if you leave and re-enter", and yet other sources say that you lose it upon simply leaving. In any case, I wouldn't be returning without my new WP being approved. But your information means that I am effectively barred from traveling until it is approved.

 

[canuck78]

Ok, thanks for the reply. This is the point that I seem to be finding contradictory information about: some sources say leaving is fine (you're still on implied) but you cannot re-enter unless you have a valid WP otherwise your implied status ends. Other sources are more ambigious, i.e. "you lose implied status if you leave and re-enter", and yet other sources say that you lose it upon simply leaving. In any case, I wouldn't be returning without my new WP being approved. But your information means that I am effectively barred from traveling until it is approved.

If you leave while on implied status you can only return if you have a valid TRV and either have a WP and proof of current employment or you can travel because you qualify based on the travel restrictions. Implied status ends as soon as you leave Canada. There is nothing stopping you from leaving but getting back will be your issue. It is hard to comment because the travel situation remains fluid.

 

[article82]

If you leave while on implied status you can only return if you have a valid TRV and either have a WP and proof of current employment or you can travel because you qualify based on the travel restrictions. Implied status ends as soon as you leave Canada. There is nothing stopping you from leaving but getting back will be your issue. It is hard to comment because the travel situation remains fluid.

Thanks again for your follow-up. I think this makes it clear that not leaving at all until the WP has been processed really is the only safe thing to do, rather than trying to leave and re-enter after receipt of the WP, which as you've said is not straightforward in the first instance and made more complicated by the travel situation. The processing times have decreased, so my WP might end up being processed moderately soon.

Thanks for the advice and information.

 

[Compos Sui]

@article82 maybe the following can shed a light on your doubts:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5553-applying-change-conditions-extend-your-stay-canada-worker.html

Please read the part that says: "Traveling outside Canada while your Work Permit is being processed".

 

[article82]

@article82 maybe the following can shed a light on your doubts:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5553-applying-change-conditions-extend-your-stay-canada-worker.html

Please read the part that says: "Traveling outside Canada while your Work Permit is being processed".

Thanks for this. This certainly makes it clear that re-entry is possible after the work permit is issued (this was my intention: to wait until it had been processed before returning to Canada). My doubt was also about my employment status since I'm still working while on implied status, i.e. if my work must stop paying me if I leave Canadian soil. Canuck87's posts above suggests implied status is lost *as soon as* you leave Canada, and therefore I presumably couldn't work remotely from the UK legally; I thought that it may have been lost on re-entry, i.e. if you enter Canada with a TRV but with a still-pending WP application. Under normal circumstances, when my work permit had not expired, I'd be able to travel and still receive salary payments even if not physically in Canada.

 

[Compos Sui]

No problem!
My situation is a little bit similar to yours. I decided to travel to my home country while my BOWP was being processed but I was having the same doubts you had. After some research I came across the Guide 5553 and it was clear I could leave.
I told IRCC, they moved my application to Paris and today, after almost 5 months of processing it was approved today and I can return to Canada.
Easy cheesy!

 

[article82]

No problem!
My situation is a little bit similar to yours. I decided to travel to my home country while my BOWP was being processed but I was having the same doubts you had. After some research I came across the Guide 5553 and it was clear I could leave.
I told IRCC, they moved my application to Paris and today, after almost 5 months of processing it was approved today and I can return to Canada.
Easy cheesy!

Ah, but you had your application moved? Was the 5 months inclusive of the initial processing time, or since the change of processing centre?

Looking at how things are going I'm probably due to have my application processed in about a month or so -- possibly 2 months if there as a slight increase in processing times again. And just to clarify: were you then working on implied status while this application was processing and if so, did you continue to work (or more importantly, continue to receive payment) having left Canada? One further complication is that inside Canada there are no biometrics just now, but if I were in the UK I'd have to go get that done (and this is a bit difficult with travel restrictions if you don't live near London, as I don't, and the cost would be at least $500 to make that trip... not convenient). If my application were to move centres, I could imagine they then reinstate the need for biometrics.

 

[Compos Sui]

Yes, they moved the application for the Visa Processing Center that covers my country because I had to tell them my whereabouts so they could contact me when needed.
It took around 5 months, everything included: I applied inland on July 1st; left Canada on October 2nd and got the application approved today.
I was in implied status condition since July 7th and due to the nature of my job in Canada, I'm not entitled to get payments if I am not working.
Regarding biometrics, I can't be helpful with that because I gave them when I applied for PR.

 

[article82]

Yes, they moved the application for the Visa Processing Center that covers my country because I had to tell them my whereabouts so they could contact me when needed.
It took around 5 months, everything included: I applied inland on July 1st; left Canada on October 2nd and got the application approved today.
I was in implied status condition since July 7th and due to the nature of my job in Canada, I'm not entitled to get payments if I am not working.
Regarding biometrics, I can't be helpful with that because I gave them when I applied for PR.

Sorry for covering the same things over and over, but just a little more clarification because it's quite nuanced: when you left Canada you were not working? Or you were unable to work on leaving? Since I work in academia (and likely from home for the foreseeable future) I can technically work from anywhere. It makes this all quite strange, because there's nothing in principle that stops me from travelling wherever I please and working as normal. In fact, earlier in the year while my work permit was still valid, I found myself trapped, so to speak, in the UK for a few months, and continued to work happily from there. I only returned to ensure re-entry before my work permit expired. The barrier to returning to the UK and working from there (other than issues about my primary residence) is the bureaucratic nature of work permits.

It's good to know that it didn't add too much of a delay on your application. It sounds like I should simply wait until this work permit extension is approved, but in an emergency situation, at least there's some hope of travel, even if that means effectively terminating employment for a short amount of time.

 

[Compos Sui]

I never stopped working until the day I traveled.
I don't think you shouldn't travel based on the fear that it will jeopardize your WP application because, according to the Guide 5553, you can do so and that's what I did. But it's your call...
You only have to start the application process inland.

 

[canuck78]

Sorry for covering the same things over and over, but just a little more clarification because it's quite nuanced: when you left Canada you were not working? Or you were unable to work on leaving? Since I work in academia (and likely from home for the foreseeable future) I can technically work from anywhere. It makes this all quite strange, because there's nothing in principle that stops me from travelling wherever I please and working as normal. In fact, earlier in the year while my work permit was still valid, I found myself trapped, so to speak, in the UK for a few months, and continued to work happily from there. I only returned to ensure re-entry before my work permit expired. The barrier to returning to the UK and working from there (other than issues about my primary residence) is the bureaucratic nature of work permits.

It's good to know that it didn't add too much of a delay on your application. It sounds like I should simply wait until this work permit extension is approved, but in an emergency situation, at least there's some hope of travel, even if that means effectively terminating employment for a short amount of time.

You can continue working but as a FN working from the UK. If you have proof of employment you can return to Canada with the approved WP and prrof of employment.

 

[article82]

You can continue working but as a FN working from the UK. If you have proof of employment you can return to Canada with the approved WP and prrof of employment.

By a FN working from the UK, you don't imply any change in status, right? I continue working as normal for my Canadian employer, remotely, and return to Canada only after my WP is approved (and this should mean I have proof from documentation via the IRCC application portal, plus I'll have my contract that states that I have ongoing employment).

 

[canuck78]

By a FN working from the UK, you don't imply any change in status, right? I continue working as normal for my Canadian employer, remotely, and return to Canada only after my WP is approved (and this should mean I have proof from documentation via the IRCC application portal, plus I'll have my contract that states that I have ongoing employment).

If working as a foreign national from the UK your company will need to change your payroll. You'll be working for them as a UK citizen in the UK and not as someone in Canada on a WP. You will need to discuss this with your employer. Some may not be willing to do this.