Does remote work count as Canadian work experience (working from home within Canada)?

[thebiggboii]

You can't count your time working abroad as a Canadian experience but otherwise, you can work remotely without impact to your PR application.

Thank you for your prompt reply. So that means, I need to complete the 1-year Canadian work experience from within Canada. Anytime that I spend traveling will not be accepted. Is that correct?

However, I am still getting paid to my Canadian account and paying taxes to the Canadian government.

I am working for a start-up company. The company doesn't care if I am working within Canada or outside. I have completed 8 months of work from within Canada and wish to travel outside Canada since there is a lockdown going and there is no reason for me to be physically present here except in a situation for PR application.

I will gain the same level of experience irrespective of where I am located.

Please clarify if I still need to be present in Canada for the remainder of the duration? I have an open work permit and a multiple entry visa and a confirmed job here in Canada.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you for your prompt reply. So that means, I need to complete the 1-year Canadian work experience from within Canada. Anytime that I spend traveling will not be accepted. Is that correct?

However, I am still getting paid to my Canadian account and paying taxes to the Canadian government.

I am working for a start-up company. The company doesn't care if I am working within Canada or outside. I have completed 8 months of work from within Canada and wish to travel outside Canada since there is a lockdown going and there is no reason for me to be physically present here except in a situation for PR application.

I will gain the same level of experience irrespective of where I am located.

Please clarify if I still need to be present in Canada for the remainder of the duration? I have an open work permit and a multiple entry visa and a confirmed job here in Canada.

Yes you need to be in Canada even if you are working remotely if you want to count your work as Canadian experience.

 

[ahm756]

Hi,

I have a similar situation, I have worked remotely from home for a Canadian company. But, now I am considering to travel outside Canada and continue working. Will that interfere with my PR application?

Thanks.

Hey, if you already applied for PR and had at least 1 year of valid Canadian work experience, it won't interfere. However, once you begin working remotely from outside Canada, you cannot claim work experience for that period. CEC only accepts work experience that is gained when physically present in Canada.

 

[ahm756]

Thank you for your prompt reply. So that means, I need to complete the 1-year Canadian work experience from within Canada. Anytime that I spend traveling will not be accepted. Is that correct?

However, I am still getting paid to my Canadian account and paying taxes to the Canadian government.

I am working for a start-up company. The company doesn't care if I am working within Canada or outside. I have completed 8 months of work from within Canada and wish to travel outside Canada since there is a lockdown going and there is no reason for me to be physically present here except in a situation for PR application.

I will gain the same level of experience irrespective of where I am located.

Please clarify if I still need to be present in Canada for the remainder of the duration? I have an open work permit and a multiple entry visa and a confirmed job here in Canada.

As @canuck78 mentioned, you need to be present in Canada for it to count towards your CEC work experience.

 

[Piya’scanadapr]

Hey guys, thank you this is really helpful information. @canuck78 do you if I should put it under the same city That I started working in for the whole experience or should I put say 4 months in halifax and 8 months in delhi for the same role same company while filling out my employment/activity records in the application?
I have been taxed and paid based on the Halifax payroll.

 

[Piya’scanadapr]

Hey guys, thank you this is really helpful information. @canuck78 do you if I should put it under the same city That I started working in for the whole experience or should I put say 4 months in halifax and 8 months in delhi for the same role same company while filling out my employment/activity records in the application?
I have been taxed and paid based on the Halifax payroll.

Keep in mind that this is not my actual noc O A B experience, this was NOC C. I am only trying to make sure the employment record is correctly put on the application. My noc A experience was in canada for 1.9 years anyway.

 

[hbaig27]

You should expect this will be classified as foreign work experience since you are working for an American company which doesn't have a physical presence in Canada.

If the PEO is established in Canada and then technically they do work for a Canadian company which is the PEO

 

[scylla]

If the PEO is established in Canada and then technically they do work for a Canadian company which is the PEO

IMO this is a grey area. We haven't seen enough cases with this scenario to know what IRCC will do.

IMO IRCC will eventually classified this as a loophole (if they haven't already) and disallow it.

 

[hbaig27]

IMO this is a grey area. We haven't seen enough cases with this scenario to know what IRCC will do.

IMO IRCC will eventually classified this as a loophole (if they haven't already) and disallow it.

Perhaps. But as things stand currently, I think working under a Canadian PEO as your employer allows you to fulfill the CEC work exp requirements.

The PEO should provide a letter with the employment information, salary, start date etc and explain that the work is done for the U.S company.
and the U.S employer can provide the duties and responsibilities for the job.

 

[scylla]

Perhaps. But as things stand currently, I think working under a Canadian PEO as your employer allows you to fulfill the CEC work exp requirements.

The PEO should provide a letter with the employment information, salary, start date etc and explain that the work is done for the U.S company.
and the U.S employer can provide the duties and responsibilities for the job.

Agreed. But it's definitely a loophole. The actual employer isn't in Canada or Canadian. So just a matter of how long people are able to do this until IRCC notices it and starts classifying this as foreign work experience.

 

[hbaig27]

Agreed. But it's definitely a loophole. The actual employer isn't in Canada or Canadian. So just a matter of how long people are able to do this until IRCC notices it and starts classifying this as foreign work experience.

Do you think they'll make a formal announcement or addition to the CEC requirements guidelines if they do intent to fix the loophole? Or just quietly keep rejecting people for it?

 

[scylla]

Do you think they'll make a formal announcement or addition to the CEC requirements guidelines if they do intent to fix the loophole? Or just quietly keep rejecting people for it?

It could go either way.

 

[Tison123]

I am living in canada and working in one of the call centre company but it says work from home on job letter and I am also living in canada . Does this count towards experience?

 

[ahm756]

I am living in canada and working in one of the call centre company but it says work from home on job letter and I am also living in canada . Does this count towards experience?

Yes. As long as you're working within Canada, it is counted. Company must also be based in Canada.

 

[Naturgrl]

I am living in canada and working in one of the call centre company but it says work from home on job letter and I am also living in canada . Does this count towards experience?

If working in Canada, and skilled in NOC A, B or 0 then yes.