Employer asking to work from home country till PR approves

[garfield1211]

Hi All,

I recently got a job in a company in Toronto, ON. The company is ready to apply for LMIA which I can use to claim 50 points towards my EE application.

The company has asked me to work from India as a contractor/freelancer till my PR application is approved.

The company has given me the following timeline:
September 2020 - December 2020 - LMIA Application & Approval
January 2021 - October 2021 - Express Entry Application & Approval
October 2021 (expected) - COPR and start working full-time for the company in Toronto, ON.

The company is confident that the LMIA will be approved as mine is a niche occupation (Game Development).

My question is can I work for the company as a freelancer (They will be paying me in INR. I have a company set up in India with GSTNo.) and show self-employed in my EE application from September 2020 - October 2021 and move to Canada as a PR and continue working for them.

If yes, then how do I show my work in the Express Entry application?

 

[primaprime]

Have you ever worked or studied in Canada? Do you have any other qualifying work experience already? Is this company asking you to pay any fees or did you find it through some consultant or agent?

 

[garfield1211]

Have you ever worked or studied in Canada? Do you have any other qualifying work experience already? Is this company asking you to pay any fees or did you find it through some consultant or agent?

Have you ever worked or studied in Canada? No.
Do you have any other qualifying work experience already? Yes, 1 year in the US (continuous) which makes me eligible for Express Entry. Current CRS : 456. CRS with job offer: 506.
Is this company asking you to pay any fees or did you find it through some consultant or agent? No fees. Nothing. I don't have to pay anything. It is a legit company (Comes Top 5 gaming companies). I did my due diligence and I have gone through the interview process as well (4 video interview rounds.)

 

[primaprime]

Okay, sounds like you can go ahead and hope for the best with their LMIA application. If you already meet the minimum requirements, you don't necessarily need to show any freelancing experience, although you could try with documents proving business ownership, invoicing, etc. Self-employment experience typically involves work on behalf of multiple clients, so that may be something to consider.

 

[garfield1211]

Okay, sounds like you can go ahead and hope for the best with their LMIA application. If you already meet the minimum requirements, you don't necessarily need to show any freelancing experience, although you could try with documents proving business ownership, invoicing, etc. Self-employment experience typically involves work on behalf of multiple clients, so that may be something to consider.

If I show freelancing in personal history section (not claiming points for that), do I still need to prove self-employment/freelancing by providing documents for the same?

My concern is that IRCC will reject my application by saying that I am trying to exploit a loophole/defrauding the LMIA system.

 

[primaprime]

You don't need to document any work experience you aren't claiming points for.

What loophole?

 

[garfield1211]

Technically I’ll be taking up a Canadian job which someone else could have gotten. I’ll start working as a contractor/freelancer even before the LMIA is approved. This worries me. IRCC should not see this as just a workaround that company used to hire me.