Hi everyone, I have been trying to find out if freelance work counts as work experience under Express Entry if the individual was not registered as a sole proprietor in their home country. Do any of you know the answer to this? To give context, I have 2 years and 8 months of full-time and contract work, but I have been working on a freelance basis after that for 3 years and 4 months.
I do have my invoices and quotations with clients, and my clients would be able to provide letters attesting that I provided relevant work for them but I'm wondering whether to go through the trouble of asking them if being registered as a sole prop is mandatory for any of the freelance work to count. I also have been declaring all the income earned through freelance work to my home country's government over these years.
When I looked at the explanation on the canadian government's page, it didn't answer my question because I feel like it can be interpreted either way:
To check what the Canadian government counts as being 'self employed', I looked up whether or not billing under an individual's name instead of registering as a Sole prop can be counted on the gov's website, and the phrasing is also easily interpreted in a number of ways:
So now I'm at a loss, and am stuck at the "In the last 10 years, how many years of skilled work experience do you have?" part of the eligibility express entry questionnaire.
I rather start the Express entry process asap since I'll be turning 30 in the latter half of next year, this is a head scratcher that I'm very worried about. I'm also not sure how accurate the questionnaire's answers have to be if I'm not sure of the answer and if I am overthinking this, but I'm erring on the side of caution since everyone knows you should never be dishonest to migration offices, even by accident. If any of you have suggestions on how to find out and/or any answers, it would be a big help and I'd be so grateful
I do have my invoices and quotations with clients, and my clients would be able to provide letters attesting that I provided relevant work for them but I'm wondering whether to go through the trouble of asking them if being registered as a sole prop is mandatory for any of the freelance work to count. I also have been declaring all the income earned through freelance work to my home country's government over these years.
When I looked at the explanation on the canadian government's page, it didn't answer my question because I feel like it can be interpreted either way:
- if the applicant is self-employed, articles of incorporation or other evidence of business ownership, evidence of self-employment income and documentation from third-party individuals indicating the service provided along with payment details (self-declared main duties or affidavits are not acceptable proof of self-employed work experience).
To check what the Canadian government counts as being 'self employed', I looked up whether or not billing under an individual's name instead of registering as a Sole prop can be counted on the gov's website, and the phrasing is also easily interpreted in a number of ways:
- A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business that is owned by one individual. It is the simplest kind of business structure.
- The owner of a sole proprietorship has sole responsibility for making decisions, receives all the profits, claims all losses, and does not have separate legal status from the business. If you are a sole proprietor, you also assume all the risks of the business. The risks extend even to your personal property and assets.
- If you are a sole proprietor, you pay personal income tax on the net income generated by your business.
- You may choose to register a business name or operate under your own name or both.
- If you operate as an individual, just bill your customers or clients in your own name. If you operate under a registered business name, bill your clients and customers in the business's name. If your business has a name other than your own, you'll need a separate bank account to process cheques payable to your business.
So now I'm at a loss, and am stuck at the "In the last 10 years, how many years of skilled work experience do you have?" part of the eligibility express entry questionnaire.
I rather start the Express entry process asap since I'll be turning 30 in the latter half of next year, this is a head scratcher that I'm very worried about. I'm also not sure how accurate the questionnaire's answers have to be if I'm not sure of the answer and if I am overthinking this, but I'm erring on the side of caution since everyone knows you should never be dishonest to migration offices, even by accident. If any of you have suggestions on how to find out and/or any answers, it would be a big help and I'd be so grateful