LMIA Closed Work Permit: Can I work remotely from another province?

[canuck78]

I had the same issue, my employer is in Kitchener and I landed in Calgary on my way to Edmonton which is where I live in Canada. At the POE, the officer gave me Work Permit with Location in Kitchener and with the condition 'NOT AUTHORIZED TO WORK NI ANY LOCATION OTHER THAN STATED'.

So I showed her my LMIA which specified that I could 'Work Remotely in Alberta' and asked if she could change the condition on the permit. She said that she could not change it wasn't within her power and the permit came like that to her. Then she mentioned that I am legally allowed to work remotely from anywhere but that I cannot work in any official Company's office building except the one in Kitchener.

The exact same thing applied to the 3 other colleagues that relocated with this company. None of them live in the city on their Work Permit.

That is not correct. CBSA agents are also not immigration agents and often give out incorrect advise. If you want to work remotely you must contact IRCC and ask if you can work remotely and change the condition on your WP. If anyone on a WP could work remotely then you could work from another country not just another city in Canada. To get a WP you have to show why you need the employee to be in Canada. Anyone working remotely with another location specified on their WP is taking a huge risk.

 

[canuck78]

Hi there,
So all of you are legally allowed to live in another city? Will it cause any problem with public services and PR application later on?

You must follow the requirements on your WP or there can be consequences. There are no rules that you can work remotely as long aren't working from another office building. If you want to work remotely you should contact IRCC and ask whether you can change the terms of your WP. Remote work became much more common during Covid so we haven’t seen the repurcssions of people not meeting the conditions of their WP. There was likely also more flexibility during the height of covid when it came to people working remotely from other locations. Needing an employee to be physically in Canada is one of the reasons foreign nationals can get WPs. If you can work remotely the argument that you need to be in Canada diminishes dramatically. There are many people living in Asia while working for a North American employer and working EST or PST who start working in the middle of the night so if you can work remotely IRCC could deny your WP because you don’t need to be in Canada on a permanent basis. If you could work remotely from anywhere there wouldn’t be a location specified in your WP. Most employers want employees to meet the terms of their WP because they don’t want any issues getting WPs in the future. There have been posts from foreign nationals who wanted to work remotely from other regions of Canada and the employer’s lawyer told them they couldn’t because of the terms of their WP.

 

[rcincanada2019]

You must follow the requirements on your WP or there can be consequences. There are no rules that you can work remotely as long aren't working from another office building. If you want to work remotely you should contact IRCC and ask whether you can change the terms of your WP. Remote work became much more common during Covid so we haven’t seen the repurcssions of people not meeting the conditions of their WP. There was likely also more flexibility during the height of covid when it came to people working remotely from other locations. Needing an employee to be physically in Canada is one of the reasons foreign nationals can get WPs. If you can work remotely the argument that you need to be in Canada diminishes dramatically. There are many people living in Asia while working for a North American employer and working EST or PST who start working in the middle of the night so if you can work remotely IRCC could deny your WP because you don’t need to be in Canada on a permanent basis. If you could work remotely from anywhere there wouldn’t be a location specified in your WP. Most employers want employees to meet the terms of their WP because they don’t want any issues getting WPs in the future. There have been posts from foreign nationals who wanted to work remotely from other regions of Canada and the employer’s lawyer told them they couldn’t because of the terms of their WP.

Agree! Telus has been operating a call center in the Philippines for more than a decade now.

 

[adina2u]

Yes we are legally allowed to live and work in another city or province as long as we are working remotely/online and not in-person at any company building outside the designated city on our Closed Work Permit

 

[adina2u]

That is not correct. CBSA agents are also not immigration agents and often give out incorrect advise. If you want to work remotely you must contact IRCC and ask if you can work remotely and change the condition on your WP. If anyone on a WP could work remotely then you could work from another country not just another city in Canada. To get a WP you have to show why you need the employee to be in Canada. Anyone working remotely with another location specified on their WP is taking a huge risk.

That's not true. Canada isn't just allowing immigrants to come because they need to be physically present in Canada to do their job. I was working perfectly for my employer for 11 months before I moved to Canada. And my Client Letter included NOTHING anout needing to be based here physically to do my job. The reason I gave was that I want to grow my skills and career via the engaging and including tech community in Canada. If what you say is true then they would have denied my Work Permit seeing that I was working without issues for the company already in my home country.

Also, if what you say is really true then the IRCC would not have written 'Work Remotely inAlberta' on my LMIA. The IRCC themselves approved me working remotely in Alberta and that is why it's could be on my LMIA.

You are forgetting about the taxes that we immigrants bring into Canada. That's money we would be paying to our home country instead and Canada is benefitting greatly from it.

For anyone wondering, just call IRCC and ask if it is okay to do so. I did so again today (December 19th) and they have confirmed again that you can work from a province or city different from the one on your Closed Work Permit as long as it is remote/online and not in-person. If IRCC themselves have confirmed it, what else do you want? To speak with the legislators themselves?!

Disclaimer: Things might be different if your employer is in Quebec or if you live in Quebec. So if you are or your employer is in Quebec then make sure to call IRCC yourself and confirm! I can confidently speak for my situation where my employer is in Ontario and I live in Alberta and similar situations not involving Quebec.

 

[Naturgrl]

That's not true. Canada isn't just allowing immigrants to come because they need to be physically present in Canada to do their job. I was working perfectly for my employer for 11 months before I moved to Canada. And my Client Letter included NOTHING anout needing to be based here physically to do my job. The reason I gave was that I want to grow my skills and career via the engaging and including tech community in Canada. If what you say is true then they would have denied my Work Permit seeing that I was working without issues for the company already in my home country.

Also, if what you say is really true then the IRCC would not have written 'Work Remotely inAlberta' on my LMIA. The IRCC themselves approved me working remotely in Alberta and that is why it's could be on my LMIA.

You are forgetting about the taxes that we immigrants bring into Canada. That's money we would be paying to our home country instead and Canada is benefitting greatly from it.

For anyone wondering, just call IRCC and ask if it is okay to do so. I did so again today (December 19th) and they have confirmed again that you can work from a province or city different from the one on your Closed Work Permit as long as it is remote/online and not in-person. If IRCC themselves have confirmed it, what else do you want? To speak with the legislators themselves?!

Disclaimer: Things might be different if your employer is in Quebec or if you live in Quebec. So if you are or your employer is in Quebec then make sure to call IRCC yourself and confirm! I can confidently speak for my situation where my employer is in Ontario and I live in Alberta and similar situations not involving Quebec.

You do know that when you call IRCC that you are talking to a telephone call centre, not an IRCC officer. The call centre regularly gives bad information. Most agents don’t know the specific rules and regulations or operational manuals. Read “location of work”.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/eligibility/eligibility-admissibility-conditions-including-validity-period.html

Location of work (mandatory imposition)
Location of work must be imposed as a condition where an LMIA has been issued or where it is a requirement of the LMIA exemption [R185(b)(iii)].

For example, when an employer has several franchise locations but indicates only one location on the offer of employment submitted through the system, the work permit should reflect the physical location of work and restrict the work to that location. However, if the employer indicates in the offer of employment that the worker will be working at multiple work locations, the officer should not restrict the work permit to a single location and should indicate in the “Remarks” field that the worker is authorized to work at the various locations across Canada.

For LMIA - supported work permits: The officer should impose the location of work to match the destination on the LMIA. This is to ensure that the temporary worker is working in the same labour market area assessed by Employment and Social Development Canada.

For LMIA-exempt work permits: Where the location of work is important to the exemption (such as for provincial nominees or specific “significant benefit to Canada” situations), location must be imposed.

 

[adina2u]

You do know that when you call IRCC that you are talking to a telephone call centre, not an IRCC officer. The call centre regularly gives bad information. Most agents don’t know the specific rules and regulations or operational manuals. Read “location of work”.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/eligibility/eligibility-admissibility-conditions-including-validity-period.html

Location of work (mandatory imposition)
Location of work must be imposed as a condition where an LMIA has been issued or where it is a requirement of the LMIA exemption [R185(b)(iii)].

For example, when an employer has several franchise locations but indicates only one location on the offer of employment submitted through the system, the work permit should reflect the physical location of work and restrict the work to that location. However, if the employer indicates in the offer of employment that the worker will be working at multiple work locations, the officer should not restrict the work permit to a single location and should indicate in the “Remarks” field that the worker is authorized to work at the various locations across Canada.

For LMIA - supported work permits: The officer should impose the location of work to match the destination on the LMIA. This is to ensure that the temporary worker is working in the same labour market area assessed by Employment and Social Development Canada.

For LMIA-exempt work permits: Where the location of work is important to the exemption (such as for provincial nominees or specific “significant benefit to Canada” situations), location must be imposed.

This time and in the past too, the agents at the IRCC Call centre put you on hold so they could go get the correct information (if they aren't sure). The back of your Work Permit literally says to call that number 'should you require clarification or additional information', so if you don't want to take the information they give, that's okay too. To each his own.
An added reason I believe there can always be exceptions (in this case, an exception to remote or online work in a different city), is that although the reference you provided above says 'The officer should impose the location of work to match the destination on the LMIA', my Work Permit did not infact match the destination on my LMIA...to which the officer said they couldn't change it and that it would be okay regardless.

 

[rcincanada2019]

That's not true. Canada isn't just allowing immigrants to come because they need to be physically present in Canada to do their job. I was working perfectly for my employer for 11 months before I moved to Canada. And my Client Letter included NOTHING anout needing to be based here physically to do my job. The reason I gave was that I want to grow my skills and career via the engaging and including tech community in Canada. If what you say is true then they would have denied my Work Permit seeing that I was working without issues for the company already in my home country.

Also, if what you say is really true then the IRCC would not have written 'Work Remotely inAlberta' on my LMIA. The IRCC themselves approved me working remotely in Alberta and that is why it's could be on my LMIA.

You are forgetting about the taxes that we immigrants bring into Canada. That's money we would be paying to our home country instead and Canada is benefitting greatly from it.

For anyone wondering, just call IRCC and ask if it is okay to do so. I did so again today (December 19th) and they have confirmed again that you can work from a province or city different from the one on your Closed Work Permit as long as it is remote/online and not in-person. If IRCC themselves have confirmed it, what else do you want? To speak with the legislators themselves?!

Disclaimer: Things might be different if your employer is in Quebec or if you live in Quebec. So if you are or your employer is in Quebec then make sure to call IRCC yourself and confirm! I can confidently speak for my situation where my employer is in Ontario and I live in Alberta and similar situations not involving Quebec.

This time and in the past too, the agents at the IRCC Call centre put you on hold so they could go get the correct information (if they aren't sure). The back of your Work Permit literally says to call that number 'should you require clarification or additional information', so if you don't want to take the information they give, that's okay too. To each his own.
An added reason I believe there can always be exceptions (in this case, an exception to remote or online work in a different city), is that although the reference you provided above says 'The officer should impose the location of work to match the destination on the LMIA', my Work Permit did not infact match the destination on my LMIA...to which the officer said they couldn't change it and that it would be okay regardless.

Caveat Emptor...

 

[thanhtam23]

I have the same situation.

Work permit says:
Not authorized to work in any location other than stated

And at the same time it says:
Authorized to work at company, client and project across Canada

so are you allowed to live anywhere across Canada?

 

[Naturgrl]

so are you allowed to live anywhere across Canada?

What does your work permit say?

 

[thanhtam23]

What does your work permit say?

same with him/her
it says authorized to work at company and client sites across Canada

 

[Naturgrl]

same with him/her
it says authorized to work at company and client sites across Canada

So you can work at your company or clients offices. So if your company has various offices across Canada then you can work one of those offices. Same for client.

 

[TSQUARE]

From my research and experience, there is a difference between when it is a "condition" or "additional information" section on your work permit and people sometimes mix this up. If the location is in the "conditions" section then you must live in the location but if it is just an additional information, then it may not be binding. The reason is because there must be employer location in the additional information section of the work permit anyway to make your details complete on the work permit. I think it is only mandatory if it is in the "conditions" section. I have seen a foreign worker who landed and couldn't get a suitable accommodation with his family near the remote plant he was suppose to be working and then had to settle 2 hours drive from the location. This is just my opinion. @Naturgrl what do you think of my perspective?? Although this link from IRCC talks about PGWP and Co-Op There’s a specific employment location on my co-op or post-graduation work permit. Can I work somewhere else? (canada.ca) but I think the idea also applies to other WPs.

 

[thanhtam23]

From my research and experience, there is a difference between when it is a "condition" or "additional information" section on your work permit and people sometimes mix this up. If the location is in the "conditions" section then you must live in the location but if it is just an additional information, then it may not be binding. The reason is because there must be employer location in the additional information section of the work permit anyway to make your details complete on the work permit. I think it is only mandatory if it is in the "conditions" section. I have seen a foreign worker who landed and couldn't get a suitable accommodation with his family near the remote plant he was suppose to be working and then had to settle 2 hours drive from the location. This is just my opinion. @Naturgrl what do you think of my perspective?? Although this link from IRCC talks about PGWP and Co-Op There’s a specific employment location on my co-op or post-graduation work permit. Can I work somewhere else? (canada.ca) but I think the idea also applies to other WPs.

my condition say not authorized to work other location than stated, but at the same time under remarks it says allow to work across Canada, and that’s the confusion here

 

[TSQUARE]

my condition say not authorized to work other location than stated, but at the same time under remarks it says allow to work across Canada, and that’s the confusion here

yeah this is very confusing I understand.