Moving to Canada Early While Waiting for PR (U.S. Outland Spousal Applicant)

[Shotokan]

Hi,

I think I’ve got this problem figured out, but I wanted to ask this amazing forum for confirmation.

I’m a dual citizen of Canada & the U.S., and my wife is a U.S. citizen. We currently live & work in the U.S. We got married in June and sent in our complete Canadian PR application in mid-October (Outland, of course).

I know I have to wait however many days (ostensibly 63) to be approved as her sponsor, and then it’s another however many months (ostensibly 27) after that to be processed by the Los Angeles office.

My question then is this: Is it possible for us to move to Canada prior to the completion of that 29-month PR status? We're both eager to start our lives together in Canada, but I’m afraid that moving there too early would jeopardize her PR application.

After reading the CIC website and combing this forum, I generally came to the understanding that:

1) Visit: While she can visit Canada during the PR process, she has to provide proof that she will return to the U.S. once her travel period expires (six months usually for an American). Proof can be either a round-trip plane ticket or a cover letter from her job or a lease on an apartment.

2) Study: If she decides to study for a year at a Canadian university, she can enroll at an institution and apply for a student visa. Obviously while in Canada, she couldn’t work, but dual intent would allow her to have a student visa while simultaneously waiting for PR to finish processing.

3) Work: If she receives a job offer from a Canadian firm (while living in the U.S.), she can get a work permit and apply for a work visa. She would NOT need an LMIA (as she’s a sponsored spouse waiting for PR). However, she still needs a job offer letter and she has to provide proof that she will return to the U.S. once the work permit expires.

4) Implied Status: Outland applications do NOT mean she has automatic implied status. First, she has to visit/study/work. When those visas get close to expiring, she can apply to extend her visa, while saying she has been approved for PR. She can then stay in Canada for the remainder of her PR approval process. However, she cannot work and would effectively be my dependent.

Assuming that her PR application is ultimately approved, my fear is that if we go to Canada too early, then the end result would be that:

1) She would be turned away at the border. Especially if she’s carrying anything that looks like she’d be staying for longer than six months.

2) She would be allowed initial entry, but would have to leave after six months. Meaning that we would be living in separate countries until the PR process is finally finished.

3) She could stay for the entire PR waiting period, but couldn’t work for most of it. If she managed to get implied status, only I could legally work in Canada, so we'd be a one-income household.

Does all of this sound correct?

While I would like to return to Canada sooner, it’s not an essential need. And I’d rather be with her in the U.S. than solo in Canada. I just wanted to see if there was any possibility of moving to Canada sooner than the eventual approval of our PR application.

Thanks in advance for any help or information you can give (even if it’s just “Yeah that sounds right.”)

 

[Rob_TO]

CIC clearly shows outland PR apps for US citizens are processed in CPC-Ottawa... not NY or LA: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/apply-where.asp
Actual times these days is under 12 months processing for CPC-Ottawa.

And your other assumptions are pretty much correct (except the work one). Your wife can visit Canada while her PR app is processing. Upon crossing the border she can show she's applied for PR already, and show your sponsor approval, fee payment, etc as proof. Typically CBSA is very easy on applicants coming in as visitors while the outland app is in process. However she must still act like a visitor. So no bringing a truckload of her belongings over, and should be carrying enough luggage suitable for a visitor and not someone who's moving permanently.

Typically she'll get 6 months status at the border, and then can apply to extend that visitor status as it expires, as often as you want.

The main one you got wrong is around working. Her being sponsored OUTLAND for PR is irrelevant to her working (only those who applied INLAND qualify for an open work permit). Even with a job offer the only way for her to work is with an LMIA, or if the job and her education/experience qualifies under NAFTA agreement. Else she could check if she qualifies for SWAP program (to US citizens aged 18 - 30)

 

[Shotokan]

Rob_TO,

Thank you so much for the reply. I'm glad to get clarification on CPC-Ottawa and on working. One last question:

1) If her current American job allowed her to work remotely, would it be possible to move to Canada early? I assume that if you enter the country as a six-month visitor, but work remotely for a non-Canadian company, it would be illegal (or at the very least, double taxed by the IRS and CRA). Is that correct?

Again, thank you so much for your help.

 

[Rob_TO]

Rob_TO,

Thank you so much for the reply. I'm glad to get clarification on CPC-Ottawa and on working. One last question:

1) If her current American job allowed her to work remotely, would it be possible to move to Canada early? I assume that if you enter the country as a six-month visitor, but work remotely for a non-Canadian company, it would be illegal (or at the very least, double taxed by the IRS and CRA). Is that correct?

Again, thank you so much for your help.

On the contrary, in most cases it's perfectly legal to work remotely for a foreign company while in Canada. The main criteria is that you are being paid from a source outside Canada, and you are not doing work directly for Canadian clients/customers.

Whether she would need to report the foreign income to Canada, would depend on if she is deemed a resident for tax purposes by the CRA while being a visitor here. This is a whole other issue with no simple answer, so it's best to talk to an accountant in this case who has experience with US citizens visiting long-term in Canada.

 

[Shotokan]

On the contrary, in most cases it's perfectly legal to work remotely for a foreign company while in Canada. The main criteria is that you are being paid from a source outside Canada, and you are not doing work directly for Canadian clients/customers.

Whether she would need to report the foreign income to Canada, would depend on if she is deemed a resident for tax purposes by the CRA while being a visitor here. This is a whole other issue with no simple answer, so it's best to talk to an accountant in this case who has experience with US citizens visiting long-term in Canada.

Rob_TO, thanks again for all your help. I'll definitely research that immediately.

 

[innag]

On the contrary, in most cases it's perfectly legal to work remotely for a foreign company while in Canada. The main criteria is that you are being paid from a source outside Canada, and you are not doing work directly for Canadian clients/customers.

Whether she would need to report the foreign income to Canada, would depend on if she is deemed a resident for tax purposes by the CRA while being a visitor here. This is a whole other issue with no simple answer, so it's best to talk to an accountant in this case who has experience with US citizens visiting long-term in Canada.

Do you happen to have any lawyer recommendations who could maybe put a letter together stating that telecommuting would not be illegal?