Open work permit Spouse - remote consultancy overseas & out of province

[devjavu]

Hi folks,

This is my first second post

I'm currently based in Ontario, Canada since March 2014 on an Open Work Permit (Spouse). My wife was the principal work permit applicant with a job. I'm looking for a job.
My work permit specifies :

BOUNDED: NO
EMPLOYER: ANY EMPLOYER
OCCUPATION: OPEN EA
EMP LOC: ONTARIO NES


Can I work as a (remote) consultant for :
1. A company based out of Canada - no office in Canada ( i.e. A non resident firm)
2. A company based in Montreal, Quebec - no office in Ontario. Concern is for the "Ontario NES" bit.

• I will always be working out of my home in Ontario, submitting work online . Categorically, I will not have to work outside Ontario.
• I will be receiving compensation in Canada and paying income tax in Canada in both cases.

Would it help to get legal agreements to attest the nature of the engagement will be "remote work done over the internet" ?

I am trying to get in touch with CIC on the phone but the queues are 30 -45 mins and I invariably get disconnected . Very frustrating indeed.

I'd be very obliged if anyone could help clarify this. To reiterate we are on work permits not PR (not applied yet) .

A little in detail :
----------------------------
Earlier this year my wife and I took the decision of moving to Canada after she got her post doc confirmed at this really prestigious university in Ontario. She applied as the principal applicant(skilled worker) , I applied as Open Work Permit (Spouse) . Both of us got our work permits easily . We have got our SIN numbers. I'm a computer games programmer with a MSc & 10 years work experience . It's not a problem for me to get a game programming job with a big studio in Toronto- but it's not practical as the studios are very far from our home in Ontario. We really want to keep our family unit together and cut down on the 3 hr commute each day to/from Toronto. So remote working from home is a good option for me. I have been doing remote consulting for a while back in India and it's pretty good. The offers for remote work , however, are from 1-Overseas and 2-Montreal, Quebec. Nothing from Ontario companies at the moment.

I had a quick chat with someone with a bit of Canadian immigration/tax knowledge - it seems i should be able to work with the Overseas company as an individual like a sole proprietor ( exclusively dealing with a non resident firm) . I haven't been able to get a consult about the Montreal offer yet .
-----------------------------

Oh! and we are really enjoying our time here. People are nice and friendly. I feel both of us can grow in our own career paths here.

Thank you for your time!

 

[devjavu]

Any ideas on my question above?
Can anyone tell if I can talk to someone face to face at a CIC office /Service Canada ?

Update:
The local Service Canada does not deal with work permits- they directed me to the CIC call center (+1-888-242-2100 ).
I've been on the phone with CIC for a long time . I always got disconnected again & again after a few minutes of wait after choosing to speak to an agent. I'm beginning to think it's a problem with my phone company (Koodo).

The CIC website details that most of their offices are NOT OPEN to public , only deal with applications etc and admission is only via appointment.
I'm a bit stuck with this. My tax/immigration advisor is out of the country on holiday and could not return my call

 

[amira_mais]

Hi, the Ontario Nes refers to your location - you likely told CIC that you intended to reside in Ontario and they made a note as such on your WP. Since you have an open work permit, you can work for any employer in Canada regardless of where you live.

So don't have any concerns about the Montreal job offer, and as you know, the employer will make the necessary deductions for CPP, EI, income tax.

In regard to the overseas job offer, you can legally work for them too, but I am not sure about the income/tax reporting implications.

 

[devjavu]

amira_mais,

You're ace! Thank you so much for the information!!

Montreal consultancy :

About CPP, EI, income tax:
The Montreal company was categoric in saying that our engagement will be consultancy (or freelance) , not employment. That is, they will be paying me an hourly rate and engage me for around 30hr/week. I'll get it cleared, but my assumption is that I will have to file my own taxes, no EI (since I'm not an employee) and no CPP protection etc. I am hoping I can be treated as a Self Employed (freelancer) person. My OWP (spouse) exempts me from LMO, would that help in anyway. At the moment I am covered by health & accident insurance by my wife's cover (UHIP now and then OHIP in 3 months) but that is all.

Can this complicate things? I'm just being careful here as I wouldn't want any issues with future Work Permit extensions & PR process.

Overseas consultancy :
I'll double check on the income (and other ) tax related implications.

Thanks again!

 

[amira_mais]

You're welcome! Still nothing to worry about – with an open work permit, you can be an employee or consultant as you prefer. No need for an LMO. CIC only cares that you are legally authorized to work (you are) and that you do legal work (i.e. no criminal enterprise).

I'd suggest you double-check whether you should pay into CPP or EI as a consultant with either the Montreal or overseas job. I know some self-employed people can pay into those programs; I'm not sure if they must. But I'm not very familiar with this side of things so hopefully your tax advisor will tell you all you need to know to remain in compliance.

 

[devjavu]

Are you sure you don't have to pay into CPP or EI as a consultant with either the Montreal or overseas job? I know some self-employed people can pay into those programs; I'm not sure if they must. But I'm not very familiar with this side of things so hopefully your tax advisor will tell you all you need to know to remain in compliance.

Cool, I'll tax my tax advisor about CPP & EI . Glad you could point these concerns out. Whatever is legally required and looks kosher with our subsequent PR applications, I'm cool with!

That being said, I'm reading some forum posts about the various PR streams. Looks like one needs to have a employer - employee thing if one need to apply for the Canadian Experience Class PR path. In that case, I cannot apply for that class. However I think my wife (principal applicant for our OWPs) would be ok for that. I could continue my PR application with her being the principal applicant. But i digress, one thing at a time

If anyone else has any other helpful comment , I'd be obliged if you would share them. I will update the thread here once my consultant returns my calls !