Thanks
@canuck78 , I responded to your previous post but it's awaiting moderator approval so it hasn't come up. I didn't work for the Canadian company for long before moving out of Canada. I was overseas for studies when I got my PR status. Upon completion of studies, I applied for jobs in Canada and got the offer of employment in Canada but was then assigned to work overseas on this secondment. So I barely worked a month in Canada for this company. On this issue, while I am aware it is tricky with IRCC, there is no formal requirement that a PR must have first worked for the said Canadian business in Canada before proceeding to work overseas. I believe there has also been a ruling/IAD decision about this.
Note: the following observations are NOT intended to evaluate whether YOU will be allowed the
working-abroad-for-Canadian-business credit (lets refer to this as the
WA4CB credit). There are some situations in which it is more or less obvious that the odds are very good, or not at all good, and it is an easy call one way or the other.
Otherwise, and this is rather common, and appears to apply in your situation, I cannot opine what decision IRCC or CBSA will make. I can say and do say with emphasis that any opinions expressed in a forum like this, as to what IRCC or CBSA will decide, should NOT be relied on.
My observations are intended to illuminate what we know about relevant factors that can influence IRCC and CBSA decision-making. For someone in your situation
this is to help YOU make decisions about how to best proceed based on YOUR own best judgment, including
whether or not to obtain the assistance of a reputable, competent Canadian immigration lawyer to help you decide how to proceed, and in particular whether to rely on being allowed the WA4CB credit toward meeting the Residency Obligation.
@canuck78's question about how long you worked for the Canadian business IN Canada before being sent/transferred/assigned outside Canada is indeed one of the more pertinent questions referencing circumstances/factors that can indeed have a big influence in how it goes.
This is especially relevant in assessing whether the PR was in fact employed in a position in Canada and then temporarily assigned to work outside Canada or, for one example, was employed to work at a position outside Canada, that is, employment akin to a local hire (as in, were you hired by the business to do the work outside Canada, which would not qualify, or hired for a job in Canada but then assigned to work outside Canada).
How this factor influences the overall determination as to whether the PR gets the working-abroad-for-Canadian-business credit can be complicated and very difficult to forecast if there is any cause to question it. This is where a range of evidentiary factors have influence. Did I mention that
qualifying for this credit can be quite tricky? (Yes, I did, with emphasis.)
Some (just some) relevant factors (assuming there is no reason to doubt the business itself meets all the criteria to qualify as a Canadian business for this specific purpose) include:
-- was the PR clearly settled IN Canada BEFORE being assigned to work outside Canada
-- was the PR clearly established as an employee of the Canadian business BEFORE being assigned to work outside Canada
-- was this employment arranged to support a claim for the WA4CB credit in order to allow the PR to meet the RO (note, if the business itself is determined to be for such a purpose that conclusively precludes credit; but even if that exception to what qualifies as a Canadian business does not apply, the more it appears this employment might be about allowing the PR to live outside Canada the more it can have a negative influence in the decision-making)
-- a wide range of factors involving the nature of the employment itself, including but not limited to whether the employment relationship is such that the PR will continue in it upon the PR's return to Canada, among other factors such as those related to whether the PR is employed full time by the Canadian business
As you note, in at least one case (and sure, perhaps in more) the fact the PR did not first work IN Canada did NOT definitively preclude getting the WA4CB credit. But BEWARE it is nonetheless still a factor and it can be a key factor (and in more than a few other cases has been) tending to push the needle in the direction of not allowing the WA4CB credit.
While again I cannot forecast how this will go for you, assuming there is no reason to at all doubt that the business itself qualifies, this may be the key factor for you in determining whether you are, in effect, a local hire (hired by the business for the position outside Canada) or hired to work for a position IN Canada but temporarily assigned to work in the position outside Canada. If the former, no WA4CB credit; if the latter, credit likely allowed.
. . . I have a 'temporal' visa which expires the same time as the secondment contract. By definition, a secondment is a temporal assignment and I have evidence that my secondment is temporal (there is a start and end date on the secondment contract). My job contract however, is different and is a permanent contract with no end date. So the secondment is a part of my indefinite employment contract. The company only 'recently' opened a European office (I mentioned this in my first post). When I started the secondment, they only had offices in Canada. Also, I am seconded to a 'customer' overseas. I do not work out of their international office. They are staff in that office who earn in the local currency but my role is not based there, my role is based in Canada as per how I was hired.
This suggests you have a strong case documenting your work outside Canada is pursuant to a temporary ("
temporary" is the more applicable term, not "
temporal") assignment likely meeting the WA4CB criteria.
But that does NOT preclude IRCC or CBSA scrutiny of the underlying facts and circumstances. If you were well-settled IN Canada before being assigned to work outside Canada, what you describe would likely make this an easy to call case, one that those of us in the forum could credibly say is very likely to qualify for the WA4CB credit.
I cannot say, because I do not know, to what extent IRCC, or potentially CBSA in the Port-of-Entry (PoE) when you are arriving here, might approach your case more skeptically if in contrast you were not actually settled IN Canada before getting
assigned to the position outside Canada. Note that there are what appear to be, what may be seen to be, some incongruities in the underlying details (this is not the place to get into those weeds and the facts are what they are: these are things that will not determine if you are allowed WA4CB credit, but they could trigger questions elevating how strict the scrutiny is).
I can say the odds are probably quite good there will not be a problem at the PoE, at least not a serious problem, when you next arrive here. But again there is some risk otherwise. It warrants noting that the risks involved can vary depending on many factors, including factors that do not directly involve WA4CB credit criteria. Can make a big difference, for example, in whether Residency Obligation credit is being assessed attendant a PoE examination, or a PR card application, or an application for a PR Travel Document.
I will address the latter in another post. To illustrate how even non-relevant factors can nonetheless influence how things go. Did I mention that getting this credit can be tricky. Yeah, I have, a lot, with emphasis.
