Projects in Canada (Re-post)

[Foodie]

Hi there,

I originally posted this in the 'Visitors' section, but I may have have been off-topic, so I'm re-posting here.

I'm currently visiting Canada and will be returning to the UK next month. Based on discussions here and in the UK I'm now planning to come back to Canada later in the summer to research articles for my UK based food publishing business, and will likely be leaving and re-entering Canada a number of times throughout the summer and autumn, possibly returning to the UK fully in the new year 2016.

Could anyone advise as to my Canadian visa requirements in this situation, and whether my plan requires a work permit?

Cheers.

 

[fkl]

If you are not being paid by a Canadian employer nor working for them and you do not need to stay longer than allowed on a visit visa status, you should be good.

Though you might have some what hard time explaining that to CBSA agent at border.

 

[Foodie]

Hi - thanks, although that does sound a bit ominous. Is there a more robust way to visit and work (within the Business Visitor definitions on the CIC website) without it being subject to the whim of the agent at the border? It's quite a lot of planning and expenditure to just be turned away at the door.

 

[fkl]

You are most welcome. You can read this in full and although you do not need visa to enter Canada, you can carry all the docs mentioned here and follow exactly what's stated.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/business-who.asp

As a business visitor, you must show that:

you plan to stay for less than six months,
you do not plan to enter the Canadian labour market,
your main place of business, and source of income and profits, is outside Canada,
you have documents that support your application and
you meet Canada's basic entry requirements, because you
have a valid travel document, such as a passport,
have enough money for your stay and to return home,
plan to leave Canada at the end of your visit and
are not a criminal, security or health risk to Canadians.

Cross-border business can include:

buying Canadian goods or services for a foreign business or government,
taking orders for goods or services,
going to meetings, conferences, conventions or trade fairs,
giving after-sales service (managing, not doing hands-on labour),
being trained by a Canadian parent company that you work for outside Canada,
training employees of a Canadian branch of a foreign company or
being trained by a Canadian company that has sold you equipment or services.
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, a U.S. or Mexican national may also take part in other activities, such as research, marketing and general services. For more information, see the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada website.

 

[Foodie]

Many thanks - yes, that's as I'd read.

Re, the last sentence - does that mean that a UK visitor would *not* be permitted to do any research or marketing in Canada (as the UK is not part of NAFTA)?

 

[fkl]

You are most welcome.

I don't know honestly for the last part. You should ask them directly.

But i don't think it is possible to enforce that i.e. tracking whether you did research or marketing or not. So most likely it should be okay.