Trying to work remotely from the US while in Canada for school?

[my_friend_Goo]

Hey there,

So I know study permits allow for 20/hours per week, but I'm an older independent student and I'm not sure that's enough for me to live on. As a result, I found a job here in the US (where I'm a citizen) that allows me to work remotely. When I move to Canada for school, can I work my US job full time while in school part-time or will that violate Canada's permits and/or tax laws? Is there anyway that I can work full time as a student while in Canada? Please help, I don't have a rich mommy and daddy. ): Thanks, all.

 

[Naturgrl]

As long as your employer has no Canadian offices and you are not working (or the company) with any Canadian clients/customers, you should be okay.

 

[kathysrazor]

I worked full time for a US employer as a student. I declared it when I got my study permit, nobody cared. My GCMS notes mentioned the specific exemption for remote work. As long as the employer is not a Canadian employer, and the compensation comes from outside Canada, it's not considered "work" for purposes of Canadian immigration.

I took it to the next level of silly and got a work permit on top of that, and had two full time jobs while a full time student.

 

[kathysrazor]

Note R2:

Temporary Foreign Worker and International Mobility Programs: What is work? - Canada.ca

"

• long distance (by telephone or Internet) work done by a temporary resident whose employer is outside Canada and who is remunerated from outside Canada;

"

 

[my_friend_Goo]

Oh my god, you are a godsend, thank you so much. I've been so worried about how I'm going to afford living at 20/hrs per week. Doing the math, it seems really unsustainable unless financially supported by family (not an option for me). Now I just have to figure out how to get my new job to let me work from Canada, or find a way to avoid them knowing that I left the States... not sure if that's possible.

 

[kathysrazor]

If you do, you will need to make sure to stop any 401k/HSA contributions (as you are not eligible). You will need to file and pay Canadian income tax, and claim it as a credit/exclusion on your US taxes.

 

[scylla]

Oh my god, you are a godsend, thank you so much. I've been so worried about how I'm going to afford living at 20/hrs per week. Doing the math, it seems really unsustainable unless financially supported by family (not an option for me). Now I just have to figure out how to get my new job to let me work from Canada, or find a way to avoid them knowing that I left the States... not sure if that's possible.

Make sure you let your employer know that you are switching countries and get their agreement in advance. Generally speaking, it's a violation of the terms of your employment if you don't and there are a number of ways in which they can find out if you don't tell them.