Working under the table.. what are the real risks?

[rjessome]

We found out to late about the common law sponsorship but we are doing it now. He had never had a run in with the police here or in his home country, he is just another hard working guy looking after his family and this is why we won the hearing, because it was more than obvious, plus we had tons of proof already about us that was used at the hearing. So yes, he did have plenty of time to set things right, I agree, but we dont always make the right decisions in our lives and in turn have to pay for them and he is doing that now by stuggling in his home country and being apart from us. Which is why I bring it up here, the original poster should consider this scenario, its easy to make the wrong the choice.

That's why it is SO important that you are sharing your story. "We didn't know" is often the reason CIC/CBSA hear about mistakes in immigration and one that they will not accept. But that doesn't mean it's not true! In your case, it was true and led to very sad circumstances and a long fight. Sharing this information beyond this board would help a lot of people who listen to what others tell them who know NOTHING about the law and immigration issues to Canada. Here you are in a genuine relationship and having to go through all of this when much of it could have been avoided. So good for you for sharing this story and I hope you continue to pay it forward, by sharing it with others so they can avoid the same fate of a long fight and separation from a loved one. I'll bet you can look back now and WISH you had spent a few hours on the internet to find this forum or had spent that few hundred dollars on some legal advice in the beginning. Yes, it's easy to make the wrong choice but hopefully your story will help others to make the right choice, as hard as it may seem at the time. Most people try to hide the "wrong" choices they made in the past but I'm happy you are open to sharing your experience so people learn of the devastating consequences of regular, hard working people who are not a threat to Canada, but just didn't learn about the rules or make the right choices at the right time. +1 for you.

 

[Huxley1234]

Hi again - OP here...

There has been lots of helpful answers, and lots of very useful stories. Thank you. But...

I still feel most of the comments have avoided the actual question. Let us put aside our feelings for a second, and the hard advice to not do something illegal, and just focus on the question. What are the actual risks of getting caught - and how does the government actually find out?

For instance, will they be able to access her bank account info without permission, or being told it even exists?

 

[parker24]

Hi again - OP here...

There has been lots of helpful answers, and lots of very useful stories. Thank you. But...

I still feel most of the comments have avoided the actual question. Let us put aside our feelings for a second, and the hard advice to not do something illegal, and just focus on the question. What are the actual risks of getting caught - and how does the government actually find out?

For instance, will they be able to access her bank account info without permission, or being told it even exists?

Let me put it this way. The government can do whatever the heck they please. Like one person said, they can look at your facebook, they can pay off people to tell them.. etc etc. Risks included being banned from Canada for up to a year, your application will be thrown out and you will not be able to apply until her ban is over.

 

[canadianwoman]

Hi again - OP here...

There has been lots of helpful answers, and lots of very useful stories. Thank you. But...

I still feel most of the comments have avoided the actual question. Let us put aside our feelings for a second, and the hard advice to not do something illegal, and just focus on the question. What are the actual risks of getting caught - and how does the government actually find out?

For instance, will they be able to access her bank account info without permission, or being told it even exists?

I think it is unlikely she will be caught, as long as she does not appear on the government radar for some other reason.
She could always get paid in cash and not use a bank account, though I don't know if the government would look at bank accounts anyway.

 

[tavora]

I still feel most of the comments have avoided the actual question. Let us put aside our feelings for a second, and the hard advice to not do something illegal, and just focus on the question. What are the actual risks of getting caught - and how does the government actually find out?

For instance, will they be able to access her bank account info without permission, or being told it even exists?

I don't think anyone can give you hard statistical odds of how likely it is that you could be caught. There are too many factors involved -- and judging by the stories of other users, yes, the government could be watching -- it's a gamble you take. If she is being paid in cash only and doesn't leave an evidence trail, you can minimize the risk but it will always be there. If she has a bank account, unless it's very minimal, the bank will report interest income. Only you can determine if it's worth the risk of having her banned from the country. Many people, including myself, would say it's not worth that risk.

 

[rjessome]

Hi again - OP here...

There has been lots of helpful answers, and lots of very useful stories. Thank you. But...

I still feel most of the comments have avoided the actual question. Let us put aside our feelings for a second, and the hard advice to not do something illegal, and just focus on the question. What are the actual risks of getting caught - and how does the government actually find out?

For instance, will they be able to access her bank account info without permission, or being told it even exists?

Risk vs. Reward - It's that simple. Likelihood of getting caught is like playing with fire. You may or may not get burned. You know the consequences if she does get caught so you have to weigh whether or not it is worth the reward.

As far as how the government actually finds out, you would be surprised at how angry working illegally makes the average Canadian citizen/PR. The RCMP and CBSA receive thousands of tips every year regarding this type of thing. So if she gets on the wrong side of someone (who may be friendly to her face) then the whole house of cards could fall down. As far as being able to access her bank account, well she has very few legal rights in Canada as she has no status here. She is covered to a small extent under the Charter but not much. It wouldn't take much for them to legally be able to get access to that information. Illegals in general "may" be considered a security threat to Canada and you can get access to almost anything based on that when it comes to enforcement.

The other poster who talked about her husband revealed that he was part of a larger group that came on to CBSA's radar. For all we know one of his friend's in that group may have given him up. Investigation techniques and sources that are relied upon to provide information regarding how illegals are tracked down and caught are not going to be posted to the general public. The reasons are obvious.

So rather than trying to figure out the chances of getting caught, go back to the risk vs. reward scenario and then make a decision about whether or not she should continue working illegally.

 

[KangaRuthie]

If she is bored, she could learn new skills doing vouleneer work

 

[canuck0469]

Huxley, it is not only some disgruntled co-workers but your employer as well. CCRA is well aware of under the table deals and will certainly do everything in thier power to apprehend those that abuse the system. Audits are routinely done with companies and those with cash sales are high on the list. I am not suggesting the employer would run to the CRA telling them they are doing something illegal but under an audit and the employer cannot show them were the missing $ went, how much pressure will they withstand to protect illegal workers. The employer likely has more than your spouse so to the CRA getting multiple tax dodgers may be worth giving the employer a hefty fine with minimal incarceration in exchange for the names. Even a family member would likely not serve jail time to protect someone else. Seems the reward may not be the golden egg you think it may be

 

[missmymexi]

Hi again - OP here...

There has been lots of helpful answers, and lots of very useful stories. Thank you. But...

I still feel most of the comments have avoided the actual question. Let us put aside our feelings for a second, and the hard advice to not do something illegal, and just focus on the question. What are the actual risks of getting caught - and how does the government actually find out?

For instance, will they be able to access her bank account info without permission, or being told it even exists?

The actual risk is a hard question to answer,we thought there was no risk for some time, he was able to live like a normal canadian for the most part, we had almost forgotten that there was a risk till that faithful day. As other posters have said the government has many ways of tracking these things down, the do offer cash rewards for people to report illegals. It could be family, a close friend, co worker, you never know what peoples true feelings of working illegally are so technically you are always at risk. My hubby was completely under the radar, no bank accounts or any other ties financially or otherwise that would show up, apparently this is why it took them so long to catch up to him, they had also been monitoring his facebook for almost year, we had no idea, it wasnt till he posted our address for a BBQ that they showed up. So you may think you are in the clear as we did but meanwhile an investigation is under way. Once they have a suspicion or know about her they can access anything they need to as this is considered a security threat to the country, they have access to everything, like i said before, they even knew everything about me, where I worked, how much i made, my divorce status, my child. Your risks are that she will be be permantly banned from Canada and your sponsorship will be cancelled and she will not be aloud to apply again, the minimum risk is a one year ban but let me tell you we had to fight tooth and nail not to have him permantly banned and it cost alot in legal fee's, bonds to have him released and major stress. When all was said and done he spent 7 days in jail and 16 hours with me and my daughter before we had to turn him over to CBSA to get the bond money back and send him back home and now we are apart. Both of us agree that if we had to do all this again, we would have contacted a lawyer asap and made it right. All I can say is please learn from our mistakes and do not put yourselves through this, it is really not worth it in the long run. Also, ask yourself and your partner, is it worth the stress for her, to live that way, its not easy, you are literally a fugative, it will put strain on your relationship over time. Obviously I am not judging you on your decision as we made the same one but we learned the hard way, ultimately its up to you and your partner, once you understand the risks involve, make the best decision for yourselves, as said before the risks vs reward.

 

[Rouge]

My 2 cents- I'm sure she won't get caught. Before my girl and I decided to do the whole sponsorship to move to MTL we had a very good friend of ours go to school at McGill on study permit and wasn't allow to work (she's from the USA) but she manage to work under the table for almost 2 years getting paid in cash and checks. Her boyfriend whom is also from the US went with her for 3 out of her 4 years and he manage to work under the table for sometime as a mechanic. They knew the risks but thought of this way, the city where they came from (US) has illegal immigrants working on EVERY city block and they have been doing this for +10 years.

Of course USA and Canada are different but that's my friends experience with this working under the table

 

[annabruce]

Risks? Who knows. Perhaps, you can find a way to work legally without a work permit.

Anna and I took a bit of risk with the following clause in CIC's regulations. I sometimes wonder if we pushed the limits. We went so far as to file an income tax return for her, and I told CIC what Anna was doing as a part of her PR application. She was awarded a work permit in September.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp#artists

Performing artists

Foreign artists and their essential support staff, the people that are integral to the performance, can work in Canada without a permit only under these conditions:
•They are only performing here for a limited period of time.
•They will not be performing in a bar or restaurant. If they will be performing in a bar or restaurant, performers and their staff each need a work permit.
•They are not entering into an employment relationship with the Canadian group that has contracted for their services.
•They are not performing for the production of a movie, television or radio broadcast.

 

[missmymexi]

huh, very interesting and thank you for sharing ! My fiance is an artist, wish we had known about that one ! smart thinking

 

[canadiangirl78]

How about working online? You don't need a permit for that. I don't think.

 

[rjessome]

How about working online? You don't need a permit for that. I don't think.

You do if you are working for a Canadian company. Anything that enters into the Canadian Labour Market requires a permit unless it is covered under the exceptions in the Regulations. However, if someone is working for a foreign company online and not entering the Canadian labour market, then it's fine. It's a bit of a gray area really. I imagine that sometime in the future CIC will address online work but they haven't quite caught up to that yet. For now, it would be fine as long as it is not a Canadian company or a Canadian subsidiary of a foreign company.

 

[minime#]

Hello I am new here and I'm kinda in the same situation and I need some advice. I am planning to do an inland sponsorship application but i also did odd jobs here n there illegally for abt a year and a hlf. My question is should I let them know on my application or should i just not say anything? Another thing i should put i googled myself and i realised that there is still an old ad that posted there. I have since then stopped working and working on my application but was just wondering what i should do. Thanks in advance!