Remote Work and Canadian Immigration: Rules, PR Eligibility, and Common Misconceptions

By Victor Ing,

Special to The PostThe COVID-19 pandemic triggered major shifts in the Canadian immigration landscape for several years. While many temporary immigration measures from that time have expired, the rise of remote work remains an ongoing legacy. According to Statistics Canada, remote work jumped from 4% in 2016 to nearly 40% during the peak of the pandemic, eventually stabilizing around 20%. Despite how common working from home has become, significant confusion remains about how Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) evaluates remote work, especially for candidates hoping to secure Canadian permanent residency (PR). Here are the three most common questions and misconceptions about remote work we address at our immigration law firm.

Can I work remotely in Canada for an employer back home?

Yes. You do not require special permission to work remotely for your foreign employer while physically in Canada. You can perform this work from inside Canada under any form of temporary immigration status, including student, worker, or even visitor status.

Many of our overseas clients are interested in spending extended time in Canada to visit family or friends, or just to see if it is a place they see themselves immigrating to ine future. Therefore, it is important to understand the legal basis for allowing remote work in Canada. Under Canadian immigration laws, “work” is defined as an activity that “is in direct competition with the activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labour market.” If your work does not involve Canadian clients and you’re paid outside Canada by a non-Canadian employer, then you are not engaging in the Canadian labour market and do not need special permission to perform it. This aligns with IRCC’s public facing statements promoting Canada as a destination for digital nomads, encouraging foreign talent to visit, explore, and eventually transition into the domestic workforce.

Can I work remotely for a Canadian company while living overseas to help me qualify for PR?

No. While you can freely work remotely for a Canadian employer from your home country, this experience will not boost your eligibility for Canadian PR programs compared to working for a local business in your country.

Similar to the reasoning for why visitors can work remotely in Canada for their foreign employer, to qualify for key immigration programs like the Canadian Experience Class through Express Entry, candidates must acquire skilled work experience inside of Canada. Working from abroad means you have not entered the Canadian labour market; therefore, IRCC generally excludes this overseas work from counting as "Canadian work experience." They will not even issue visas for any work or study activities that can be performed entirely abroad.

Can I work remotely while in Canada for an overseas employer and count this as “foreign work experience” for PR?

Maybe, but this is a risky strategy. Under Canada’s Express Entry - Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), candidates earn valuable points for both Canadian and foreign skilled work experience earned in the past 10 years. Many applicants living in Canada attempt to claim remote work for a home-country employer as "foreign work experience" to boost their CRS score.

This topic has come to prominence recently as it has become increasingly difficult to qualify for PR in Canada. Most clients who ask this question fall into two camps: 1) they came to Canada at a young age, usually to study, and therefore do not have any or only very limited work experience back home; or 2) they had an established career back home but came to Canada many years ago and cannot count much, if any, of that previous experience for PR.

Until recently, the answer to this question has been unclear, at best. However, my recent experience as an immigration lawyer suggests a new trend is emerging to exclude this type of work as qualifying “foreign work experience” for CRS points. In the past few months alone, I have met several clients in the first camp who unsuccessfully tried to claim this type of remote work experience for PR purposes.

Though similar immigration clients have successfully claimed this experience for CRS points before, any clients thinking about following this strategy must be aware of the potential risks. The legal definition of “foreign work experience” for Express Entry purposes is “work experience that is acquired by a foreign national outside Canada.” It is difficult to reconcile this legal definition with the interpretation that remote work performed for a foreign employer while physically inside Canada counts as “foreign work experience”.

As I cautioned in a 2021 blog entitled “Information Overload: Navigating the Official Government Immigration Website”, consuming immigration information online can sometimes feel like navigating a minefield. Despite the abundance of information, the law trumps any interpretation or anecdote you can find online. It is imperative to understand that immigration law is entirely rules based. They often change without warning, and every immigration strategy carries nuances requiring a unique and focused approach. If you are planning to use remote work as part of your Canadian immigration strategy, consult a qualified immigration representative to review your specific situation before applying.

Victor Ing is a lawyer of Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre. He provides a full range of immigration services. For more information go to canadian-visa-lawyer.com or email [email protected].