vanplan

My partner and I are looking to live in Vancouver for a few years (before possibly make it more permanent!) having fallen in love with the area and the way of life. I am a self-employed software developer and have a number of UK clients that I would need to continue to support whilst living in Canada.

I have 6+ years working for a large blue-chip organisation in the Information Systems, BI areas in a technical capacity and a further 2 years self-employed - Ideal scenario would be to be able to continue working in this way while in Canada and look to grow my client base to include local customers.

Its difficult to understand how the visa and permits that are available can accommodate my personal circumstances. A temporary Work permit seems to be the quickest way in but without a "full-time" job I understand that it would be difficult (if not impossible) to get. I score very highly on the points system >80 but I appreciate that this isn't a guarantee.

Has anyone been through a similar process with any recommendations?

Thanks

Paul Wildy

Firstly forget about point scores - that has nothing to do with work permits and is only relevent if you are applying for Permanent Residency under the Skilled Worker program.

If you want to work "in Canada" you need a work permit. That's not so easy to get for self employment though not impossible. However; continuing to do work for UK clients while in Canada may not require a work permit. It's a slightly grey area. The test is whether or not you are "entering the Canadian labour Market". If you do not solicit business from customers in Canada and you continue to be paid into a bank account outside Canada you could probably get by on just a visitor visa. The main disadvantage of that is that you would not qualify for healthcare etc and you would have to keep applying to renew your status every 6 months.

vanplan

Thanks for this information. I think we have decided travel over as temporary visitors, this will allow us to explore the area for a few weeks and then apply for a temporary work permit when I find a full time job - and continue the freelance work "on the side" paying TAX in the UK.

Greenhill

I remember a conversation with my immigration lawyer a few years ago, where he was very confident that working for a non-Canadian company, while in Canada on visitor status, is fine, so long as you're paid in the currency used in the country where the employer is established (i.e. not CAD).

Another way to look at it is like a business trip... I've been abroad on business trips and a couple of times had to keep in touch with the office and do a bit of work while on vacation. In this light, it makes the idea of requiring a work permit (or some sort of clearance) ludicrous.