pipincan

I've been working for a Canadian company in Toronto since October 2005 as an intra-company transferee on a Canadian work permit. I have been asked to work in Tokyo, Japan at a specific client site due to my experience of working with this client (four years) whilst I was a UK employee.

This raises some questions about my future status in Canada should I accept. I've read through the foreign workers guide and the following text doesn't explicitly state that I have to be working in Canada to still have a Canadian Work Permit. However I'm not sure whether this refers to new applicants or existing work permit holders.

"Intra-company transferees are not necessarily required to re-locate to Canada, however, they are expected to actually occupy a position within the Canadian branch of the company, and to spend at least 25% of the duration of their work permit in Canada. If an applicant expects to spend less time than that, officers should examine whether they might better be classified as a business visitor, which includes provision of after-sales service. (See Section 5.2, Work without a work permit R186(a)—Business visitor.)

Issuance of short-term work permits for specific projects is permissible, whether the project is taking place at the company premises in Canada or at a client site (generally seen as applicable for persons the company needs to transfer for their specialized knowledge). Long-term work permits in the intra-company transferee category should not be issued for service personnel living outside Canada whom the company wishes to parachute into a client site of the international company on an as-needed basis."

Will working in Japan cause problems when it comes to renewing my work permit.? I will still continue be a Canadian employee based out of the head office in Toronto.

I have got most of my paperwork complete for my PR application which will hopefully be submitted in the next month or two. Will working abroad cause any issues to the submission or processing of the application.?

Obviously if there is any risk to my work permit not being renewed or my PR application not being processed, then I shall continue working in Toronto.

Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Regards.

donwauchope

I would suggest that you ask the company to consult one of the immigration lawyers about this. If you want your PR fast-tracked you are supposed to demonstrate the permanence of your position.

pipincan

My company's HR/Legal department are looking into this from their perspective, but I wanted to get my own feedback from different sources to make sure that I get balanced information.

As for the permanence of my position, my company have written a letter which states that they will continue to employ me indefinately once I have Permanent Residency. This letter will be included in my PR application.