Working in both UK and Canada
 

My husband and I are both British and have lived in Toronto, Canada for the last 5 years. We came over as permanent residents and are now formally citizens of Canada.

Unfortnately the job market in Canada is weak at the moment and after 7 months of trying to find suitable work in the IT industry my husband had to look further afield and immediately landed a contract in London England for 12 months.

Just out of curiosity is there anyone out there in a similar position?

Any comments welcome.

A

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

I'm a contractor in Toronto. I'm surprised to find that the market is weak but I suppose it depends what exactly you do. I know several people, myself included, who do jobs in the UK and in Toronto. Given that most of the computers are now physically in India I suppose we all have to be flexible where we work.

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

Hi there, thanks for your response.

My husband's business is in in IT PM.

Out of interest, how do you manage to keep the UK / Canadian tax man happy whilst working between the two countires? Any advise very much appreciated.

A

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

I am a contractor also (legecy type systems) in TO...Although in my 5 years I have had 2 contracts and have only been out of work for 2 months, I have found that there is not too much choice as far as work goes...I have found this to be the case since day 1 and in the UK they seem to have more business and jobs going..although recently it has gone abit quieter than normal.

I will be leaving for the UK soon also...for work and other reasons.

I spoke to the CRA and they said if I am not resident in Canada for more than 183 days then I am not liable for Canadian Tax...same goes for England...so I guess you would pay the tax to the country where you spend more than 183 days in a tax year.

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

Not true ... if you are Canada tax resident right now, you need to sever most of your residential ties with Canada in order to be considered non-resident.

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

You have to establish one or the other as your country of residence and pay the taxes there. I don't imagine it much matters which one you use as the tax rates are similar.

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

Thanks for your responses, most appreciated.

Another question ....

Has anybody worked in the UK under their Canadian corporation and received payment in pounds? If so which bank have they used and how have they done it.

Again, any advise appreciated.

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

Hi there

It's Kind of similar for me, Im British and have been in Canada for 2 years

I'm in Quebec, if you think the job market in Ontario is weak try Quebec, especially with my Limited French language skills.

I carried on running my UK business from Canada, I get up 4-5am so that I'm on UK time. I take a "lunch" break at breakfast with my wife and kids.

I run a marketing company, therefore use the phone and internet heavily, I take 3 to 4 trips back per year to meet with customers, thanks to Flyzoom and Transat these are not expensive.

I earn in pounds, and use HSBC as a business account. I still am registered to pay UK taxes and that is exactly what I do. As someone else says, the rates are very similar so it doesn't really matter. Sadly the exchange rate isn't what it was, last year each pound I earned was around 2.2$, now I'm lucky if its 1.9$

I would say it's possible to do this for many types of business, especially web design, remote IT support, and marketing.

Don't hesitate to ask if you need any advice

Jonathan

Re: Working in both UK and Canada
 

The IT job market in nearly all of Canada seems to have far too many people chasing far too few jobs, and, so it seems, always will. So, the answer is retrain in something else, or move back to the UK for good.

The UK IT job market is not what it was, but, we have a big drop in the number of uni students studying Computer Science, so supply and demand may balance out again. Canada OTOH has a steady stream of immigrants in that field thanks to the Government mistakenly thinking there's a shortage of IT people. Really they should give 0 points to IT people, and loads of points to builders and tradespeople. Better to be refused entry in the beginning , than waste time chasing a dream that doesn't exist.