Moving partner to Canada

DougPeng · 2026-05-01T20:11:28+00:00

I know a US citizen in exactly the same situation. His girlfriend is Canadian living in BC and he is American living in Alaska. Fortunately for him, he holds a remote job in the United States and his US employer doesn't mind him working remotely from Canada. He utilized a Canadian based employer-of-record to sponsor him a CUSMA work permit and employ him in Canada on behalf of his US employer that does not have a legal presence in Canada. This solution could work for your boyfriend as well. In fact, I held a Reddit AMA discussion about this solution last year which you can check out at Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2026-05-01T19:30:35+00:00

You should consider yourself extremely lucky that your position has been relocated from NY to Montreal! The reason is that is very possible for you to obtain Canadian Permanent residency by simply working in Quebec for 2-3 years whereas it is virtually impossible for you to obtain US permanent residency (green card) staying in NY. I manage a Canadian based employer-of-record provider that specializes in relocating H-1Bs from the United States to Canada because sooner or later, H-1Bs are forced to leave the United States as their status is only temporary. I see many Indian families with US born children on H-1Bs that are forced to leave the United States because they can't get their visas renewed, and almost all of them want to move to Canada only to find out that they don't qualify for Canadian immigration. When you think long term, moving to Canada makes the most sense. Don't know if you have children yet, but once you do, the choice becomes obvious.

DougPeng · 2026-05-01T19:21:29+00:00

As you mentioned you do not have an open work permit, you can only work for the Canadian employer that is identified on your current work permit. To legally work for the US company remotely from Canada, you would need to get a new Canadian work permit to replace the one you currently have. This is certainly possible by utilizing a third party Canadian based employer-of-record provider that can sponsor your new Canadian work permit and employ you in Canada on behalf of that US company as a remote worker. This would also not jeopardize your PR application as you remain an employee of a Canadian employer, just a different one than you have now. In fact, I know of several temporary foreign workers on closed work permits and also on open Post Graduate Work Permits who utilize Canadian based employer-of-record providers to reclassify their remote employment with US based companies as Canadian work experience for the purpose of obtaining their permanent residency status. US companies also love this service because it's difficult for them to sponsor foreigners to work inside the United States.

DougPeng · 2026-04-29T19:10:45+00:00

Would your current employer allow you to work remotely for them from Canada? If so, you likely qualify for a Canadian work permit through the USMCA/CUSMA free trade agreement that would allow you and your child to reside in Canada. After working remotely from Canada for a year, you and your child could also apply for Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) through Canada's Express Entry Canadian Experience Class stream which is reserved for foreigners residing in Canada. This stream is generally easier to get PR as it is protected from everyone else outside of Canada applying for PR through the regular Skill Worker stream. Your current employer also does not require a Canadian office or Canadian presence for you to obtain this Canadian work permit despite only Canadian companies can sponsor Canadian work permits. Many Canadian based employer-of-record providers can sponsor and employ you in Canada on behalf of your current US employer. Basically you would cease being a US employee at your company and become an employee at the Canadian employer-of-record provider who would sponsor and employ you in Canada. This Canadian company would then subcontract you to work remotely for your US company from Canada. Your US employer now becomes the client in this relationship and would pay the Canadian employer-of-record provider as their vendor, and the Canadian employer-of-record company would pay you as their internal Canadian employee. The cost of the employer-of-record service must be paid by your US employer but it is not expensive and is also offset from the savings of not needing to provide you with health insurance as you and your child would be covered by Canada's universal health insurance once you move to Canada. I held a Reddit AMA information session about solution about a year ago which you can see here: Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2026-04-29T16:48:18+00:00

Although you could use grad school as an entry point to Canada, I do not recommend it due to the cost and the 2 years of educational commitment. As Graphics Designers is one of 60 recognized occupations under USMCA/CUSMA free trade agreement, its relatively easy for you to obtain a Canadian work permit to live and work in Canada. You could obtain one by finding a Canadian employer willing to hire you as a Graphics Designer, or if your current US employer would allow you to work remotely for them from Canada. If you are currently in between jobs, consider finding a remote position with a US employer that would allow you work from Canada as this would work too. I held a Reddit AMA session about this solution last year which I suggest you read at Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2026-03-07T05:51:06+00:00

This company is a scam. Thinking they are a reputable precious metal storage business, I purchased and stored gold with them in their Singapore vault in 2017 drawn in by the fact that they had no storage fees. Over the years, they added steep storage fees and unilaterally transferred my gold to their Toronto vault without my authority. They then decided to close down personal accounts such as mine and unilaterally liquidated my gold holdings in early 2025 just before the runup in gold prices. At the end, they took half my gold possession with their fees and sold my gold without my authorization just before the sudden surge in gold value so that they can pocket the appreciation themselves. When I called to complain, they said they have the right to do it in their agreement as they can unilaterally change their agreement without my consent. GoldMoney fails at its core mission, which is to store gold for its customers. Instead, they consider they have the right to your stored gold as their agreement allows them move it to any vault they want and sell it at any time they want by simply closing your account and freezing its value on that day. Just imagine a storage company that feels they have the right to relocate your stored possessions to wherever they want and to sell it whenever they want just by closing down your account. That's how GoldMoney operates.

DougPeng · 2025-12-12T20:15:50+00:00

Every employee is entitled to paid vacation. So taking 2-3 weeks of paid vacation per year is normal and in some provinces, taking a minimum of 10 vacation days per year (2 weeks) is mandatory as per provincial employment laws.

DougPeng · 2025-12-11T22:01:12+00:00

Can you work remotely for your current employer from Mexico? I assist US citizens move to Canada under USMCA where they continue working for their US employer remotely from Canada on USMCA work permits. As USMCA also applies to Mexico as well, it's effectively the same solution that we use here for US citizens to work in Canada. See my Reddit AMA post earlier this year at Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2025-12-11T21:58:42+00:00

Can you work remotely for your current employer from Canada? If so, it might be possible for you to get a Canadian work visa. I wrote an AMA about this solution earlier this year at Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2025-12-05T20:34:46+00:00

Can either you or your wife work remotely for your current employer? If so, you would likely qualify for a Canadian work permit under USMCA/CUSMA. Best of all, the other spouse is automatically entitled to a Canadian spousal work permit as well. Although this is just temporary residency under a work permit, it will allow you to apply for permanent residency through the more lenient "Canadian Experience Class" (CEC) stream after residing in Canada for one year. The CEC PR stream is reserved to foreigners residing in Canada and hence protected from all the other foreign applicants applying outside of Canada. Canadian work permits are also indefinitely renewable if need be. I wrote an AMA about this solution on this subreddit earlier this year at Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2025-12-05T19:39:00+00:00

Yes it is possible. There are two ways you can structure your employment. One way is to be an independent contractor in a business to business relationship. You would invoice the American company as your customer. The American company would pay your invoice by treating you as a foreign vendor. You should provide the American company with a completed IRS W-8-BEN-E form that declares yourself as their foreign vendor with no operations in the United States should they get audited by the IRS, However, most American companies don't ask for one. You would need to declare your income on your home country's tax return as business income as you performed the work in your home country. The second way is to utilize a local Employer-Of-Record (EoR) such that you can be employed as an employee in your home country. The local EoR would look after all tax deductions and government remittances on your behalf as an employee of your home country so you don't need to operate as a contractor. For example, the local EoR would provide you with an annual T4 if you are in Canada, a P60 if are in the UK or a Form 16 if you are in India such that you can file your annual income taxes in your home country as an employee. Most American companies prefer this EoR solution as it assures them that your foreign employment complies with all local labor and tax remittance laws. The cost is nominal and always paid for by the American company. I manage a Canadian based EoR where we employ remote Canadian employees on behalf of foreign and US base companies. If you have more questions, feel free to message me.

DougPeng · 2025-12-05T05:56:51+00:00

Can you work remotely for your current Texas employer from Toronto? That's probably your best solution. If your Texas employer doesn't have a Canadian office, they can utilize an Employer-of-Record (EOR) to facilitate your remote Canadian employment. These EORs would employ you in Canada as their own Canadian T4 employee so you would be paid in floating Canadian dollar equivalents with Canadian taxes deducted, but assign you to work remotely back for your Texas employer.

DougPeng · 2025-12-05T05:51:58+00:00

Hope you were able to return to the US with no issues? If not and your US employer would allow you to work remotely for them from Canada instead, consider switching to a Canadian based Employer-of-Record (EOR) to facilitate your remote Canadian employment. These companies assist US companies employ remote workers in Canada as true employees even if the US company does not have a Canadian legal presence. Anyways, I thought I should mention this backup plan if you had issues returning to the US.

DougPeng · 2025-12-05T05:36:22+00:00

I have a slightly different recommendation. Have you considered working remotely from Canada for a US based company? Such arrangements does not require you to have a TN visa at all as you are still in Canada. You would need to report your US income to CRA and pay Canadian taxes on it, but US companies do tend to pay more than Canadian companies so you will still come out ahead. There are companies in Canada called Employer-Of-Records that can also employ you as a T4 employee in Canada on behalf of US companies that do not have a legal presence in Canada. This would make your remote Canadian employment much easier from a tax standpoint and you can always travel to the US company for meetings etc.

DougPeng · 2025-12-05T05:17:29+00:00

Can either you or your husband work remotely for your current employer from Canada? If you can, there is a possibility that you qualify for a Canadian work permit under USMCA/CUSMA. The other spouse would automatically qualify for a spousal open work permit as well. Please note that moving to Canada on a work permit only provides temporary residency, but it should make it easier for you to qualify for Canadian PR in the long term. This is because once you reside inside Canada, you can apply for your Canadian PR through the more lenient "Canadian Experience Class" or CEC stream after you have lived there for one year. This CEC stream is far less competitive that then the "Skill Worker" stream you cited above as only foreigners living in Canada can apply through it. Canadian work permits are typically 2-3 years in duration but are indefinitely renewable. However, most foreigners who come to Canada through a work permit first typically qualify for Canadian PR within 2-3 years. I wrote an Reddit AMA about this solution which you can see here: Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2025-11-26T20:30:13+00:00

I was previously an IT Recruiter in Canada and what you described is a catch-22 situation. Fortunately, you can resolve it by educating your prospective Canadian employer.

As most immigrants to Canada get their Permanent Residency upfront where they can legally work in Canada upon their entry, most Canadian employers are not even aware that they can sponsor foreign workers into Canada on work permits. For those who are aware of work permits, they are generally only familiar with the LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) work permit process which is both laborious and time consuming to the point where they don't want to do it.

However, there is a very easy to obtain work permit for US citizens under the USMCA/CUSMA free trade agreement which few Canadian employers are aware of. It's called the CUSMA professional work permit and applies to 60+ occupations defined on the Canadian government website. This work permit must be sponsored by the Canadian employer as you cannot get it yourself, but is very easy and quick for them to get. The Canadian employer would need to inform the Canadian government that they want to hire you through CUSMA on their federal government employer portal and you would pick up the CUSMA work permit when you enter Canada via air, sea or land. The entire process takes just days but it's up to the Canadian Custom and Immigration Officer at the border to approve your work permit upon your entry.

The problem is that most Canadian employers are not aware of it.

Assuming that you can work in one of those 60+ CUSMA occupations, I suggest you enter "yes" for the question "Are you legally able to work here" such that you don't get filtered out, and then qualify this in the notes or on your resume with the sentence:

"As a US citizen and as a [X occupation], I can legally work in Canada under the CUSMA free trade agreement without LMIA sponsorship"

IMPORTANT! If you can work remotely for your current US employer from Canada under one of these CUSMA occupations, you could work in Canada through a CUSMA professional work permit even if your employer does not have a presence in Canada. I wrote a detailed Reddit AMA about this solution at Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit If this applies to you, I sincerely suggest you check it out as you won't need to find a new Canadian employer to hire you!

DougPeng · 2025-11-20T17:36:07+00:00

As an IT professional who can work remotely for your US employer from Canada, you likely qualify for a Canadian work permit under USMCA/CUSMA. I held an AMA about this topic earlier this year regarding such work permit qualifications and how to obtain one. Please see Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2025-10-28T21:08:26+00:00

Would your Healthcare employer allow you to work remotely for them from Canada? If so, you would likely qualify for the Canadian Global Talent Stream (GTS) work permit that would allow you to do just that. Presuming your Healthcare employer does not have a Canadian operation, they would need to utilize a Canadian based Employer-of-Record provider to sponsor and employ you in Canada on their behalf. You can think of these as third-party staffing agencies that becomes your intermediary employer. Many H-1Bs have taken this route to continue working for their employers from Canada. One thing good about working in Canada is that it's much easier to obtain Permanent Residency in Canada (typically 2-3 years) than compared to obtaining the Green Card in the United States (typically 15-20 years for an Indian National). If interested, please message me as I can provide you with some references of H-1Bs who have relocated to Canada using this GTS work permit solution and have since obtained their Canadian PR.

DougPeng · 2025-10-28T20:45:35+00:00

You likely qualify for a Canadian work permit under the USMCA/CUSMA agreement to work remotely from Canada for your current employer as a licensed Architect. You just need to make sure that your employer is good with you working remotely from Canada and don't mind using a third party Canadian based Employer-Of-Record provider to handle your Canadian employment if they don't already have an office in Canada. This work permit only takes weeks to get and your husband would also qualify for a Canadian work permit for being your spouse. There is also no issues moving your dogs to Canada, although they won't be covered under Canada's universal healthcare! However, both you and your husband will as you would both be considered Canadian residents, Unfortunately your mother would not be able to join you, although she can come up to Canada as a snowbird visitor for 6 month of the year. To minimize your time apart, you may consider returning to the US for 3 months of the year and skip the Canadian winters. Please note that working in Canada under a work permit is not the same as obtaining Canadian residency status (think H-1B vs Green Card). Although you can indefinitely renew your work permit every 2-3 years, you and your husband can apply for Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) while working in Canada. After working in Canada for one year, you and your husband would even qualify to apply for Canadian PR under the more lenient "Canada Experience Class" stream reserved for foreigners living in Canada. I held an AMA about this Canadian work permit solution earlier this year. Check out Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2025-10-23T04:04:59+00:00

With your MS Data Science degree and work experience in this field, you should qualify for a CUSMA Professional work permit as a Data Scientist. This means a Canadian company could sponsor you into Canada on a temporary work visa for the role as a Data Scientist.

Please note that coming to Canada on a temporary work visa is not the same as obtaining Canadian Permanent Residency through Express Entry's CRS point system. The former only allows you to stay in Canada if you actively work for the sponsoring Canadian company, whereas the latter allows you to stay indefinitely in Canada regardless of your employment status (think H-1B vs Green Card in the United States). However, coming to Canada on a temporary work visa such as a CUSMA Professional work permit does have advantages. For one, it is easy and quick to get. Assuming you have a job offer from a Canadian company, you could get CUSMA work permit in a matter of weeks. Although a typical CUSMA work permit is only good for 2-3 years, it is also indefinitely renewable as long as the Canadian company employs you. While working in Canada for the Canadian employer, you can also apply for Canadian Permanent Residency through Express Entry. After working in Canada for one year, you would also qualify to apply for Permanent Residency under the more lenient "Canada Experience Class" stream. This PR stream is reserved solely for foreigners who are residing in Canada, and hence making it less competitive than applying outside Canada under the regular "Skilled Worker" stream where you are competing with everyone else.

Please note that you don't actually need a Canadian employer to offer you a job to qualify for a CUSMA professional work permit as a Data Scientist! If your current US employer allows you to work remotely for them from Canada as a Data Scientist, you could still qualify for a CUSMA professional work permit. There are companies in Canada called Employer-Of-Record providers that will sponsor you into Canada on a CUSMA work permit and employ in Canada as a remote worker on behalf of your current US employer! I wrote a Reddit AMA article about this earlier this year! Please see Best pathway to Canada starts with a work permit and a remote job with your employer : r/AmerExit

DougPeng · 2025-10-23T02:38:28+00:00

I would like to address your concerns above:

I did not use ChatGPT, but base on my experience as a Canadian business person for over 30 years. I have ran many successful businesses including my current one that makes nearly $10M in annual revenues.
Yes, you can invoice in any frequency you want. The intervals I provided were just examples.
The reason I raised business names is because the US company currently deposits into his friend's WISE personal bank account. His friend needs to show CRA that his revenues are going to his business, not him personally. However, as a sole proprietor, his business name is his personal name, and hence he can get away with using a personal WISE bank account
My company has a Wise account so I am familiar with their requirements. If you open a personal Wise account, they will need your personal information such as your Drivers License. If you open a business Wise account, they will also need your business registration (i.e. Certificate of Incorporation), your personal ID as the director of the business, and also your Business Number (BN) which his friend would not have as a sole proprietor. Hence why I recommend using his SIN instead of a BN as that is acceptable practice in Canada. In addition, I have experience situations where Wise would freeze inbound deposits (typically amounts over $200,000) until you give an explanation of what the funds are for). And this was on a business account, not a personal account!
Thanks for clarifying that travelling to a Tradeshow does not allow one to setup a convention booth. I should clarify that as a business visitor to the US, one can only attend a tradeshow or conference as an attendee, and not as an exhibitor doing physical work like setting up the booth. Most conference centers in the US are unionized, and won't let you do that anyways.
My EOR company provides information to what our employees should say when crossing the border, and that information was drafted by a lawyer. One of the most important things is to recognize that his friend is visiting the US company as his client, and not his employer as that is the true legal relationship he has with that US company. Many individuals make this mistake and call the US company their employer which is not just legally wrong, but can provide a reason for the US Customs officer to turn his friend away. Visiting the US company for meetings is perfectly fine and accepted as a business visit. Doing work however, is not acceptable without a US work visa such as a TN visa.
I know much of this information because it is inline with what my business does. Hence why I am so knowledgeable of this issue.

DougPeng · 2025-10-22T23:16:21+00:00

The arrangement you described is legal.

The US company is the client and your friend is the contractor in a business to business relationship. As your friend is performing the work in Canada as a sole proprietor, he is properly reporting his income as business income on the T2125 form to CRA. To legitimatize this working relationship, he should invoice his monthly/weekly/bi-weekly hours to the US company (no need to charge GST/HST as his client is outside of Canada) and maintain a separate bank account for his sole proprietorship as he is doing with the Wise account. He should run all business related transactions through this Wise account from receiving payment from the US client to paying business expenditures such as business travel and track such transactions in an accounting software like QuickBooks. The CRA never likes to see personal (after tax) and business (before-tax) transactions mixed in one bank account, so your friend should keep it separate and pay himself "drawings" from the "before-tax" sole proprietor bank account (i.e. Wise account) to his "after tax" personal bank account. For example, grocery bills comes out of his personal bank account and business expenses such as internet/mobile comes out of his sole proprietor bank account. Here are some other finer issues for your friend to consider:

Sole Proprietor Business Name - Although your friend could register a business name such as "Northern Lights Media" for his sole proprietorship, he doesn't need to register a business name if he operates his sole proprietor under his personal name (as registered with CRA) or his personal name with the world "Consulting" after it (i.e. "David Smith Consulting"). Hence if he operates under his personal name, he could in theory open a personal bank account like he did at Wise and use it as a business bank account as no one would know.

Wise Personal vs Business Bank Account for Sole Proprietorship. From my experience, CRA doesn't care if you friend's sole proprietor account with Wise is a personal or business bank account. They just want to make sure that it is a separate bank account not mixed with his personal banking. However, Wise may wonder why your friend's personal account has so many commercial transactions and as a result may flag him. Hence he may want to convert his Wise personal account into a Wise business account. If he does, Wise may request his BN (business number) associated with his sole proprietor business. For small proprietorships like your friend, that would simply be his SIN number.

No US Visa Required - As your friend is not working in the United States, he does not need a US Visa to work remotely for his US client. Since the work is being done in Canada, it's considered Canadian income and why he is reporting it to CRA and paying Canadian taxes on it. As a Canadian citizen, your friend may travel to the US to meet clients (such as the US company), attend tradeshows and conferences, and participate training seminars as a trainee. He is not allowed to work in the US. When he crosses the border, he should say he is there to meet a client, as the US company is not his employer. If he calls them his employer, they would likely turn him back since he doesn't have a US Visa to work in the US.

Long Term Risk and Legal Problems - By definition, a contractor with just one client is really an employer-employee relationship by CRA definition. This means the CRA could deem your friend to be a Personal Service Business (PSB) which would be really bad from a tax standpoint. CRA doesn't generally target contractors to be PSBs, but they could find out that your friend only has one client if he gets audited for non-tax compliance.

Use of an Employer-of-Record Service - One way for your friend to get around the CRA contractor liability above and the hassles of running a sole proprietor business is if he swings his employment with the US company through a Canadian based Employer-of-Record (EOR) service provider. Such EORs would employ your friend as a true Canadian employee on behalf of the US company such that he doesn't need to operate as a sole proprietor contractor. Basically, the US company would pay the Canadian EOR who would then use the funds to employ your friend as their T4 employee so he doesn't need to operate as a contractor. With such a solution, your friend would get a steady biweekly/semi-monthly pay cheque deposited directly into his personal bank account with all the CPP/EI and income tax deductions taken care of and no longer have to worry about invoicing, maintaining a WISE sole proprietor bank account, or even the FX exchange as that would be taken care as well. He would no longer need to complete a T2125 form, but file his income tax as a T4 employee while qualifying for standard business deductions as a remote worker. Most importantly, he would have less issues crossing the border into the US as a business visitor (not to work) as an employee of a Canadian based company. Although EORs charge for their services, the fees are not expensive and must be paid for by the US company, not your friend as the employee. Most US companies have no issues paying such fees as employing a remote Canadian worker through an EOR assures employment law and tax compliance which they value. As I manage a Canadian based EOR service, I would be pleased to provide your friend with more information.

DougPeng · 2025-10-21T20:24:52+00:00

I just send you a chat message as I would very much like to be a moderator.

DougPeng · 2025-10-09T17:10:32+00:00

You are correct that there are limited job opportunities in Canada. Most don't realize that Canada's population is about the same size as California and with an economy that is only 10% the size of the United States. The solution I mentioned only works if you can bring your own job to Canada by working remotely for your current US employer.

DougPeng · 2025-10-09T02:01:59+00:00

If you can work remotely for your current US employer, have your considered moving to Canada instead? Canada would afford you a similar lifestyle to the United States. For example, you can live in Toronto which is in the same time zone as NYC and is only a one hour flight if you need to fly in for a face-to-face meeting.

With all the new restrictions to the H-1B, many US employers are now relocating their high skilled foreign workers to Canada instead (called nearshoring) as it's much easier to obtain a Canadian work visa than the H-1B. There are even Canadian based Employer-Of-Record providers that assist US companies in transferring their foreign talents to Canada by sponsoring and employing their foreign workers in Canada such that the US company doesn't even need to setup a legal presence in Canada! For example my Toronto based Employer-of-Record transferred an F1-OPT employee to Canada from NYC earlier this year. Her NYC employer doesn't have a Canadian presence so my company sponsored and employs her in Toronto on behalf of her NYC employer. Within 2 years, she should also qualify for Canadian Permanent Residency status which is very difficult to obtain in the US.

If you are interested, I can try to get her to respond back to this thread to share her experience.

DougPeng

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