4 ms·

Usually it means work in the country you're visiting- I can't go to Mexico for a week and wait tables, but if I vacation there I still get paid by my employer.

UncleMeat 4y ago
Vacation sure. But if you want to work from these countries then you can't be on a tourist visa.
- tifik 4y ago
  It comes down to how you define 'working from a country'. Doesn't it mean 'being employed by a local company and paying income taxes' there? If I go on a vacation and respond to a few work-related emails, am I breaking any laws because I'm working on a tourist visa? Yes, that is ad absurdum, but I'm trying to point out that it's not as clear cut. There is a line that international treaties define, and staying someplace (sometimes even up to 6 months) and working there doesn't necessarily have any income tax implications for you or your employer.
  - triceratops 4y ago
    > If I go on a vacation and respond to a few work-related emails Law isn't code. Reasonable people (judges, normally) are able to decide what is "actually working" and "incidentally working while on vacation".
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
triceratops 4y ago
The two examples you gave are not equivalent. It's not about whether you're working for a Mexican employer or not when you're in Mexico. It's about whether you're working at all.
- tifik 4y ago
  > It's about whether you're working at all. Yes, but 'work' also has a legal definition. My research mostly involves Canada, so I will cite from the IIRC [1]: "What kind of activities are not considered to be “work”? An activity which does not really 'take away' from opportunities for Canadians or permanent residents to gain employment or experience in the workplace is not “work” for the purposes of the definition. ... - long distance (by telephone or Internet) work done by a temporary resident whose employer is outside Canada and who is remunerated from outside Canada; ... We recognize that there may be overlap in activities that we do not consider to be work and those activities which are defined as work not requiring a work permit in R186. However, the net effect (no work permit required) is the same." So yes, you can work remotely from Canada, while on a tourist visa, for a foreign (non-Canadian) employer. A lot of OECD countries have treaties (look up 'double-taxation treaty between A and B'), that govern this. 1 - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/what-is-work.html https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/co...
  - triceratops 4y ago
    > This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders. My point, which I also made in another comment in this thread, is that law isn't code. If you spend 3-6 months every year on a tourist visa in Canada working for your US employer, Canada's going to cotton on eventually and take action. If you do it a few weeks a year, you'll likely be fine. Their test is "are you directly or indirectly competing with a Canadian worker?". If your employer is really ok with you being abroad 3-6 months/year then they should, presumably, also be ok with hiring Canadians or legal permanent residents to do the same work 12 months/year from Canada.
    - tifik 4y ago
      Letting your employee be out of the country for 3-6 months every year on a tourist visa is a lot different from actually getting incorporated in that country and paying income taxes there. >for your US employer US/Canada have a very interconnected labor market, so in this context your comment is perfectly valid, and I would guess there are additional rules for this specific case. For literally any country other than US though, I don't see why it would be an issue for Canada or the country of origin, even if you do it repeatedly year over year.

UncleMeat 4y ago

Vacation sure. But if you want to work from these countries then you can't be on a tourist visa.

tifik 4y ago
It comes down to how you define 'working from a country'. Doesn't it mean 'being employed by a local company and paying income taxes' there? If I go on a vacation and respond to a few work-related emails, am I breaking any laws because I'm working on a tourist visa? Yes, that is ad absurdum, but I'm trying to point out that it's not as clear cut. There is a line that international treaties define, and staying someplace (sometimes even up to 6 months) and working there doesn't necessarily have any income tax implications for you or your employer.
- triceratops 4y ago
  > If I go on a vacation and respond to a few work-related emails Law isn't code. Reasonable people (judges, normally) are able to decide what is "actually working" and "incidentally working while on vacation".
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]

triceratops 4y ago

The two examples you gave are not equivalent. It's not about whether you're working for a Mexican employer or not when you're in Mexico. It's about whether you're working at all.

tifik 4y ago
> It's about whether you're working at all. Yes, but 'work' also has a legal definition. My research mostly involves Canada, so I will cite from the IIRC [1]: "What kind of activities are not considered to be “work”? An activity which does not really 'take away' from opportunities for Canadians or permanent residents to gain employment or experience in the workplace is not “work” for the purposes of the definition. ... - long distance (by telephone or Internet) work done by a temporary resident whose employer is outside Canada and who is remunerated from outside Canada; ... We recognize that there may be overlap in activities that we do not consider to be work and those activities which are defined as work not requiring a work permit in R186. However, the net effect (no work permit required) is the same." So yes, you can work remotely from Canada, while on a tourist visa, for a foreign (non-Canadian) employer. A lot of OECD countries have treaties (look up 'double-taxation treaty between A and B'), that govern this. 1 - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/what-is-work.html https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/co...
- triceratops 4y ago
  > This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders. My point, which I also made in another comment in this thread, is that law isn't code. If you spend 3-6 months every year on a tourist visa in Canada working for your US employer, Canada's going to cotton on eventually and take action. If you do it a few weeks a year, you'll likely be fine. Their test is "are you directly or indirectly competing with a Canadian worker?". If your employer is really ok with you being abroad 3-6 months/year then they should, presumably, also be ok with hiring Canadians or legal permanent residents to do the same work 12 months/year from Canada.
  - tifik 4y ago
    Letting your employee be out of the country for 3-6 months every year on a tourist visa is a lot different from actually getting incorporated in that country and paying income taxes there. >for your US employer US/Canada have a very interconnected labor market, so in this context your comment is perfectly valid, and I would guess there are additional rules for this specific case. For literally any country other than US though, I don't see why it would be an issue for Canada or the country of origin, even if you do it repeatedly year over year.