recruitment
To Permit
or Not to
Permit?
CANADIAN ENTRY ISSUES IN
THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE
By Yusra Siddiquee
In an increasingly globalized marketplace, the movement of per-sonnel
across borders to work at subsidiary offices or to provide
short-term advisory services is commonplace. Legal and human
resources professionals must be aware of the appropriate duties
that international employees and contractors can perform in
Canada as business visitors, and those activities that require the
issuance of a work permit. This article will review the key factors
to consider in determining the Canadian immigration require-ments
when utilizing the services of foreign nationals.
BUSINESS VISIT VS. WORK PERMIT
A foreign national is a person who is not a Canadian citizen or
permanent resident. Foreign nationals who enter Canada tem-porarily
to provide employment-related services require a work
permit unless they fit into one of the specifically enumerated cri-teria
for entry as a business visitor. The challenge is differentiating
between business and employment activities. The common mis-conception
held by Canadian companies is that if the foreign
national is not being paid in Canada, then they are automatically a
business visitor. In fact, the most important criteria in determining
whether an individual is a business visitor or requires a work per-mit
is an analysis of the actual duties to be performed in Canada
– not the source of remuneration, duration of entry or national-ity
of the individual.
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