It is the second-largest country by landmass. And it is filled to the brim with some of the friendliest people on the planet, stunning nature, and diverse cities. Canada truly is a treasure trove for any avid explorer.
As such, many digital nomads find themselves asking if they need to acquire a special digital nomad visa to be allowed to work remotely from Canada.
Canada does not have a specific visa for digital nomads. Digital nomads can stay visa-free or on a regular tourist visa in Canada. Unless they are working for a Canadian company or client, it is not necessary for them to obtain a work permit to be legally allowed to work remotely.
I think this rule of thumb has a beautiful simplicity to it.
However, as with any rule, there are exceptions to it.
Let’s take a closer look and investigate Canada’s visa and immigration requirements catering to self-employed nomads and remote workers.
The first thing nomads should do, is determining their travel time frame. Depending on this time frame, the rule mentioned above may or may not apply.
By the way; we have an article on the different types of time frames most digital nomads utilize to arrange their travel schedules right here.
Nomads who wish to stay for the short- or medium-term in Canada.
Digital nomads, adhering to a short-term or medium-term time frame, might ask themselves if they need a special work permit or digital nomad visa, to be allowed to legally work from Canada.
Just as previously mentioned, nomads visiting on such a time frame only need to keep track of two things:
The length of their stay in Canada should not exceed the limits of their permit (usually 180 days for nationals with access to visa-free travel).
And their employers and/or client base needs to be located outside of Canada.
If you meet these requirements, you will be able to work remotely from Canada. And it will be considered fully legal.
This is because Canada considers any type of remote work for foreign businesses to be nonwork.
Ergo, no work permit is necessary.
Just stay within the requirements of your visa-free travel or your tourist visa, and you are good to go.
If you are interested in a more in-depth explanation of Canada’s regulations concerning remote work, you should read our article on the legality of digital nomadism on tourist visas, where we have covered Canada as an example before.
What if I want to stay long-term or start a Canadian business?
There are three immigration programs for digital nomads who wish to immigrate to obtain a permanent residence permit or establish their own business in Canada.
The Self-Employed Persons Program
This immigration program is directed at self-employed individuals working in professions, which can be considered athletic or cultural. The goal of this program is to attract highly skilled people in order for them to improve, expand, and shape the cultural or athletic landscape of Canada.
Examples of applicable professions include filmmakers, actors, musicians, painters, choreographers, athletes, trainers, and possibly even YouTubers, bloggers, and podcasters.
A major advantage of this program is that it does not have any restrictions concerning your net worth.
It also does not require you to launch a business to employ a specific number of Canadian workers. However, it is still necessary that you have the financial means to support yourself and also your family.
The fees involved with this program start from $2,075.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the processing time for this program is currently estimated at 37 months (more than 3 years!).
The following conditions have to be met to become eligible for the Self-employed Persons Program:
- Applicants must have worked in their field of expertise for at least two one-year periods over the course of the past five years.
- They will have to achieve at least 35 out of 100 points in the selection criteria scoring system
- Applicants (and any accompanying family members) also have to provide a clean criminal record
- They (and any accompanying family members) will have to have an immigration medical examination
- They must show evidence of sufficient funds to be able to support themselves (and possibly their family) while residing in Canada
The selection criteria and their maximum scores for self-employed persons are the following:
| Category | Maximum score |
|---|---|
| Experience | 35 |
| Education | 25 |
| Language skills | 24 |
| Age | 10 |
| Adaptability | 6 |
| Total | 100 |
Experience – 35 points maximum
With the minimum of two years of relevant experience, you are already guaranteed a score of 20 points. For each additional year of experience, you will receive five additional points, up to a maximum of 35 points.
Education – 25 points maximum
Having completed high school will grant you 5 points.
Higher education levels come with higher points assigned to them. For example, if you have a two-year diploma or apprenticeship and 14 years of full-time study completed, you qualify for 20 points in this category.
To reach the maximum of 25 points, you will have to have a Master’s degree or Ph.D. and at least 17 years of full-time study under your belt.
Language skills – 24 points maximum
To prove your language proficiency, you will have to arrange a language test at a designated agency.
You can decide if you wish to prove your command over the English or the French language. The language you pick will become your first official language, the other one will become your second official language.
There are four different aspects, on which your language skills will be evaluated: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Age – 10 points maximum
If you are between 21 and 49 years of age, you are guaranteed to score the maximum of 10 points.
The farther your age strays from this window (in both directions), the small your score will be.
Adaptability – 6 points maximum
This category is based on multiple sub-categories:
- You will receive 5 points, if you or your spouse have family in Canada, who are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
- You will receive 5 points, if you or your spouse have completed a full-time, post-secondary study program of at least two years duration in Canada.
- You will receive 5 points, if you or your spouse have completed at least one year of full-time work on a valid work permit in Canada.
- You will receive between 3 and 5 points, depending on the level of education of your spouse.
For more information on the Self-employed Persons Program, take a look at this website of the Canadian Government.
The Start-up Visa Program
The second option for digital nomads to obtain a permanent residence permit is the Canadian Start-up Visa Program.
This program targets foreign entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas, who wish to make Canada the home base of their business activity. Said business should create new Canadian jobs and be competitive on a global scale.
The advantage of this visa program is, that income and job creation requirements are commonly much lower than with any of the Provincial Nominee Programs.
The fees involved with this program start from $2,075.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the processing time for this program is currently estimated at 12 to 16 months.
Making it still a considerably faster alternative to the Self-employed Persons Program.
The requirements for the Start-up Visa Program are the following:
- Applicants must establish a business in Canada, which they actively manage from within Canada. And an integral parts of the business’ activities have to actually take place in Canada.
- Applicants must also meet at least level 5 of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) in English or French. To prove their proficiency, they will have to arrange a language test at a designated agency.
- They must secure the financial support of a business incubator, get funded by a venture capital fund or an angel investor group
- Applicants will also have to prove sufficient monetary funds to be able to support themselves, when moving to Canada.
The following table shows the funds currently necessary depending on the size of your family:
| Number of family members | Required funds (in USD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $10,400 |
| 2 | $12,950 |
| 3 | $15,900 |
| 4 | $19,300 |
| 5 | $21,900 |
| 6 | $24,700 |
| 7 | $27,500 |
| each additional family member | + $2,800 |
The required funds are updated on a yearly basis.
For more information on the Start-up Visa Program, take a look at this website of the Canadian Government.
The various Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)
Many Canadian provinces have their own immigration programs, built to attract entrepreneurs to the region and create new local jobs.
As such, these programs usually come with specific requirements, to hire a certain minimum number of employees and/or invest certain amounts of money.
The strict job creation requirements and/or net worth specifications make these types of visas often more viable for wealthy, established nomads, who wish to settle down in Canada or at least create one of their home bases here.
However, nomads willing to settle down for a longer period of time might still be able to profit from these programs, as long as they are willing to become employees of a Canadian company for a while.
The Provincial Nominee Program of British Columbia, for example, necessitates that applicants commit to one year of full-time employment in the tech industry.
However, during this year, they are still permitted to keep working remotely with foreign clients and companies, as well as to work on any of their own online presences.
Hence, this program has gained some popularity among emerging, IT-proficient workers and entrepreneurs from abroad, seeing it as a convenient opportunity.
Other prominent regions featuring such programs are Quebec and Alberta.
