Canadians working remotely for USA-based companies
April 25, 2022 8:03 PM Subscribe
How difficult is it to get a job for an American company, as a Canadian?
I am a Canadian communications professional. In order to expand my job search, I am curious to know how feasible it would be for me to find a remote job for an American company (preferably software/IT since I have worked in this field before). I would also be interested in working for a European company if they would have me. Any information or anecdotal data would be appreciated. Would I need a work visa? Are companies generally willing to jump through the necessary hoops/paperwork to onboard Canadians?
I am a Canadian communications professional. In order to expand my job search, I am curious to know how feasible it would be for me to find a remote job for an American company (preferably software/IT since I have worked in this field before). I would also be interested in working for a European company if they would have me. Any information or anecdotal data would be appreciated. Would I need a work visa? Are companies generally willing to jump through the necessary hoops/paperwork to onboard Canadians?
From my understanding, the employer would either need to have or establish a business entity in Canada to directly employ you as a regular employee.
Well yes, sort of, but not necessarily. The way this is done for a small group of hires is through a PEO or EOR (professional employer organization/employer of record). I'd guess these are becoming more common now that employers have lost their local choke hold on (in particular) highly skilled tech workers and folks are negotiating remote work in their place of choice. It's probably not a bad thing to be looking into right now.
Basically what a PEO does is be that business entity for the company you actually work for. So technically on paper you'd be an employee of PEO, Inc and a contract worker of USA, LLC, but these things are set up so that for all intents and purposes you're a direct employee of USA, LLC. Your paychecks and taxes just have your employer of record listed as PEO, Inc. A PEO makes their money by being the employer of record for hundreds and thousands of companies doing just this.
So anyway, let's say you're a US based company that wants to break into the Canadian market and your lone Canadian sales person needs some support staff. What does the US company do, not knowing the first thing about hiring in Canada? They go to their PEO for recruiting help, because if the PEO is smart they're also going to have a recruiting side of their business.
What you should do is some googling to find the biggest/most trusted/most SEO friendly PEOs that do business in Canada for US companies, and then seek out their recruiting departments. I don't know quite what this looks like on the employee/job seeker side, but it's your quickest way to narrow the gap between you and a US employer.
posted by phunniemee at 5:12 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Well yes, sort of, but not necessarily. The way this is done for a small group of hires is through a PEO or EOR (professional employer organization/employer of record). I'd guess these are becoming more common now that employers have lost their local choke hold on (in particular) highly skilled tech workers and folks are negotiating remote work in their place of choice. It's probably not a bad thing to be looking into right now.
Basically what a PEO does is be that business entity for the company you actually work for. So technically on paper you'd be an employee of PEO, Inc and a contract worker of USA, LLC, but these things are set up so that for all intents and purposes you're a direct employee of USA, LLC. Your paychecks and taxes just have your employer of record listed as PEO, Inc. A PEO makes their money by being the employer of record for hundreds and thousands of companies doing just this.
So anyway, let's say you're a US based company that wants to break into the Canadian market and your lone Canadian sales person needs some support staff. What does the US company do, not knowing the first thing about hiring in Canada? They go to their PEO for recruiting help, because if the PEO is smart they're also going to have a recruiting side of their business.
What you should do is some googling to find the biggest/most trusted/most SEO friendly PEOs that do business in Canada for US companies, and then seek out their recruiting departments. I don't know quite what this looks like on the employee/job seeker side, but it's your quickest way to narrow the gap between you and a US employer.
posted by phunniemee at 5:12 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
This related question from last year is on point.
In that one, a Canadian who was already working for a US college wanted to work remotely from Canada instead. To do this and remain compliant with Canadian tax law, the usual solution is for you to be paid through a PEO contracted by the company. This does entail a substantial overhead (the numbers cited in that other thread are in the 40-50% range), meaning that either it would cost the company more to give you the same paycheck as other comparable employees, or you'd have to accept less salary than comparable employees. This is mitigated a bit by the fact that they wouldn't have to pay you benefits.
Working as an independent contractor (rather than as an employee) would do an end run around the PEO situation, removing that bureaucratic barrier for a potential employer. The downside of that is that the bureaucracy of remaining compliant with Canadian tax law would then fall on you personally instead.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:19 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
In that one, a Canadian who was already working for a US college wanted to work remotely from Canada instead. To do this and remain compliant with Canadian tax law, the usual solution is for you to be paid through a PEO contracted by the company. This does entail a substantial overhead (the numbers cited in that other thread are in the 40-50% range), meaning that either it would cost the company more to give you the same paycheck as other comparable employees, or you'd have to accept less salary than comparable employees. This is mitigated a bit by the fact that they wouldn't have to pay you benefits.
Working as an independent contractor (rather than as an employee) would do an end run around the PEO situation, removing that bureaucratic barrier for a potential employer. The downside of that is that the bureaucracy of remaining compliant with Canadian tax law would then fall on you personally instead.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:19 AM on April 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
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In my experience, in the states, this is exactly what my employers have done, with the added step that they've often had to establish a per-state entity or account to do so, too.
This article seems to summarize the challenges pretty well, and matches up with my inverse experiences.
I sent you a MeMail with a specific US/Canada cross border company that might already have something set up to accommodate you.
posted by genrand at 8:27 PM on April 25, 2022 [1 favorite]