Canadian TN Status holder working internationally

[Irregular Joe 0]

Hi there,

I am a Canadian who has a TN Status and am working in the United States. My job will require me to go on business trips to Canada, Mexico and perhaps parts of Europe and Asia.

I understand that American employees at my company would need proper documentation to do any work in Canada. Would I need this documentation myself, since I am a Canadian citizen? Perhaps I would need ADDITIONAL paperwork?

Would the rules differ for working in Mexico? Europe?

Essentially, my question is whether or not I would be treated differently than any of my American coworkers on international business trips.

Thank you for your time!

Edited February 22, 2011 by Irregular Joe

[Krikit 1,164]

Hi there. You may find your answers in the AOS From Work Visas forum, as there are a lot of TN visa holders there. I can't imagine you would need documentation, yourself, since you're a Canadian. I'm a Canadian who lives here as a Permanent Resident but I still travel to Canada to work upon occasion. Sorry if this is not helpful. lol

Welcome to VJ!

Oh.... I forgot to add..... you will need the proper documentation to work in Mexico and Europe.... unless you have citizenship there also.

[Boiler 45,474]

Hi there,

I am a Canadian who has a TN Status and am working in the United States. My job will require me to go on business trips to Canada, Mexico and perhaps parts of Europe and Asia.

I understand that American employees at my company would need proper documentation to do any work in Canada. Would I need this documentation myself, since I am a Canadian citizen? Perhaps I would need ADDITIONAL paperwork?

Would the rules differ for working in Mexico? Europe?

Essentially, my question is whether or not I would be treated differently than any of my American coworkers on international business trips.

Thank you for your time!

Not a problem in Canada, as you are Canadian.

As far as the other countries are concerned that would depend on what you are doing and their visa requirements, I presume your Employer will sort that out.

[HeatDeath 430]

Point of data:

I'm a Canadian citizen and US permanent resident working for a US employer, which is a subsidiary of a Japanese megacorp. Once or twice a year I have to go to Japan to assist in or run trainings for the Japanese employees. The American citizens in my office, and myself as a Canadian, are allowed to enter Japan for up to 90 days at a shot to work for our US employer in Japan, without needing Japanese visas.

OTOH, one of my coworkers is an Albanian citizen and US permanent resident. He does need a visa to enter Japan for work purposes.

Most countries, besides Canada and Mexico, do not acknowledge a US GC. Whether or not they require a visa depends on your country of citizenship, and having a US GC doesn't change anything.

And having US TN status will change even less. They will treat you like any other Canadian, and decide whether you need a visa by the same rule they would use for any other Canadian. I suspect most countries will treat a Canadian basically the same as an American for visa purposes, but it's something you will need to verify personally before each business trip to a new country, if you don't want a nasty surprise upon arrival. If your employer is anything like mine, they won't sort it out for you - they'll make it your responsibility to figure it out.

When I needed to find out if I, unlike my USC coworkers, needed a visa to enter Japan, I called the nearest Japanese consulate in the US. [My employer footed the long distance bill for the phone call. That's about as much "employer figur[ing] it out for you" as you can probably count on.] They verified that Canadians don't need a visa to enter Japan for 90 days to work for a foreign [non-Japanese] employer. So the best place to get the answers you need are the consulates of the countries you will be visiting in the near future. If you call them you should be able to get an English-speaking consular employee who can give you an authoritative answer to the question of visas for Canadians.

Edited March 6, 2011 by HeatDeath