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shamsahmed1
Community Member

A rare situation about restricted countries

Hello!

I was looking at help center's articles and I encountered with this section:

Federal Law restricts Upwork from conducting business with individuals and entities based in certain countries. Businesses or individuals in the following countries are not permitted to register for accounts or utilize our platform: Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, Cuba, Individual nationals of Cuba, Any other country restricted by law (this changes occasionally)

My passport is issued by one of these countries, however, I'm not living in my home country and I'm a student in Canada with a valid student visa and study permit.

I'm wondering that do I'm allowed to work at Upwork? I searched through all the community's topics, it seems nobody has asked it before.

Thanks. 

5 REPLIES 5
prestonhunter
Community Member

Ahmed:

Upwork places no restrictions on users based on where they were born.

 

If you are living in Canada and legally allowed to work on Upwork based on Canadian law, then you are welcome to use Upwork as a freelancer or client regardless of where you were born.

 

If a person (not you, of course - I'm talking about a hypothetical person) said that they live in Canda and have "a valid student visa and study permit," then I might wonder if they are legally allowed to work on Upwork or do any kind of paid work. But that is not for me to decide, as I am not a Canadian official.

Thanks for your answer.

Just for others who may reach to this topic, student permit in Canada allows you to work off-campus max 20 hours per week.

 

However, I was wondering what if I spend a lot of time at UpWork, and someday they ask me to verify my identity. The Visa doesn't include a photo and the only valid ID, that I have, is the passport which is issued by a restricted country, then they simply ban me!

re: "However, I was wandering that what if I spend alot of time at UpWork, and someday day ask me to verify my identity. The Visa doesn't include a photo and the only valid ID that I have is passport which is issued by a restricted country!"

 

Then it sounds like you will want to obtain government-issued ID issued by Canada or a a local jurisdiction, such as a province. Just in case.

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Ahmed, 


It would be best toget in touch with a local advisor to confirm if you are eligible to work on Upwork with your current visa status. This is to ensure that you abide by the laws in the country where you are currently residing. 


~ Avery
Upwork

Hi Avery,

Thank you for your consideration.

Actually, there is no any problem with the laws in the Canada and I'm allowed to work with my current status. My question specifically is for Upwork's side, not the side of Canada's laws . In the case that Upwork asks my passport to verify my identity. I want to make sure that, in my case, am I allowed to work at Upwork "according to the Upwork's policy".

Thanks.

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