A British man in Edmonton on a tourist visa has reportedly been booted out of the country after being accused of breaking the rules by helping his girlfriend do repairs in her apartment for free.

According to the Daily Mirror, Tom Rolfe, 24, was accused of working illegally after immigration officials found pictures of him helping his Edmonton girlfriend, Sam Edwards, 27, fill cracks in the walls of her apartment.

Reports say Rolfe, originally from Abergavenny, South Wales, was in Canada on a tourist visa when he and his girlfriend travelled to Montana and immediately turned back so that Rolfe’s application for a resident’s permit could be processed while going through immigration control at the border.

It is said the pair were held in separate rooms for three hours as immigration officials scoured their car and belongings, discovering pictures of Rolfe patching up cracks in his girlfriend’s walls.

While Rolfe was doing this as an unpaid favour for Edwards, it is still against immigration rules to perform any work that a Canadian could be employed with while visiting with a tourist visa.

Rolfe left the country on Wednesday, heading for Bristol, England, and was allegedly told he would have to stay out of Canada for 28 months before he can return.

Edwards is said to be following him in a few months time with their two dogs.

claire.theobald@sunmedia.ca