According to section of 205(a) of Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), a work permit may be issued to a foreign national who intends to perform work that would create or maintain significant social, cultural or economic benefits or opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents. In other words, here Canada is looking for Canadian interests.

 

To be eligible under this category as Intra Company transferee (ICT), all applicants must:

• be currently employed in an executive (TEER 0) / managerial (TEER 1) capacity * , or specialized knowledge  capacity **  by an enterprise of a multinational corporation (MNC) *** outside of Canada;
• the enterprise outside of Canada must be doing business in Canada or will be doing business in Canada if the applicant intends to establish a new qualifying enterprise*.
• have been in continuous employment at the foreign enterprise of an MNC, in a similar position outside Canada, for at least 1 year of full-time position in the previous 3-year period from the date of initial application.
• be transferring for a temporary period in the same capacity (executive / managerial / specialized knowledge) from the foreign enterprise of an MNC to the Canadian enterprise:
• their position in the foreign enterprise must remain available for them to return to at the end of their assignment in Canada
• be transferring to a Canadian enterprise that
• has the qualifying relationship of parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate of their current employer
• is actively engaged in the business in respect of which the offer is made. Both the Canadian and the foreign enterprise of the MNC must continue to exist and operate for the duration of the intra-company transferee’s intended stay in Canada.
• comply with all immigration requirements for temporary residence

Applicants must demonstrate that their work will provide significant economic, social, or cultural advantages or opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents during the validity term of the work permit application.

Important: Foreign nationals seeking to enter Canada to establish a new business but are transferring from an enterprise outside of Canada that is not an MNC, are not eligible under the ICT category.

 

* Administrative codes:

Executives and managers (administrative code C62)

Specialized knowledge workers (administrative code C63)

Establish a branch, subsidiary or affiliate enterprise (administrative code C61)

 

** Definition of specialized knowledge (Administrative code C63): An employee with specialized knowledge possesses both advanced proprietary knowledge and an advanced level of expertise. Advanced proprietary knowledge alone or advanced expertise alone, does not qualify the foreign national for this work permit category.

*** MNC is a company that has business operations in at least 1 country other than its home country that generates revenue beyond its borders. However, when assessing an ICT work permit application, officers must ensure that the foreign enterprise is that of an existing MNC with revenue generating operations in at least 2 countries before establishing an enterprise in Canada.

 

Disclaimer: The above writing is not intended to be a source of legal advice. Please seek legal advice and use your own good judgement before choosing to act on any information provided above. If you choose to rely on this article, you do so entirely at your own accountability.

If you find any information is untrue or misleading or think you deserve the credit for the write-up, please reach out to me at: [email protected] and I will adjust as per your request when you are right.