CUSMA professional work permits

What the category covers

Chapter 16 of CUSMA facilitates temporary entry for business people. It replaced NAFTA on 1 July 2020, and the professional category is its most used stream. Applications are assessed under paragraph 204(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, within the International Mobility Program, under administrative code T36. The code was T23 before IRCC renumbered the exemption codes, and older material still refers to these as NAFTA professional permits.

No Labour Market Impact Assessment is required, so there is no advertising requirement and no recruitment test. What replaces it is a documentary burden on the applicant: the profession must be on the list, the credentials must match what the list requires, and the work in Canada must be professional-level work in that field.

Who qualifies

• Citizenship of the United States or Mexico. Permanent residence in either country is not enough
• An occupation listed in Appendix 2 of the agreement
• Qualification in that profession, by the degree or credential the list specifies
• Pre-arranged employment with a Canadian employer, by contract of employment or by a contract between the applicant's American or Mexican employer and a Canadian enterprise
• Professional-level services in the field of qualification
• Compliance with the general requirements for temporary entry to Canada

The listed professions

Appendix 2 lists 63 professions in four groups, each with its own minimum education requirement or alternative credential. The general group includes accountant, architect, computer systems analyst, economist, engineer, graphic designer, hotel manager, industrial designer, interior designer, land surveyor, landscape architect, lawyer, librarian, management consultant, mathematician including statistician and actuary, social worker, technical publications writer, urban planner and vocational counsellor.

The medical and allied group includes dentist, dietitian, medical laboratory technologist, nutritionist, occupational therapist, pharmacist, physician for teaching or research only, physiotherapist, psychologist, recreational therapist, registered nurse and veterinarian. The scientist group covers fields from agriculture and animal science through biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, pharmacology and physics. The teacher group covers college, seminary and university teachers.

Documents

• Proof of American or Mexican citizenship
• Proof of the education or credential the list requires: degrees, diplomas, professional licences, accreditation or registration
• An offer of employment submitted by the Canadian employer through the Employer Portal, with the compliance fee paid
• A detailed description of the work to be performed in Canada
• Supporting evidence of qualification where it helps: reference letters, a letter of support from the company, job descriptions showing the level of training, years of experience, and publications or awards where relevant

The self-employment limit

The professional category does not permit self-employment in Canada. If the Canadian enterprise offering the employment is substantially controlled by the applicant, entry under this category is not available, and that is true whether the business is a sole proprietorship or a corporation that the applicant controls.

Being self-employed outside Canada is not itself a bar. An American consultant with their own practice can be admitted to perform services pre-arranged with a Canadian client, provided the Canadian enterprise is at arm's length. Where the owner of a business genuinely needs to work in their own Canadian company, the C11 category is the one to consider instead.

Where to apply

American citizens do not need a temporary resident visa and may apply for the work permit at a port of entry, which is why CUSMA professional permits are often issued the same day at an airport or land border. Applying online before travelling is also available and is the safer course where the credentials are unusual, the job title does not map neatly onto the listed profession, or there is any history of refusal.

An application may be made from within Canada where the Regulations allow it, for example by someone who already holds valid status here.

Duration and renewals

An initial permit may be issued for up to three years. Extensions may be issued in increments of up to three years, and there is no limit on the number of extensions, so long as the requirements continue to be met. There is, however, a limit in substance: the officer must remain satisfied that the employment is temporary and that the category is not being used to avoid the usual immigration routes. A professional who has renewed several times and intends to stay should be looking at permanent residence rather than another extension.

Where files go wrong

• The role is described in language that does not match the listed profession, or spans several occupations
• The credential does not meet what the list specifies for that profession, and no alternative credential is addressed
• The arrangement is, in substance, self-employment through a Canadian company the applicant controls
• The offer of employment was never submitted through the Employer Portal, or its details differ from the application
• The duties described are not at a professional level, or belong to a related but unlisted occupation
• Repeated renewals with no end point, which raises the question of whether the stay is temporary

A refusal at a port of entry is recorded and will be visible on later applications, so the first attempt is worth preparing properly, particularly where the fit with the listed profession requires explanation.

This page is general information about Canadian immigration law and is current as of the date of publication. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Program requirements change, and every application turns on its own facts.

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