Work permits under the International Mobility Program

Two routes to a work permit

A foreign national working in Canada normally needs a work permit, and there are two ways to obtain one. Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the employer first applies to Employment and Social Development Canada for a Labour Market Impact Assessment, a process that involves advertising the position and showing that no Canadian or permanent resident is available for it.

Under the International Mobility Program, no assessment is required, because the work is considered to serve a broader Canadian interest or is covered by an international agreement. These are the categories that matter most to employers moving people into Canada, and they are generally faster. Each one has its own eligibility rules and its own administrative code, which IRCC uses to identify the stream.

Intra-company transfers

An intra-company transfer moves an existing employee from a company abroad to a related company in Canada. It is the route most multinational groups use, and it does not depend on the labour market test.

What has to be established

• The employee currently works for an enterprise outside Canada in an executive, managerial or specialized knowledge capacity
• That enterprise has a qualifying relationship with the Canadian entity as parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate
• The employee has worked for the foreign enterprise full time in a similar position for at least one year within the three years before the application
• The transfer is temporary and in the same capacity, and the position abroad remains available on return
• The Canadian enterprise is actively doing business, or will be if the transfer is to establish a new one
• The work will generate significant economic, social or cultural benefit, or opportunities for Canadians and permanent residents

How long the permit lasts

Category	Code	Maximum total stay
Executives, senior or functional managers	C62	7 years
Specialized knowledge workers	C63	5 years
Employees starting a branch or affiliate	C61	1 year initially, then the cap for the category
CUSMA executives and senior managers	T37	3 years initially, 2-year renewals, 7 years total
CUSMA specialized knowledge workers	T38	3 years initially, 2-year renewals, 5 years total

Time away from the Canadian enterprise during a permit, such as parental leave, can be recaptured so that the employee has the full five or seven years of actual work in Canada.

Where applications run into trouble

A file that establishes the corporate relationship on paper can still be refused if the Canadian operation looks like a plan rather than a business. Start-up transfers draw the closest scrutiny: officers look for premises, funds that have actually reached Canada, customers or contracts, a realistic staffing plan, and a clear explanation of what the transferee will do and why the role exists now. Specialized knowledge files turn on the knowledge itself, which must be genuinely uncommon within the industry rather than simply useful to the employer.

C11 entrepreneurs and owner-operators

C11 covers a business owner who is coming to Canada temporarily to operate their own business. It is used by founders opening a Canadian operation and by owners buying an existing business.

• The applicant must control at least 51 percent of the business. A smaller stake means applying as an employee instead, which usually means an assessment or another category
• The work must bring a significant economic, social or cultural benefit to Canada, assessed over the life of the permit rather than years later
• Business funds must be available and separate from the funds supporting the applicant and family
• The stay must be temporary, with a plan that does not depend on remaining in Canada indefinitely

The evidence that carries weight is concrete and already in existence at the time of filing: a signed lease, equipment orders, supplier or customer agreements, a Canadian bank account that has been funded, and quotes for the first hires with wages attached. Five-year projections support that evidence; they do not replace it.

C10 significant benefit

C10 is the general significant benefit category, used where the work will bring a clear benefit to Canada but no other exemption fits. It is discretionary and evidence-driven, and it is often the right category for a specialist whose contribution is documented by professional recognition, published work, letters from Canadian institutions or the economic effect of the project they are joining.

Free trade agreement permits

Canada's trade agreements open work permit categories to citizens of the partner countries. The categories vary by agreement, but most cover professionals in listed occupations, intra-company transfers, and in some cases traders and investors. None of them require a Labour Market Impact Assessment.

Agreement	Category	Code
CUSMA (United States, Mexico)	Professionals	T36
CUSMA	Traders	T34
CUSMA	Investors	T35
CUSMA	Intra-company transferees	T37, T38
CKFTA (Korea)	Contractual service suppliers and independent professionals	F32
CETA (European Union)	Independent professionals	T43
CPTPP	Professionals and technicians	T52
GATS (WTO members)	Professionals	T33
Canada-United Kingdom	Independent professionals	F60
Chile, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Ukraine	Professionals and technicians	F22, F12, F52, F42, F72

Citizenship of the partner country is what counts, not residence. A Korean citizen working in the United States is considered under the Canada-Korea agreement, not under CUSMA.

Read more about CUSMA professional work permits →

What the employer must do

An exemption from the labour market test is not an exemption from employer obligations. For most of these categories the Canadian employer submits an offer of employment through the Employer Portal before the worker applies, pays the employer compliance fee, and receives an offer of employment number that the worker quotes in the application.

After the permit is issued, the employer must provide the wages, working conditions and occupation set out in the offer, keep records for six years, and be able to produce them during an inspection. Employers found non-compliant can face monetary penalties and a period of ineligibility to hire foreign workers, and their names are published. Getting the offer of employment right at the outset is the least expensive point at which to address this.

How we help

We advise on which category fits the role and the company, prepare the offer of employment and the supporting evidence, respond to procedural fairness letters, and bring applications for judicial review in the Federal Court where a refusal warrants it. We also act on the corporate side of the same project, including incorporating the Canadian entity and preparing the agreements that a transfer or an acquisition requires.

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.