Canada In-house Services
Canadian Immigration Details:
Canada is a highly desirable immigration target due to its proximity to the United States, western culture, and shared English language. The Canadian immigration landscape is vast, with hundreds of options marred with complexity. Immigration policy can also change rapidly. We are committed to navigating this complex immigration landscape and consistently achieving successful results on your behalf.
Working Authorization
Anyone entering Canada to work must obtain work authorization if engaging in work. “Work” is defined as an activity for which wages are paid or commission is earned, or that competes directly with the activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labor market.
Intra-company transfer
The Intra-company transfer category allows employers to move personnel from foreign subsidiaries, parent companies, affiliates, and branch offices to the employer’s Canada-based operation to engage in temporary work. The category effectively allows employers to move talent among various entities quickly. To qualify for an Intra-company transfer work permit, the employee must meet specific eligibility requirements, and the Canadian and foreign entities must have a qualifying relationship.
Employee Eligibility Requirements
Must be currently employed by a multi-national company and seeking entry to work in a parent, a subsidiary, a branch, or an affiliate of that enterprise
Are transferring to an enterprise with a qualifying relationship with the enterprise in which they are currently employed and will be undertaking employment at a legitimate and continuing establishment of that company.
Are being transferred to a position in an executive, senior managerial, or specialized knowledge capacity.
Have been employed continuously (via payroll or by contract directly with the company), by the company that plans to transfer them outside Canada in a similar full-time position (not accumulated part-time) for at least one year in the three years immediately preceding the date of initial application
May need to meet the prevailing wage for the occupation in the region they will be working in.
Executives and Senior Managers
“Executive capacity” means an assignment where the employee will:
Direct the management of the Canadian entity or a major component or function of the entity;
Establish goals and policies for the entity or component or function of the entity;
Exercise wide latitude in discretionary decision-making; and,
Receive only general supervision or direction from higher-level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders.
Executives must generally be documented in a ‘00’ National Occupational Classification.
"Managerial capacity" refers to positions where the employee will:
Manage a department, subdivision, function, or component of the Canadian entity;
Supervise other managerial and professional level employees, or manage an "essential function" of the organization in which the employee works;
Exercise authority to hire and fire, or recommend these and other personnel actions; or, if no employees are directly supervised, functions at a senior level within the company; and,
Exercise discretion over the day-to-day operation of the activity or function for which the employee has authority.
Initial Intra-company transfer work permits for employees working at legitimate and continuing companies may be granted for up to three years. For a new business that has existed for less than a year, the initial approval will be granted for one year. Extensions may be sought in two-year increments up to a maximum of seven years.
Specialized Knowledge Workers
The Specialized Knowledge subcategory of the Intra-company transfer is reserved for individual contributors who must possess:
Knowledge at an advanced level of expertise; and
Proprietary knowledge of the company’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, or management.
Advanced Level of Expertise
An advanced level of expertise is demonstrated through specialized knowledge gained through significant and recent experience with the organization and used by the individual to contribute to the employer’s productivity. The longer the experience, the more likely it is specialized. Recent experience is generally gauged as within the previous five years.
Advanced Proprietary Knowledge
An applicant can demonstrate their advanced proprietary knowledge through:
Uncommon knowledge of the host company’s products or services and its their application in international markets; or
An advanced level of expertise or knowledge of the enterprise’s processes and procedures, such as its production, research, equipment, techniques, or management.
When assessing expertise or knowledge, officers consider:
Abilities that are unusual and different from those generally found in a particular industry and that cannot be easily transferred to another individual in the short-termshort term;
The knowledge or expertise must be highly unusual both within the industry and within the host firm;
It must be of a nature such that the applicant’s proprietary knowledge is critical to the business of the Canadian branch, and a significant disruption of business would occur without the applicant’s expertise; and
The applicant’s proprietary knowledge of a particular business process or methods of operation must be unusual, not widespread across the organization, and not likely to be available in the Canadian labour market.
Global Talent Stream
The Global Talent Stream is a program designed to fast-track the applications of foreign nationals in various technology and digital design fields. In exchange for fast-tracking foreign employees, the sponsoring company must make specific economic commitments to the Canadian government.
A sponsoring company will either need to work with a designated referral partner (see Category A below), or will need to have the position fall within a designated occupation (see Category B below).
Category A
For Category A of the Global Talent Stream, an innovative company must be referred by one1 of the Stream’s designated referral partners because the requested position requires unique and specialized talent to help the firm scale up and grow. A list of referral partners can be found here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/global-talent/requirements.html#h13.
To be eligible for Category A, a designated referral partner must validate that a company meets the following eligibility criteria at the time of each referral to ESDC:
Is operating in Canada
Has a focus on innovation
Has a willingness, and is capable of growing or scaling up
Is seeking to fill a unique and specialized position in the company, and
Has identified a qualified foreign worker for potential hire into that unique and specialized position
A unique and specialized position is indicated by:
At least $38.46 per hour ($80,000 annual base salary), or equivalent to the prevailing wage for the occupation if it is higher. Note that employers must offer the equivalent of both the hourly wage rate and annual base salary at a minimum, and
Advanced knowledge of the industry, and
Advanced degree in an area of specialization of interest to the employer, and a minimum of 5 years of experience in the field of specialized experience
Category B
The employee’s role must fall within one of the specified occupations in the Global Talent Occupations list below and must also meet the designated prevailing wage. Importantly, the Global Talent Stream does not contemplate most management occupations and occupations in monetization.
Insert Category B occupations chart: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/global-talent/requirements.html#h14
Requirement for a Labour Market Benefits Plan
The sponsoring company will work with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to develop a Labour Market Benefits Plan that demonstrates your commitment to activities that will have lasting, positive impacts on the Canadian labour market. A sponsoring entity must commit to one mandatory benefit and several complementary benefits.
A sponsoring company seeking to hire unique and specialized talent under Category If must commit to creating jobs for Canadians and permanent residents as a mandatory benefit.
Suppose a sponsoring company is seeking to hire highly-skilled foreign workers to fill positions in occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List (Category B). In that case, it must commit to increasing skills and training investments for Canadians and permanent residents as a mandatory benefit.
C-10 Significant Benefit
The C-10 Significant Benefit category provides a work permit to individuals who provide significant economic, cultural, or social benefits to Canada.
“Significant” includes but is not limited to an assessment of how the work of the foreign national will provide
General economic support for Canada (such as job creation, development in a regional or remote setting, or expansion of export markets for Canadian products and services)
Advancement of a Canadian industry (such as technological development, product or service innovation, or opportunities for improving the skills of Canadians)
Increased health and well-being, meaning the physical and mental health of society either pan-Canada or regionally
Increased tolerance, knowledge, or opportunities to come together with others of similar culture
Economic benefit considerations
Economic benefits are benefits that would contribute to the company’s growth, expansion, or continuation and that have fiscal benefits and allow for the competitive advantage of Canada’s business community.
There should be documented evidence that the work of the foreign national will provide a significant economic benefit to Canada by:
Preventing the disruption of employment for Canadians or permanent residents
Using their considerable work experience in negotiating and concluding business transactions that would benefit the Canadian economy
Advancing Canadian industry through market expansion, job creation, and product or service innovation
Preventing a disruption to a major Canadian event with implications for jobs or growth
Creating employment or training opportunities for Canadian citizens, people registered as an Indian under the Indian Act, or permanent residents
Providing economic stimulus in remote area
Social benefit considerations
The foreign national’s work will provide significant external benefits to other third parties not directly involved in the transaction.
This could be evidence that the foreign national’s work will assist in:
Addressing health and safety threats to Canadians or permanent residents
Promoting the improvement of a community’s image and pride, and a boost in local investments in heritage resources and amenities that support tourism services
Developing products that will assist in improving environmental considerations
Strengthening social inclusion in communities
Cultural benefit considerations
Culture is defined in the Canadian Framework for Culture Statistics as creative artistic activity and the goods and services produced by it, and the preservation of heritage.
In addition to its intrinsic value, culture provides important social and economic benefits. With improved learning and health, increased tolerance, and opportunities to come together with others, culture enhances our quality of life and increases overall well-being for both individuals and communities.
This could be evidence that the foreign national’s work will provide a significant cultural benefit to Canada because they:
have been the recipient of national or international awards or patents
are a member of an organization requiring excellence of its members
have been a member of a peer review panel or an authority to judge the work of others
have been recognized for achievements and significant contributions to their field by peers, governmental organizations, or professional or business associations
have made scientific or scholarly contributions to their field
have publications in academic or industry publications
have been in a leading role in an organization with a distinguished reputation
are renowned for their artistic and cultural endeavours
Labor Market Impact Assessment
The Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requires a company to test the Canadian labor market to ensure there are no Canadians or permanent residents who can do the job and to show a need for a foreign worker to fill the job.
The requirements for an LMIA depend on the wage being offered for the position. Information concerning wages can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/median-wage.html.
High Wage Stream
A sponsoring company offering a wage to a foreign worker at or above the provincial or territorial median hourly wage can apply under the High Wage Stream. The sponsoring company will need to evidence business legitimacy and meet minimum recruitment requirements, which include:
Advertising on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank; and
At least two additional methods of recruitment that are consistent with the occupation and target an audience with the appropriate education, professional experience, or skill level required for the occupation.
Low Wage Stream
A sponsoring company offering a wage to a foreign worker below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage can apply under the Low Wage Stream. The sponsoring company will need to evidence business legitimacy and meet minimum recruitment requirements, which include:
Advertising on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank; and
At least two additional methods of recruitment that are consistent with the occupation and target an audience with the appropriate education, professional experience, or skill level required for the occupation.
Employers sponsoring workers under the Low Wage Stream must also:
Pay for the round-trip transportation costs for temporary foreign workers to arrive at their work location in Canada at the beginning of their work permit, at to return to their country of residence at the end of their work permit;
Provide suitable and affordable housing for the foreign worker;
Ensure that the foreign workers are covered by private, provincial, or territorial health insurance from the first day they arrive in Canada; and
Prepare an employment contract to ensure all parties are aware of their rights and obligations.
C-16 Mobilité Francophone
The Mobilité Francophone category provides a work permit avenue for individuals whose habitual language of daily use is French. The individual applying needs to qualify for work in a National Occupational Classification (NOC) that is either a skill level ‘0’, ‘A’, or ‘B’. There must also be a sponsoring employer in Canada that files an offer of employment on the individual’s behalf. Notably, the place of work must be outside of Quebec. The individual does not need to use the French language in their role.
Short Term Work Permit Exemption
This category permits work in Canada without a work permit for either 15 days in a 6-month period or 30 days in a 12-month period. The applicant needs to work in a National Occupational Classification (NOC) that is either a skill level ‘0’ or ‘A’. The Short Term Work Permit Exemption is a good category to utilize where an individual only requires work authorization for a short period in Canada, or where the individual’s activities in Canada straddle business and work activities. It is often a good alternative to entry as a business visitor where the activities in Canada fall beyond those authorized by the business visitor provisions.
Business Travel
Individuals can enter Canada as Business Visitors to engage in meetings, intra-company training, and commercial transactions where the activities do not compete with Canadians in the Canadian labor market, and the business activity is international in scope.
Appropriate Business Visitor Activities
Attendance at business meetings, trade shows, and conferences
Negotiating contracts
Meeting business acquaintances
Receiving training from a Canadian parent or subsidiary of a foreign company
Engaging in business transactions
Activities that are not acceptable for Business Visitor status.
Any “work” is not permitted as a business visitor entering Canada. “Work” is defined as an activity for which wages are paid or commission is earned, or that competes directly with the activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labor market. Some examples include:
Self-employment
Engaging in local work for hire
Unpaid work experience such as an internship or volunteer work
Performing repairs to otherwise fulfill a contract even if the individual will not be paid directly by the Canadian company for whom they are doing the work
Entering Canada as a Business Visitor on an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)
Not all foreign nationals are required to obtain a visa before entry into Canada as business visitors. Nationals of certain countries need only apply for an eTA online before entry by air to Canada. The Government of Canada maintains an up-to-date list of visa-exempt countries, which is subject to change at any time https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/entry-requirements-country.html.
Permanent Residence
Canada has approximately 80 permanent residence programs at the federal and provincial levels. Selection of an appropriate program can depend on several factors, including province of residence, family members in Canada, work experience, occupation, and age, among others. We have compiled a basic chart below with a non-exhaustive summary of permanent residence programs.
Contingency Planning
Goeschl Law Corporation has a contingency planning practice helping individuals with expiring visa status in the United States or elsewhere relocate to Canada. We work with clients to strategize the best option to enter Canada and obtain any required work authorization. We understand the critical nature of uprooting and design a contingency plan that ensures a timely and smooth entry to Canada with as little impact on an individual’s livelihood and family as possible. Out services include:
Working with multi-national employers on utilizing their Canadian entity to support candidates with expiring status abroad
Finding the best work permit option based on a full candidate assessment
Early planning and process trajectory
Complex planning support involving multi-country strategy
Immigration Consultations
We offer individual clients hourly consultations in all areas of business and investment-based immigration. For more information, please contact our office at 415-805-3900.