Intra Company Transfer
International Mobility Program (IMP) allows high-skilled foreign workers to temporarily work in Canada as an Intra-Company Transferee (ICT). If an international company has a location (branch, subsidiary, or affiliate) in Canada that company can transfer their employee to the Canadian location. Employers bringing international staff to Canada as intra-company transferees are exempt from the requirement to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) as they provide significant economic benefit to Canada through the transfer of their expertise to Canadian businesses. Intra-company transferees may be from any country.
Intra-Company transfer categories
Under the Intra-Company transfer program, foreign workers must fall into one of three defined categories (executive, senior manager, and worker with specialized knowledge).
Executive
- Directs the management of the organization or a major component or function of the organization.
- Establishes the goals and policies of the organization, component, or function.
- Exercises wide latitude in discretionary decision-making.
- Receives only general supervision or direction from higher level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the organization/company.
Senior Manager
- Manages the organization/company, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization
- Has the authority to hire and fire or recommend those, as well as other, personnel actions (such as promotion and leave authorization); if no other employee is directly supervised, functions at a senior level within the organization hierarchy or with respect to the function managed.
- Exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has the authority.
Specialized Knowledge
A position having “specialized knowledge” requires both proprietary knowledge and advanced expertise.
Proprietary Knowledge: “company-specific expertise related to a company’s product or services. It implies that the company has not divulged specifications that would allow other companies to duplicate the product or service.”
Advanced Expertise: “specialized knowledge gained through significant (i.e., the longer the experience, the more likely the knowledge is indeed “specialized”) and recent (i.e., within the last 5 years) experience with the organization and used by the individual to contribute significantly to the employer’s productivity.
Work Permit Duration
The initial work permit is usually granted for 1 year. In certain cases, the IRCC may issue a work permit for 2 years, provided that the company in Canada is a subsidiary of the established foreign company.
The work permit can be renewed several times (for 2-3 years at a time and up to 7 years in total) provided that all the requirements of the program are met (such as having an office in Canada, employing at least 1 staff member who is a Canadian permanent resident or citizen and active business in both Canada and the home country).