Work permits through CETA

The EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CETA) facilitates entry to Canada for certain business visitors, investors, intra-company transferees, contractual service suppliers and independent professionals.

Overview of the CETA

The CETA is a free trade agreement between Canada, the European Union (EU) and the EU member states.

The EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CETA) facilitates entry to Canada for certain eligible persons by removing the requirement to obtain aLabour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)before that person may work lawfully in Canada.

The LMIA process ensures that companies in Canada may only hire international workers where it is established that no Canadian citizen or permanent resident is available and able to take on the role. The LMIA process also carries advertising requirements and processing times.

Being exempt from the LMIA requirement can therefore make the process of coming to Canada for work considerably easier.

Business travel

The EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CETA) allows certain business visitors to enter Canada to work without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

Under the CETA there are 2 categories of business visitor: short-term business visitors and business visitors for investment purposes.

Short-term business visits

The list of activities eligible for business visitors under the CETA differs from that under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). For example, it includes categories for meetings and consultations, as well as training seminars. In addition, the description of after-sales service also covers after-lease service.

The activities listed below apply to short-term business visitors from an EU member state entering Canada.

• Meetings and consultations:Individuals attending meetings or conferences, or taking part in consultations with business associates.
• Research and design:technical, scientific and statistical researchers conducting independent research or research for an enterprise established in the territory of the other Party. This means that the applicant will carry out research in Canada for an enterprise headquartered in an EU member state.
• Marketing research:market researchers and analysts conducting research or analysis for an enterprise established in the territory of the other Party. This means that the applicant will carry out research or analysis in Canada for an enterprise headquartered in an EU member state.
• Training seminars:personnel of an enterprise entering the territory of the other country to receive training in techniques and work practices, employed by companies or organisations in that Party, provided that the training is limited to observation, familiarisation and classroom instruction.
• Trade fairs and exhibitions:staff attending a trade fair for the purpose of promoting their company or its products or services.
• Sales:representatives of a service or goods supplier taking orders or negotiating the sale of services or goods, or entering into agreements to sell services or goods for that supplier, but not delivering the goods or supplying the services themselves. Short-term business visitors do not engage in direct sales to the general public.
• Purchasing:buyers purchasing goods or services for an enterprise, or management and supervisory staff, engaging in a commercial transaction carried out in the territory of the other Party.
• After-sales or after-lease service:installation, repair and maintenance personnel, and supervisors, possessing the specialised knowledge essential to a seller’s contractual obligation, supplying services or training workers to supply services, under a warranty or other service contract relating to the sale or lease of commercial or industrial equipment or machinery, including computer software, purchased or leased from an enterprise established outside the territory of the Party into which temporary entry is sought, for the duration of the warranty or service contract.
• Commercial transactions:management and supervisory staff and financial services personnel (including insurance, banking and investment brokerage) engaging in a commercial transaction for an enterprise established in the territory of the other Party.
• Tourism personnel:travel and tourism agents, tour guides or tour operators attending or participating in a conference, or accompanying a tour that has begun in the territory of the other Party.
• Translation and interpretation:translators or interpreters supplying services as employees of an enterprise established in the territory of the other Party. This means that the applicant will translate or interpret in Canada for an enterprise headquartered in an EU member state.

The limits on business visitor eligibility under the CETA are that a short-term business visitor must not:

• Engage in selling goods or services to the general public.
• Receive remuneration, directly or indirectly, from a source in Canada.
• Engage in supplying services other than those listed directly above, under “short-term business visitors”.

Business visits for investment purposes

The CETA also contains provisions on the temporary entry of business visitors for investment purposes.

A business visitor for investment purposes is an employee in a managerial or specialist position responsible for setting up an enterprise, who does not engage in direct transactions with the general public and will not receive remuneration, directly or indirectly, from a source in Canada.

Maximum length of stay in Canada

The maximum length of stay for short-term business visitors and business visitors for investment purposes is 90 days in any 6-month period, unless they qualify for a different period.

All CETA business visitors may seek entry to Canada for a number of periodic visits relating to a specific project. These visits may take place over a period of several weeks or months.

Intra-company transferees

Under the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CETA), individuals may transfer to work in Canada within the same company without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

The CETA provisions on intra-company transferees are similar to the existingIntra-company transfers (ICT)programme, with the addition of graduate trainees. Senior personnel and specialists may also transfer to Canada without an LMIA.

Under the CETA, all intra-company transferees must:

• Have been employed by, or been a partner in, an enterprise in an EU member state for at least 1 year.
• Be transferred temporarily to an enterprise (which may be a subsidiary, branch or parent company of that enterprise) in Canada.

Graduate trainee applicants must also:

• Hold a university degree.
• Be transferred temporarily to an enterprise in Canada for the purpose of career development or to obtain training in business techniques or methods.

Senior personnel and specialists

Senior personnel under the CETA correspond to the “executive” position. Specialists correspond to the “specialised knowledge” employee provisions under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

The length of stay is the shorter of 3 years or the duration of the contract, with the possibility of an extension of up to 18 months at the discretion of the processing officer, if the applicant can supply documents satisfying the officer of the need to extend their stay.

Trainees

The length of stay is the shorter of 1 year or the duration of the contract.

No extension is available to graduate trainees applying under this same category and exemption.

Investors

Under the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CETA), eligible investors may stay in Canada for 1 year without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

The CETA investor provisions apply to applicants who:

• Will establish, develop or manage the operation of an investment in a supervisory or executive capacity.
• Are investors.
• Are employed by an enterprise that has committed, or is in the process of committing, a substantial amount of capital.

The investor provisions listed under the CETA key personnel category are similar to those found in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The period of stay is one year, renewable at the discretion of the processing officer, provided the applicant can supply documentation satisfying the Government immigration officer as to the need to extend their stay.

Contractual service suppliers and independent professionals

Under the provisions of the EU – Canada Free Trade Agreement (CETA), certain contractual service suppliers and independent professionals may work in Canada without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

Under CETA, applicants in both categories may stay in Canada for a cumulative period of no more than 12 months in any 24-month period, or for the duration of the contract, whichever is shorter.

Applicants in both categories must:

• Be a citizen of a European Union (EU) member state.
• Be engaged in the temporary supply of a service for a period of no more than 12 months (where the contract runs longer than 12 months, the CETA commitments apply only to the first 12 months of the contract).
• Be contracted to supply a service under the terms set out in CETA.

Applicants must have:

• A university degree or a qualification demonstrating knowledge of an equivalent level.
• Professional qualifications where these are required to practise an activity under the law or requirements of the province or territory in which the service is supplied.

Certain categories of engineering and scientific technicians qualify for entry to Canada as professionals without a university degree.

Specific criteria for contractual service suppliers

A contractual service supplier is an employee of a European Union (EU) enterprise that holds a contract to supply a service to a Canadian consumer. The EU enterprise must not have an establishment in Canada.

In addition to the general criteria listed above, as a contractual service supplier the applicant must also:

• Be engaged in the temporary supply of a service as an employee of an enterprise that has signed a service contract;
• Have been employed by the EU-based enterprise for at least one year before the date of application;
• Have three years of professional experience in the sector of activity that is the subject of the contract at the date of application; and
• Receive no remuneration for the supply of the service other than the remuneration paid by the enterprise employing the contractual service supplier during the stay in Canada.

Specific criteria for independent professionals

An independent professional is a self-employed professional who holds a contract to supply a service to a Canadian consumer.

In addition to the general criteria listed above, as an independent professional the applicant must also:

• Be engaged in the temporary supply of a service as a self-employed person; and
• Have at least six years of professional experience in the sector of activity that is the subject of the contract at the date of the application for entry to Canada.

Service sectors

A contractual service supplier or independent professional may benefit from facilitated entry into the Canadian labour market if their work falls within one of the following sectors or sub-sectors:

Read more about the Work Permit through CETA on the Government website athere.