Work permits through CUSMA
Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), eligible citizens of the United States and Mexico may apply for a work permit in Canada.
Contents
Overview
Work permits under the CUSMA provisions generally do not require a test of the Canadian labour market, also known as aLabour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Although exempt from the LMIA, workers and employers using the CUSMA route must still comply with all rules governing temporary work in Canada.
United States citizens do not need atemporary resident visa (TRV)to enter Canada, and may therefore apply for a CUSMA work permit at a port of entry (for example a border crossing or an airport) or at a visa office, online or on paper.
Canada has recently changed its entry requirements for Mexican citizens, meaning they will need a TRV unless they meet all 3 of the following conditions:
- They enter Canada by air, or transit through Canada to another destination.
- They come to Canada for a short visit (normally up to 6 months).
- They have previously held one of the following: a Canadian visitor, work or study visa within the past 10 years, or they hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa at the time of application and travel.
Those who meet the above conditions may also have a CUSMA work permit application processed at a port of entry.
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Professional workers
Note: Canada, the United States and Mexico signed a modernised North American free trade agreement on 30 November 2018. Under the new agreement, known as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), eligible citizens of the United States and Mexico continue to have access to Canadian work permits.
The CUSMA Professional category is a facilitated work permit category arising from the multilateral agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The CUSMA Professional work permit is facilitated in that Canadian employers are exempt from the requirement to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) before hiring a foreign national.
Depending on the applicant’s occupation, they may be required to provide educational credentials or evidence of work experience in the field.
A CUSMA professional must have arranged employment in Canada, or a contract for services with a Canadian company, in an occupation matching their professional qualifications and falling within one of the eligible CUSMA occupations. Individuals seeking to work on a self-employed basis in Canada are not eligible for this category.
The following requirements apply to CUSMA professionals seeking to work in Canada:
- Be a citizen of the United States or Mexico.
- The occupation is set out in the list below.
- Be qualified to work in that occupation (a degree or certificate in the relevant programme of education).
- Have arranged employment with a Canadian employer.
- Provide services at a professional level in an eligible field.
- Comply with the immigration requirements in force for temporary entry.
The CUSMA Professional work permit may be issued for the following occupations:
General
| Occupation | Minimum education/credential requirement |
|---|---|
| Accountant | Bachelor’s Degree or Licenciatura Degree; or C.P.A., C.A., C.G.A. or C.M.A. |
| Architect | Bachelor’s Degree or provincial/state licence. |
| Computer Systems Analyst | Bachelor’s Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma, and 3 years of experience. |
| Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjuster | Bachelor’s Degree or successful completion of training in the areas of insurance adjustment relating to disaster relief claims; or 3 (three) years of experience in claims adjustment and successful completion of training in the areas of insurance adjustment relating to disaster relief claims. |
| Economist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Engineer | Bachelor’s Degree or provincial/state licence. |
| Forester | Bachelor’s Degree or provincial/state licence. |
| Graphic Designer | Bachelor’s Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma, and 3 (three) years of experience. |
| Hotel Manager | Bachelor’s Degree in hotel/restaurant management; or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma in hotel/restaurant management, and 3 (three) years of experience in hotel/restaurant management. |
| Industrial Designer | Bachelor’s Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma, and 3 (three) years of experience. |
| Interior Designer | Bachelor’s Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma, and 3 (three) years of experience. |
| Land Surveyor | Bachelor’s Degree or provincial/state/federal licence. |
| Landscape Architect | Bachelor’s Degree. |
| Lawyer (including Notary in the province of Quebec) | LL.B., J.D., LL.L, B.C.L. (5 years); or membership of a provincial/state bar. |
| Librarian | M.L.S. or B.L.S. (a further Bachelor’s Degree is required as a prerequisite). A librarian must hold: – A Master of Library Science; or – A Bachelor of Library Science together with another bachelor’s degree required for entry to the B.L.S. programme. |
| Management Consultant | Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent professional experience established by a statement or professional credential attesting to 5 years of experience as a management consultant, or 5 years of experience in a professional field related to the consulting agreement. |
| Mathematician (including Statistician and Actuary) | Bachelor’s Degree. An actuary must meet the requirements for recognition as an actuary by a professional actuarial association or society operating in the territory of at least one of the Parties. |
| Range Manager/Range Conservationist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Research Assistant (working at a post-secondary educational institution) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Scientific Technician/Technologist | Possession of (a) theoretical knowledge of any of the following disciplines: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology or physics; and (b) the ability to solve practical problems in any of those disciplines, or the ability to apply the principles of any of those disciplines to basic or applied research. A business person in this category must be seeking temporary entry to work in direct support of professionals in agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology or physics. |
| Social Worker | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Sylviculturist (including Forestry Specialist) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Technical Publications Writer | Bachelor’s Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma, and 3 (three) years of experience. |
| Urban Planner (including Geographer) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Vocational Counsellor | Bachelor’s Degree |
Medical/Allied Professionals
| Occupation | Minimum education/credential requirement |
|---|---|
| Dentist | D.D.S., D.M.D., Doctor en Odontologia or Doctor en Cirugia Dental; or provincial/state licence. |
| Dietitian | Bachelor’s Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma, and 3 (three) years of experience. |
| Medical Laboratory Technologist (Canada)/Medical Technologist (Mexico and the United States) | Bachelor’s Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate or Post-Secondary Diploma, and 3 (three) years of experience. Note:A business person in this category must be seeking temporary entry to perform chemical, biological, haematological, immunological, microscopic or bacteriological tests and analyses in a laboratory for the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease. |
| Dietitian | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Occupational Therapist | Bachelor’s Degree or provincial/state licence. |
| Pharmacist | Bachelor’s Degree or provincial/state licence. |
| Physician (teaching or research only) | M.D. or Doctor en Medicina; or provincial/state licence. Note:Physicians may not be admitted to provide direct patient care. Patient care that is incidental to teaching and/or research is permitted. |
| Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist | Bachelor’s Degree or provincial/state licence. |
| Psychologist | Provincial/state licence |
| Recreational Therapist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Registered Nurse | Provincial/state licence Note:To be admitted to Canada as a registered nurse, a licence issued by the destination province is required. |
| Veterinarian | D.V.M., D.M.V. or Doctor en Veterinaria; or provincial/state licence. |
Scientist
| Occupation | Minimum education/credential requirement |
|---|---|
| Agriculturist (including Agronomist) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Animal Breeder | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Animal Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Apiculturist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Astronomer | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Biochemist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Biologist (including Plant Pathologist) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Chemist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Dairy Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Entomologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Epidemiologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geneticist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geochemist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Geophysicist (including Oceanographer in Mexico and the United States) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Horticulturist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Meteorologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Pharmacologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Physicist (including Oceanographer in Canada) | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Plant Breeder | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Poultry Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Soil Scientist | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Zoologist | Bachelor’s Degree |
Teacher
| Occupation | Minimum education/credential requirement |
|---|---|
| College | Bachelor’s Degree |
| Seminary | Bachelor’s Degree |
| University | Bachelor’s Degree |
Intra-company transferees
Detailed article on theIntra-company transfers (ICT)
A CUSMA intra-company transferee must be transferred to Canada temporarily to work for a branch, subsidiary or affiliate of their employer in the United States or Mexico. In addition, they must have worked continuously for the employer in the United States or Mexico for at least one of the past three years in a position similar to the work to be performed in Canada, and must still be employed by the company at the time of application.
A CUSMA intra-company transferee must work in a position considered managerial, executive or involving specialised knowledge. For more general information on intra-company transferees, including those under the CUSMA…
Traders
A CUSMA trader is defined as a person who intends and is able to carry on substantial trade in goods or services between Canada and the country of which they are a citizen.
To qualify for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemption under the CUSMA Trader category, a business person must:
- Be a citizen of the United States or Mexico;
- Be employed by a United States or Mexican company (the majority of the company must be owned by persons holding United States or Mexican citizenship);
- Hold a supervisory or executive position, or perform duties requiring skills essential to the business.
In addition, the principal business activities of the employing United States or Mexican company must involve substantial trade in goods or services; and that trade must be carried on principally between the United States or Mexico and Canada.
“Substantial trade” means that more than 50% of the company’s international trade is carried on between Canada and the country in which the company is based. The percentage of trade may be established on the basis of the total value of international transactions or the volume of goods and services traded. In addition, a business person will not qualify as a CUSMA trader if their company is seeking to establish new trading arrangements; instead, the employing company must already be doing business in Canada.
To be considered supervisory or executive, the principal duties of a CUSMA trader must be to direct, control and instruct staff. Several factors are taken into account in determining whether a position is supervisory or executive, including job title, position within the company’s organisational structure, job duties and so on. As a rule, a CUSMA trader is not directly involved in the company’s hands-on operations.
A CUSMA trader in a role involving essential skills must show that their specific expertise is necessary to the company employing them, while also meeting the requirements set out above. In many cases this means showing that the company has been unable to find a suitable Canadian worker to carry out the work.
A CUSMA trader may be issued a work permit valid for an initial period of 1 year, renewable for a further 2 years. Throughout the validity of the work permit and at the time of any renewal application, the worker must continue to meet the criteria set out above.
Investors
For an investment to be considered “substantial”, it must be assessed against the total value of the business concerned or the amount normally required to establish a comparable business. Whether the investment qualifies is determined proportionally against the total capital invested.
To be considered to be “developing and directing” the business, a CUSMA investor must also show that they hold a controlling interest in the company.
As an employee of the company, a CUSMA investor must show that their principal duties are to direct, control and instruct staff. Several factors are taken into account in determining whether an investor falls within this group, including job title, position within the company’s organisational structure, job duties and so on. In general, a CUSMA investor is not directly involved in the company’s hands-on operations.
A CUSMA investor employed in a position involving essential skills must show that their specific expertise is important to the United States or Mexican company operating under the requirements set out above.
Read about work permits under other trade agreements athere.
Read more about the United States-Canada-Mexico agreement on the government website athere.
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