Work permits through GATS

As with the Canada – United States – Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), temporary entry for workers under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) may be facilitated without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

For the temporary entry of individuals, Canada has requested and provided access for three categories of business persons:

• Business visitors
• Intra-company transferees
• Professionals

Both business visitors and intra-company transferees entering under GATS are eligible under Canada’s generally applicable immigration provisions. There are, however, separate provisions for the entry of professionals under GATS. These professionals may be issued a work permit if they meet the criteria set out below.

A GATS professional is a person seeking to engage, as part of a service contract signed by a company in another member state, in an activity at a professional level in one of the occupations listed below, provided that the person holds the necessary academic credentials and professional qualifications, duly recognised where required by the relevant professional association in Canada.

The GATS Professional category is designed to facilitate the short-term entry of a limited list of professionals employed by service suppliers of member states, in the service sectors in which Canada has made commitments.

Requirements for the GATS Professional category

Occupations

• Group 1 covers six occupations: engineers, agrologists, architects, forestry professionals, geomatics professionals and land surveyors.
• Group 2 covers three occupations: foreign legal consultants, urban planners and senior computer specialists. Professionals in this group are subject to additional requirements relating to the prospective Canadian enterprise and the foreign service supplier. In addition, there are limits on the number of persons admitted under specific projects.

Requirements

Occupations	Minimum education/alternative credentials	Other requirements
Engineer	Bachelor’s degree1	Provincial licence2
Agrologist	Bachelor’s degree in agriculture or a related science plus four years of relevant experience	A licence is required in New Brunswick, Alberta and Quebec. A temporary licence is required in British Columbia
Architect	Bachelor’s degree in architecture	A provincial licence and certificate to practise are required
Forestry professional	Bachelor’s degree in forest management or forest engineering, or a provincial licence	A licence as a forester or forest engineer is required in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec
Geomatics professional3	Bachelor’s degree in surveying, geography or environmental science plus three years of relevant experience
Land surveyor	Bachelor’s degree	Provincial licence
Foreign legal consultant	Bachelor’s degree in law	Provincial licence
Urban planner	Bachelor’s degree in urban planning	Provincial licence
Senior computer specialist	Postgraduate degree4in computer science or a related discipline and ten years of experience in computer science.

1. A Baccalaureate degree means a degree from an accredited academic institution in Canada or its equivalent. ↩︎
2. A provincial licence means any document issued by or under the authority of a provincial/territorial government that allows a person to engage in a regulated activity or profession. ↩︎
3. Geomatics professionals must work in the field of aerial surveying or aerial photography. ↩︎
4. A postgraduate degree means at least a Master's degree from an accredited academic institution in Canada or its equivalent. Academic equivalence will be determined by the relevant equivalency services in Canada. ↩︎

Period of validity

The GATS period of admission is a maximum of three months, or 90 continuous days within a 12-month period.

Employment

GATS applicants must seek entry under a contract signed between a foreign service supplier and a Canadian service consumer, and must work in one of the service sectors listed above.

Credentials

GATS applicants must hold academic credentials and professional qualifications recognised by the relevant professional association in Canada before entry is authorised, and must be licensed where this is required. See the section on credential and licensing requirements below.

Concurrent employment

Concurrent employment is not permitted (work for an employer not named on the permit is prohibited) and a work permit as a GATS professional may not be extended beyond 90 days.

GATS criteria

GATS applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Hold the nationality of a member state, or permanent residence in Australia or New Zealand. Note that the member states (148 countries as at 2005) are listed on thewebsite of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• Supply a service under a contract signed between a Canadian service consumer and a service supplier of a WTO member state. In the case of foreign legal consultants, urban planners and senior computer specialists, the foreign service supplier must not have a commercial presence in Canada.
• Hold the professional qualifications for an occupation identified in the table above.
• Not supply a service in any of the following service sectors: education, health-related services, or cultural, sporting and recreational services.
• Hold qualifications recognised, where required, by the relevant professional association in Canada.
• Comply with the immigration requirements in force for temporary entry, including the requirement fortemporary resident visa (TRV).
• In the case of foreign legal consultants, urban planners and senior computer specialists, the Canadian employer must be engaged in substantive business activity.
• In the case of senior computer specialists, a limit of ten entries per project applies.
• Entry for a period of 90 days.

Note

• Personnel agencies: where the contract is between a Canadian company and a foreign agency that supplies or places personnel in order to provide professionals, entry may not be granted under GATS, even where the occupation is listed in the professional category.
• Remuneration: the professional may or may not be remunerated in Canada.
• Business: the professional’s employer abroad must have been established for a reasonable period of time and be actively carrying on business.
• Foreign legal consultants, urban planners and senior computer specialists
  • In the case of legal consultants, urban planners and senior computer specialists, our GATS commitments further provide that the Canadian company party to the contract must not be an agency that supplies or places personnel.
  • The requirement that the Canadian employer be engaged in substantive business activity means that the enterprise is not a shell company or one set up solely to facilitate the entry of foreign workers. Officers will need to rely on the information supplied by the applicant, supported by documentation from the Canadian employer.
  • The requirement that the foreign service supplier have no commercial presence in Canada can only be established by relying on the information supplied by the applicant. Officers should confirm that the professional is not seeking entry to supply a service to their own company or employer, which has established itself in Canada solely to facilitate the entry of its own staff.
  • As there is no central body responsible for regulating computer specialisations, entry for senior computer specialists is limited to individuals holding a Master’s degree in a related discipline, together with ten documented years of experience in the field. This criterion serves as a control to ensure that only highly qualified and experienced computer specialists are admitted under the GATS professional category.
  • The limit of ten entries per project applying to senior computer specialists can be verified by relying on the information supplied by the foreign service supplier or the Canadian service consumer.

Required documents

• Nationality of a member state (listed on the World Trade Organization website) or permanent resident status in Australia and New Zealand.
• A copy of the contract signed between the service supplier and the Canadian service consumer; the contract may be signed by a foreign service supplier in any member state, or by a Canada-based company set up by that foreign service supplier to sell services in Canada.
• Documentation providing the following information:
  • The occupation for which the applicant is seeking entry and the province of destination.
  • Details of the position (job description, duration of the work, method of payment).
  • The education or alternative credentials required to perform the job duties in Canada.
• Evidence that the applicant holds the professional qualifications detailed in the table (copies of degrees, diplomas, professional licences, certifications or registrations, etc.).
• Documentation from the relevant professional association in Canada showing that the applicant’s academic credentials and professional qualifications have been duly recognised.
• Where required, a temporary or permanent licence issued by the relevant provincial or territorial authority.

Credentials and licensing

When processing applications from GATS professionals, officers should consult the table to establish the credentials required for each occupation and which provinces license the practice of those occupations.

Where a licence is required to practise in Canada, officers cannot issue a work permit unless the applicant has obtained, before arriving in Canada, a temporary or permanent licence from the relevant province.

Where the applicant presents a provincial licence, officers need not examine documentation from the professional association or the applicant’s professional qualifications, as the province has already done so, except in the case of foreign legal consultants, urban planners and senior computer specialists, where the employer abroad must not be established in Canada.

Where no licence is required to practise in Canada, officers cannot issue a work permit unless the applicant can provide documentation from the relevant professional association in Canada showing that their academic credentials and professional qualifications have been recognised.

Where the applicant presents such documentation from the relevant professional association in Canada, officers need not examine the applicant’s academic credentials, as the professional association has already done so.

Immigration documents

An application for a work permit under GATS may be made at a visa office or at a port of entry (for applicants who do not require a temporary resident visa).

There is a fixed time limit on the entry of GATS professionals. They should be granted status for the period required to complete the work, up to a maximum of three months. No extension beyond three months may be granted.