Suppose you work for a business with its parent branch or affiliate in Canada. In that case, you may qualify to obtain an ICT work permit under the Intra-Company Transferee program.
What is the Intra-Company Transferee Program?
The ICT program allows businesses to transfer eligible employees to run operations in Canada to expand and improve their business effectiveness. The Intra Company Transferee program is an LMIA-exempt work permit. Then, it is easier and faster for businesses to transfer their key employers.
Why Does Canada Give ICT Applicants an LMIA Exempt Work Permit?
The main reason to be an LMIA exempted program is that those workers provide economic benefits to Canada. They come to share their expertise and knowledge with Canadian businesses. In the end, it is another way to encourage companies to bring international employees under a faster and more economical process.
Besides, one of the most compelling advantages of the ICT work permit is that holders have a strong chance of getting Canadian permanent status. Then, after meeting some criteria they may qualify for PR.
How To Get an ICT Work Permit?
If you wonder how to get an ICT work permit, we have created an example to clarify the situation.
For instance, let’s think that Ramin is a UAE citizen. He is the IT manager of a multinational company in Dubai. The firm has numerous offices and one in Toronto, Canada. To grow its business, the company plans to transfer
Ramin to Canada. For that reason, he wants to stay 2 years in Canada and needs to get a Canadian work visa. Ramin wonders if he qualifies for an ICT work permit to have a smoother process.
To see if he qualifies, here are the conditions he needs to fulfill:
Business Qualifications
Under the Intra-Company Transferee (ICT), a business should have a multinational company with a branch, enterprise or parent unit in Canada.
Branch: The Company’s unit belongs to the company, but the address for the branch is different.
Enterprise: An enterprise can be either for for-profit or non-profit purposes. Thus, the entity can be a joint venture, partnership, sole proprietorship or corporation.
Parent: If a company owns one or more subsidiaries, it will be considered a parent company.
Those are the most common situations. Other cases also include affiliates and subsidiaries. However, ensure the entity is active and has a good track record when applying, as only having a subsidiary or branch is not good enough.
On the other hand, if you are a business owner, you can also transfer yourself to running Canadian operations. In fact, if you don’t hat a brach yet, at mana immigration, we can help you to open it.
The entity must be active and have a good track record, as only holding a subsidiary or branch is not good enough for the ICT work permit.
Eligibility For Employers Under the ICT Work Permit
- An employee willing to get a work visa under the ICT program should have worked for that company for at least one year in the past three years.
- To qualify, a person should be transferred to one of the following positions:
Senior Managers: Employees who manage other workers in the company. It doesn’t include junior managers or the front-line workforce.
Functional Managers: Employees who may not manage other employees but have a senior-level vital for making critical decisions for the business.
Specialized Knowledge Workers: Workers with great expertise and essential knowledge.
The ICT Work Permit
Every time a candidate wants to apply under the Intra-company transferee program, they should review the program information to get their respective Canadian work visa.
The ICT work permit is usually given for one year for each candidate. However, depending on the situation and position, sometimes it can be issued for even three years.
However, all the candidates can ask for an extension of their ICT work permit. But, always consider that the maximum time for work permits is for five or seven years, depending on the position.
Work Permit Renewal
For ICT work permit renewals, the applicant should provide evidence such as:
- Prove that the Canadian and foreign companies still have a qualifying relationship
- Support documentation that the new office has continuously offered goods and services.
- Proof the office is appropriately staffed.
How Much Time Will it Take to Get an ICT Work Permit?
Overall, ICT work permits are faster than other business immigration programs. It usually takes about ten weeks. However, it can be up to 4 months in a few cases. Processing times depend on the Canadian embassy in your home country.
Can My Close Family Members Join me in Canada?
Yes. One of the significant advantages of this program is that Business owners and key employees can bring theirs during the ICT work permit validity period. Then, spouses can get an open work permit, and children can go to public schools for free. Moreover, all the families can enjoy free health care all across Canada.
Key Benefits of the ICT Work Permit
To sum up, here are some of the main benefits of this program:
- Settle and work in Canada.
- Children under 18 can attend public schools for free.
- No English language is required.
- Free health care.
- You can reside in your home country. If that’s your case, you are not required to live full-time in Canada. Therefore, you can always travel to your country.
- Pathway to Permanent residency.
