In most cases, employers should consider work permits for international assignments. The general rule is that any foreign national doing "work" must obtain a work permit, unless there is an available exemption (i.e., business visitors). There are two types of work permits applicable to international assignments: work permits based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and LMIA-exempt work permits.

Work permits are divided into two programs: the TFWP and the IMP. The TFWP usually requires an employer to conduct extensive recruitment activities to try to identify a qualified, willing and able Canadian in the labor market for the position in Canada. If the employer is unable to identify a Canadian after the recruitment and screening activities, it can submit an application for an LMIA. Overall, the processing time for LMIAs and LMIA-based work permits is longer than the IMP process. As such, if a prospective candidate is eligible to apply for an LMIA-exempt work permit under the IMP, this is generally the route that Canadian employers would prefer for hiring foreign talent in Canada.

The LMIA-based work permits fall under the TFWP. The regular LMIA-based work permit process is unpredictable and costly, so it should be used as a last resort. The TFWP also includes an expedited LMIA program called the Global Talent Stream (GTS). GTS LMIA applications do not require the employer to advertise and conduct recruitment activities before applying for the LMIA. There are currently two GTS streams available (Category A and Category B). GTS LMIA applications are processed in approximately two weeks.

Category A is designed for high-growth companies that are looking to hire unique and specialized talent and that have been referred to the GTS program by a designated referral partner organization. Category B targets employers seeking to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specific occupations found on the global talent occupations list. The predetermined list reflects in-demand occupations and may be updated from time to time.

Employers applying for a GTS LMIA must develop a Labour Market Benefits Plan (LMBP) as part of the application process. This LMBP is a summary of activities that the employer has agreed to complete in exchange for, or as a result of, hiring foreign workers. Each year, the government will review the LMBP commitments to measure and track the employer's progress. 

The IMP includes a variety of LMIA-exempt work permit categories, including many employer-sponsored work permit strategies. The most commonly used categories are outlined below.

Intracompany transfers

Multinational companies seeking to assign foreign nationals to Canadian positions often use one of the intracompany transfer work permit categories. Many of Canada's international agreements include intracompany transfer work permit provisions with slight variations with respect to eligibility requirements and work permit durations.

Generally, an initial work permit can be valid for up to three years and can be extended at least once.

Executive and managerial-level staff must supervise other managers or professional employees, although managing crucial company functions or processes may also qualify under some international agreements. Employment in a specialized knowledge capacity requires proof that the employee holds advanced knowledge of the organization's proprietary products, services, research, equipment and techniques. Some international agreements also require applicants with specialized knowledge to have advanced and unique industry-specific knowledge related to the position, at a level that is not ordinarily held by others within the industry. Under the General Agreement on Trade-in Services (GATS), a prevailing wage requirement for intracompany transferees in the specialized knowledge category is introduced. Under some other international agreements, such as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), intracompany transferees are not required to meet any wage requirement.

At the time of the work permit application, the employee must be employed with the foreign entity in a position similar to the proposed role in Canada, and must have at least one year of full-time, continuous work experience in the position within the three years preceding the date of the application. The foreign and Canadian entities must have a qualifying relationship, such as a parent-subsidiary, branch or affiliate relationship.

Reciprocal employment

This category can be used for international exchanges or assignments, both in public and private sector contexts. There must be a bilateral flow of talent between the foreign and Canadian entities that is related to the policy behind this category, which fosters complementary opportunities for international work experience and cultural interchange.

Businesses that use this exemption category should have a global mobility policy in place that creates equivalent opportunities for Canadians abroad. For companies to benefit from this work permit category, they should be able to produce evidence of reciprocity.

Employer portal

Many international agreements other than CUSMA, CETA and GATS allow international assignees of certain nationalities to obtain work permits without an LMIA, as long as they have arranged employment opportunities in Canada and meet program-specific eligibility criteria. These agreements include the following:

• Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
• Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• Agreement on Trade Continuity between Canada and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (CUKTCA)

Three of the more commonly used agreements for international employment transfers are CUSMA, CETA and GATS, which allow certain professionals and skilled workers to come to work in Canada for periods of up to three years (90 days in the case of GATS), subject to extensions. Where applicable, CETA is increasingly being used for transferring senior personnel, and specialist workers coming to work in Canada.

CUSMA provides expanded mobility and foreign workers rights for citizens of the US and Mexico. There are provisions under CUSMA for business visitor entry and work permit categories for intracompany transferees, investors and traders.

CUSMA Professional is another work permit category included in the international agreement, which contains a list of over 60 occupations that have been identified as occupations for which there is a labor market demand in Canada. Citizens of the US and Mexico who have the requisite licenses, education requirements and/or work experience to qualify for these occupations, and have prearranged employment with a Canadian employer, may apply for a work permit based on their proposed occupation in Canada.

CETA provides entry to Canada for citizens of an EU member state. Within CETA, the two most commonly used categories are intra-corporate transfers for senior personnel and specialists, which mirror CUSMA's intracompany transfer executive/senior managerial and specialized knowledge work permit categories, respectively.

Employees applying under either the senior personnel or specialists category must have one year of continuous work experience within the past three years, be currently employed by an enterprise of an EU member state and be temporarily transferred to a related enterprise (subsidiary, affiliate or branch) in Canada.

CETA also facilitates entry for business visitors and foreign workers under the independent professionals, investors and contractual service suppliers categories.

Since 30 December 2018, when the CPTPP was implemented, additional avenues for Canadian immigration were offered to individuals from 10 countries in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The CPTPP facilitates temporary entry for business visitors, investors, intra-corporate transferees, professionals and technicians.

Certain countries have access to more application categories within the CPTPP than others. Australia and Mexico are the only countries that have access to all of the available categories at the time of this publication.