Effective October 3, 2024, the instructions provided by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to its staff related to work permits for intra-company transferees have undergone extensive updates.
The changes have been made to the guidance for section R205(a) of the Canadian Interests – Significant Benefit program.
The updates clarify the following:
- That ICTs must be transferring from a foreign enterprise of an existing multinational corporation (MNC), including guidance on how to assess whether an enterprise meets the criteria of a multinational corporation.
- When assessing an ICT work permit application, officers must now ensure that the foreign enterprise is that of an existing MNC with revenue generating operations in at least two countries before establishing an enterprise in Canada;
- An enterprise outside of Canada cannot become an MNC by using the ICT work permit category to establish their first foreign enterprise in Canada;
- Qualifying relationships do not include business relationships between suppliers or clients;
- The qualifying criteria for foreign nationals, including:
- the foreign national’s required work experience and employment with the foreign enterprise to be eligible as an ICT;
- the location of employment requirements for ICTs;
- requirements to be met for a foreign national to be eligible to change to a different ICT category when applying for a new work permit;
- the maximum duration allowed for ICT work permits; and
- eligibility requirements for ICTs seeking entry to Canada to establish a new qualifying enterprise;
- Additional guidance on specialized knowledge, including:
- clarification of the definition of “specialized knowledge”;
- how to assess whether the applicant possesses specialized knowledge; and
- clarifying that ICT applications for positions in low-skilled occupations should be reviewed in greater detail to ensure the foreign national does in fact possess (and the position requires) specialized knowledge.
IRCC also states that “the ICT category under the International Mobility Program is not intended as a means to transfer an enterprise’s general work force to affiliated entities in Canada”.
Erickson Insights & Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue to monitor developments and share updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions.