Business Immigration Canada

• Globalization of the world’s economy makes it essential to build and strengthen international commercial ties to stay on top of international economic trends. With favourable legislation, and a clear and easy-to-comply-with taxation system, Canada attracts business-minded individuals from all over the world to settle and invest in our economy.

The need for building businesses and developing new economic ties has been recognized by the government, and as a result, the Business Immigration Program has been enjoying special focus and attention from the IRCC, with the aim of facilitating the process. The Business Immigration Program exists both as a federal immigration program and Provincial Nominee program (link over to OINP business section), depending on where the interested party is planning to settle and operate.

Expand Your Business to Canada (ICT)

If you want to set-up your company’s operations in Canada and obtain a Canadian work permit for yourself or your team members, you should consider  (ICT) program. The ICT program allows foreign companies to expand to Canada and transfer their staff members (executive, managerial or specialized knowledge employees) to work in Canada. To be eligible for this program, both the expanding company and the applicant must meet a number of requirements as discussed below.

Getting a work permit may take approximately 2-4 months depending on your country of nationality and a number of other factors.

Below are the steps to follow in order to expand your business to Canada.

Check if your company is eligible to expand to Canada under the Intra-Company Transferee Program

Not all business owners can move their companies to Canada. There are multiple requirements that both the expanding companies and the chosen applicants must meet to benefit from the provisions of the ICT program.

Requirements for Foreign Companies:

• Active engagement in business: your home company must be fully operational and currently engaged in doing business (selling services or goods, having employees, customers and generating revenue).
• History of operations: your company must be at least 1 year old. The older the company, the more support it can lend to your application.
• Sufficient gross revenue: your company must have sufficient revenue to fund the expansion to Canada.
• Availability of liquid funds to expand: while there is no minimum amount to operate a business in Canada, your company should be able to demonstrate sufficient funds to finance operations in Canada. We recommend setting aside at least CAD $100,000 to sustain the business during the first year of operations.