There are several business immigration pathways to Canada. Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) is considered one of the best routes for business entrepreneurs who wish to expand their business operations to Canada. Read along to get familiar with the ICT program and its various facets, such as the requirements to get qualified, application procedures, advantages of the program, and the pathways to transition for a permanent residency.
Online Canadian Immigration Assessment FormWhat Exactly is ICT?
ICT is one of Canada’s international mobility programs that allow high-skilled foreign nationals to work temporarily as intra-company transferees in Canada. This mobility program also allows eligible and qualified business entrepreneurs to transfer or expand their business operations to Canada and obtain a work permit. With ICT, you can receive an ICT work permit and, eventually, a PR. In most cases, the spouse and children of the principal applicant will also obtain an open work permit and a study permit.
Who Can Apply For This Program?
The Canadian ICT mobility program is created to attract and welcome reputable companies from across the globe to expand their business operations to Canada. There are fundamentally three categories of people who find ICT beneficial.
- Business entrepreneurs and shareholders of well-established companies who currently are designated at the top executive positions of those companies, respectively and who aim to carry on similar work in Canada.
- Operational managers and senior managers who are at present working in a company and wish to do the same work in Canada.
- The key employees of a business organization who possess specialized knowledge and skills.
Essential Requirements For An ICT Transfer to Canada
- The company in the home country must be functional for at least twelve months, ideally for three months, before expanding to Canada.
- The company must be financially strong and capable of carrying out business operations in Canada.
- Before applying for an ICT work permit, the applicant must have worked in the home company for at least twelve months in the past three years.
- The home company must be a parent, subsidiary or affiliated company to the company in Canada.
- The intended business operations in Canada will be able to create more job opportunities for Canadians.
The immigration authorities will examine the following aspects if the foreign company is planning for an initial business expansion to Canada.
- Can the applicant produce a clear business plan that proves the business operations in Canada will be viable?
- Will the company in Canada create adequate profit to cover the operational expenditure and adequately compensate the employees?
- Will this expansion to Canada be able to create job opportunities for Canadians?
Investment is required for business expansion
The Canadian government has not set any fixed minimum amount of money for companies trying to expand their business functions in Canada. The important thing is that the companies must be financially strong, have the required capital funds to support their new business operations, and hire local talent.
Significant Advantages of the ICT Program
- You can reside and run a business in Canada.
- You can bring your family with you.
- Your children will get free education at Canadian public schools.
- You don’t have to worry about minimum investment requirements.
- This is an excellent opportunity for you to stay back permanently.
Steps For an ICT Application
You can follow the below-mentioned steps if it is your first application.
- Register a company in Canada as an affiliate, parent, or subsidiary of the company you run in your home country.
- Do proper market research to find out how to run a successful business operation in Canada. Prepare a strong business plan that clearly outlines your intended business activity. Include the hiring plan and a previous cash flow projection for at least two to three years which is well-suited to industry standards.
- Make sure to accumulate all the necessary documents, such as evidence of investment funds, bank statements and articles of incorporation and start preparing your ICT application.
- Submit the application and await the decision.
How To Apply For An ICT Work Permit?
The applicant must confirm that they are eligible for the ICT program. The applicant must collect and produce all the required documents for the ICT. Must have a solid strategy to present the case to the immigration authorities.
Work Permit Duration For ICT
Usually, ICT work permits are issued for a period of One to Two years. The work permit’s validity will be One year if the applicant works in a startup company. Nationals from some of the visa-exempt countries can benefit from a three-year work permit.
ICT to PR Transition
The foreign national can apply for a PR through the Express Entry program after completing 1-year full-time employment in a Canadian company.
FAQs About ICTs in Canada
What is a startup company in Canada?
A startup is a business institution incorporated less than one year ago in Canada. So, a startup company cannot fulfill the terms and conditions like “must be actively and continuously be engaged in business to provide services or goods in Canada.” Profit & loss statements and annual reports are also yet to be available to prove consistent and routine business operations.
What are the basic requirements for a startup in Canada as per the ICT work permit regulations?
A startup company in Canada can be incorporated as a joint venture, sole proprietorship, partnership, trust, corporation, or another entity if it represents a foreign business. There are federal as well as applicable provincial laws in Canada. A startup can only be established under these laws. For instance, if there are two owners, i.e., 50/50 shareholders for a corporation in the USA, then the startup in Canada can be incorporated and owned 100% as a federal corporation by the USA-based corporation as it is a subsidiary /parent relationship. On the other hand, the same team of business owners or shareholders can own a startup in Canada in a similar proportion as an affiliated company’s relationship.
The registration should be extended to the province in Canada for a federal business corporation to start business operations. Only at the provincial level, every startup can be registered in Canada. The location and type of a company or business establishment are fundamentally determined by tax implications and the business activities they carry out.
Registration with Canada Revenue Agency CRA is essential for any business getting started in Canada. Apart from obtaining the CRA Business Number, the startup company in Canada might also require more than one other CRA account, such as Corporate Income Tax, Payroll, Goods & Services Tax, Harmonized Sales Tax, and Import and Export.
The preliminary activities of ICT in Canada must be promptly finished to be fully operational once the authorities approve it. In legal terms, the Canadian company will employ a transferee contingent to issue the ICT work permit. Another prerequisite for applying for the ICT work permit is to submit an online job offer via Employer Portal. This can only be done after registering as a company and having a linked CRA business number.
The initial steps of Canadian business registration do not need the presence of the business owners. Instead, it can be completed by competent business immigration lawyers.
Who can get transferred to Canada for a startup business/company through the ICT program?
The ICT work permit program is mainly for business owners, senior managers, and specialized knowledge employees. Other employees and middle-level managers cannot apply for an ICT work permit. In such cases, they will require a favourable Labour Market Assessment LMIA for working in a Canadian company.
There are other considerations for every category while planning for an employee transfer to a startup in Canada. It must demonstrate that the Canadian startup business/company operations are large enough to support management and executive functions while transferring senior managers, business owners, and executives. The size of a proposed business in the startup stage can be projected through a foolproof business plan that showcases a financial forecast, market overview, competitor analysis, and a comprehensive hiring plan for at least the next five years. The performance of the foreign business and the availability of financial resources in the former years also matter when it comes to a startup scenario.
How long is the ICT work permit valid, and before the expiry, can it get renewed?
The ICT program in Canada usually grants a work permit for one year. However, there can be cases where a two-year work permit will also get issued by the IRCC if the company situated in Canada is a subsidiary company of a foreign company. It is possible to renew the ICT work permit several times. It can be renewed for two to three years and even up to seven years. The only thing to ensure is that all the essential requisites of the ICT program are promptly met, such as possessing a dedicated Canadian office, running active business activities both in the home country and Canada, and employing Canadian citizens or Canadian PRs.
How to convert the Canadian ICT status to PR status
ICT work permit holders can use numerous methods to convert their temporary ICT status to Canadian PR status. One of the most popular methods is to apply for a PR through the Express Entry program. By doing so, the ICT work permit holders will obtain an additional fifty or two hundred points based on the category and duration of their work in Canada after twelve months of employment under the same Canadian Employer.
What are the significant advantages of the ICT work permit program?
- You and your family can live together and work in Canada.
- Your children will get free education from Canadian public schools.
- You may obtain a work permit without requiring language proficiency in English or French. A minimum of one year’s administrative experience is necessary for managerial positions.
- After three months of consistent work in Canada, you can be eligible for free medical health coverage.
- You don’t need to reside in Canada for the entire time; instead, it is all right to continue the business in the home country.
- You can be eligible to apply for a Canadian PR. After residing in Canada for three years as a PR, you can also apply for Canadian citizenship and receive one of the most needed passports globally.
- You may bring your primary workers from your home country to work in your Canadian company.
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