ICT – Intra Company Transfer

 What is ICT?

Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) allows companies to move skilled workers to Canada to increase the effectiveness of management as well as to grow Canadian companies revenue. It’s a part of Canada’s International Mobility Program.  This is facilitated by companies having, branch, affiliate branch, affiliate or subsidiary located in Canada and allows them to transfer their businesses to Canada and receive a Work Permit.

Benefits of ICT:

• Applying through the ICT pathway, you may be able to obtain a work permit and eventually Canadian permanent residency (PR).

• You’ll receive a full time work permit and there is no such need to apply for Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) meaning you can save months of processing time.

• ICT allows your spouse and your children to travel along with you and live in Canada freely. In most of the cases, your Spouse will obtain an open Work –permit, thus allowing them to work in any company or start up their own business there and your children can study in any Canadian public schools for free.

• You will get an easy access to the North American market and can boost your business with secure and stable financial capitalization and more business opportunities.

• You and your family will get full covered Healthcare for free just like that of PR holder or any citizen of Canada

• No English/ French Language proficiency test (IELTS/CELPIP/TEF/TCF) is required under ICT application.

• It is not mandatory to stay in Canada and you can easily operate your business residing in your native land.

• After working for an year in Canada you become eligible to get an access to the Canadian PR conveniently and can feasibly apply under CEC (Canadian Experience Class)  class of express entry program.

Who can apply for ICT Program?

The intra-company transfer program was designed to draw established businesses from around the globe in order to extend their business into Canada. Foreign worker applying through ICT program should fall under three defined categories:

• Business Owner : Any foreign business operator, Director, sole proprietor owner, Partner, COO, CEO, CTO, CFO, entrepreneurs or shareholders  who is at executive level in a successful company and are planning to perform similar work in Canada can take benefit from this program.
• Senior Manager: Any candidate who is at the managerial position like General Manager , Business administrator, Operating manager and likewise who are currently working for a company having a branch/office located in Canada. Companies can also transfer their employees to Canada by incorporating their subsidiary of a parent company in Canada.
• Specialized Knowledge: Chief employee who has unique and paramount knowledge which is uncommon and can contribute remarkably to the productivity of an employer.

 Requirements to Get work permit under this program  :

There are several key pointers which have to be met in order to successfully attain a Canadian Work permit.

• The company must have physical premises in their home country for their Canadian operations.
• The parent company must be financially sounded to operate its business operations in Canada and must have robust funds.
• The person who is applying for the ICT Work permit  must be employed/engaged with the parent company for at least 12 consecutive months within the last three years preceding the time of the application
• The company should provide a Detailed Business plan for staffing the new functions.
• During the transferring of a seeking applicant, the company must ensure that it is expected to do business and result in job creation and help to boost the economy through its Canadian operations.

Application Process for ICT Work Permit:

In order to be eligible for an ICT program to be considered for immigration in Canada applicants should first determine whether they satisfy the eligibility requirements to be eligible for the ICT work permit. Candidates must also devise an effective strategy for how to make their case to IRCC authorities. In the next step, applicants must gather evidence that is strong to support their work permit application. They should also include specific explanations of the way they meet the qualifications and reasons for their entry into Canada is necessary.

If a candidate decides to pursue this, and then sign our agreement, the next steps are those to be followed.

• Step1: Incorporation of your parent company in Canada as its subsidiary or affiliate Firm.
• Step2: Make a business strategy that describes your business plan as well as market research, and what you will do to make a profit in Canada. Include your hiring strategy and cash flow projections for at minimum 3 years in line with industry norms.
• Step3: Assembling all the required documents including your Personal (Birth certificate, Education, Marital status, etc.) and Corporate (Company registration, Bank statements, pay slips, etc.) documents and further prepare your application for work permit filing.
• Step4: Revising all your documents once again and getting it verified from our lawyers and CPA team in Canada before final submission of your application.
• Step5: Submitting your Work permit application in IRCC and wait for the results.

Processing time :

The standard processing timelines for the ICT work permit application can be checked on the official IRCC website specific to your home country.

These timelines can vary depending on the current status and backlog of files in IRCC.

With years of experience, we have observed that these are the typical processing times of specific countries across the globe as per current status:

INDIA:         4-5 months

CANADA:    2-3 months  

USA:            2-3 months

UK :             2-3 months

Duration Of ICT Work Permit :

The initial work permit of ICT is usually issued for 1-2 years. If a candidate wishes to continue working in Canada as a foreign worker, his/her work permit can be renewed for a further 2-3 years, for a maximum of 5 years for specialized workers, and 7 years for executive and managers provided that all the pre – requisite conditions are met.

Work permit to PR journey :

The applicant is eligible to apply for permanent residency after working for 1 year in Canada under CEC (Canadian Experience Class) of express entry program. Depending on the job designation, the foreign worker could be qualified to attain 200 points for a job offer through their affiliate firm in Canada.

This usually will result in a significant rise the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which may result in being selected under the FWS category of the EE stream, and the invitation to submit an application for PR from immigration authorities.