CETA: Intra-Company Transferees
Under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), individuals may transfer to work in Canada within the same company without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) needing to be issued.
The intra-company transferee provisions of CETA are similar to the already existing Intra-Company Transfer program, with the addition of graduate trainees. Senior personnel and specialists may also transfer to Canada without a LMIA.
Under CETA, all intra-company transferees must:
- have been employed by an enterprise of, or have been partners in an enterprise of, an EU member state for at least one year; and
- be temporarily transferred to an enterprise (that may be a subsidiary, branch, or head company of the enterprise) in Canada.
Graduate trainee applicants must also:
- possess a university degree; and
- be temporarily transferred to an enterprise in Canada for career development purposes or to obtain training in business techniques or methods.
Senior personnel and specialists
Senior personnel under CETA is parallel to the “executive capacity” position. Specialists are parallel to “Specialized knowledge” personnel provisions under the the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Length of stay: The lesser of three years or the length of the contract, with a possible extension of up to 18 months, at the officer’s discretion, if the applicant is able to provide documentation that satisfies the processing officer of their need to have his or her stay extended.
Graduate trainees
Length of stay: the lesser of one year or the length of the contract.
Note: No extensions are permitted for graduate trainees applying under the same category and exemption.
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