Under international agreements, businesspeople can enter Canada temporarily as workers in a variety of ways.
CUSMA (PRESENTLY CALLED NAFTA)
Under CUSMA, workers can enter Canada on a work permit, employers are not required to file a Labour Market Impact Assessment, and nationals of the United States and Mexico can enter the country for temporary employment. Under CUSMA, businesspeople fall into one of four categories:
- Business travelers
- Experts
- internal transferees
- Investors and Traders
ADDITIONAL FREE-TRADE ACCORDS (FTAs)
Participants in the programs that resemble the CUSMA groups (business tourists, professionals, ICTs, traders, and investors) mentioned above include citizens of Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Korea.
Similar to CUSMA categories, citizens of European countries (EU exclusively) may participate in CETA (Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement).
Professionals and business travelers are permitted entry into Canada via work visas under the Canada-Panama Free-Trade Agreement.
Nationals of Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam are permitted entry as business guests, investors, intra-company transferees (ICTs), and professionals under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
GATES: THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES
Canada committed to facilitating commercial access to the Canadian services market for individuals, including foreign entrepreneurs, under the terms of the General Agreement on Trade in Services. This is applicable to the national markets of more than 140 members of the WTO. These nationals are eligible to enter as intra-company transfers, professionals, and business visitors.
- There are three categories of businesspeople covered:
- business travelers,
- experts as well as
- within-company movers.
