Intra-Company Transfer

The Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) work permit lets multinational companies move key employees to their Canadian operations without going through the Labour Market Impact Assessment process. It falls under the International Mobility Program and uses LMIA exemption codes C61 (executives), C62 (senior managers), and C63 (specialised knowledge workers). If your company has a qualifying relationship between the foreign and Canadian entities, the ICT is typically the fastest and most straightforward way to relocate essential staff.

The qualifying relationship is key: the Canadian and foreign entities must be the same company, a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate. The employee must have worked continuously for the foreign entity for at least 1 year within the past 3 years in an executive, senior management, or specialised knowledge role. For new Canadian offices (operating less than 1 year), the initial work permit is limited to 1 year, with extensions possible once the business demonstrates it's actively doing business.

For companies expanding into Canada or moving talent between offices, ICT is often the smoothest path. Concord handles the corporate structuring documentation, prepares the work permit application, and ensures the relationship between entities and the employee's qualifying role are clearly demonstrated. For citizens of visa-exempt countries, processing can be as fast as 2 weeks under the Global Skills Strategy.

The ICT is for employees of multinational companies who are being transferred from a foreign office to a Canadian parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate. You're a strong candidate if you're a C-suite executive, VP, director, or senior manager overseeing a significant function, or if you hold specialised knowledge about your company's products, services, processes, or procedures that isn't readily available in the Canadian labour market.

It's also a strategic option for companies opening a new Canadian office. If you're a US or international company expanding into Canada, the ICT lets you send your key people to get operations running without waiting for an LMIA. This mirrors the US L-1 visa pathway, so if you're familiar with L-1A/L-1B, the Canadian ICT is its closest equivalent.