NAFTA is CUSMA/USMCA Work Permit

The CUSMA seeks to liberalize trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada and abolish tariffs and other trade barriers. The Agreement opens up the three countries’ markets by ensuring that future laws will not create barriers to doing business.

In order for trade to expand, individuals must have access to each other’s country to sell, provide goods or services or trade and invest. Chapter 16 of the CUSMA, entitled “Temporary Entry for Business Persons”, provides the mechanisms to allow selected categories of temporary workers access to each other’s market(s).

Those foreign nationals covered by CUSMA provisions may be eligible to work in Canada without the requirement for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or, in some cases, a work permit.

CUSMA Job Categories:

 

CUSMA Business Visitors

CUSMA Professionals
CUSMA Intra-Company Transfers
CUSMA Traders and Investors

 

CUSMA Business Visitors and Professionals

Business visitors engage in international business activities related to research and design; growth, manufacture and production; marketing; sales; distribution; after-sales service; and general service. These activities reflect the components of a business cycle (see Appendix 1, Section B of CUSMA).

Business visitors are authorized to enter Canada for business purposes under R186(a) and can carry out their activities without the need for a work permit.

A CUSMA Professional must be qualified to work in one of approximately 63 targeted professions. Depending on his or her profession, an applicant may be required to provide educational credentials and/or proof of work experience in the field.

CUSMA Professionals must have pre-arranged employment in Canada in an occupation that matches their qualifications. Individuals who wish to perform self-employed work in Canada are not eligible for this category.

Professionals are not subject to an LMIA but require a work permit (R204, T23).

CUSMA Intra-Company Transfers

CUSMA Intra-Company Transferees must be transferred to Canada on a temporary basis in order to work for a branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of their US or Mexican employer. In addition, they must have worked continuously for their US or Mexican employer for at least one of the last three years and be employed by the company at the time of application.

A CUSMA Intra-Company Transferee must work in a capacity that is considered managerial, executive, or involving specialized knowledge. 

Intra-company transferees are exempt from the LMIA process but require a work permit (R204, T24).

CUSMA Traders and Investors

  1. Traders and investors carry on substantial trade in goods or services between the U.S. or Mexico and Canada or have committed, or are in the process of committing, a substantial amount of capital in Canada. Traders and investors must be employed in a supervisory or executive capacity or one that involves essential skills.

    Traders and investors are not subject to the LMIA process but require a work permit (R204, exemption codes T21 and T22, respectively) for which they must apply at a visa office before departing for Canada.

CUSMA Professional Work Permits can be issued for the following professions:

Accountant

Architect

Computer Systems Analyst

Disaster relief Insurance Claims Adjuster

Economist

Engineer

Forester

Graphic Designer

Hotel Manager

Industrial Designer

Interior Designer

Land Surveyor

Landscape Architect

Lawyer (including Notary in the Province of Quebec)

Librarian

Management Consultant

Mathematician (including Statistician)

Range Manager/ Range Conservationalist

Research Assistant (post-secondary educational institution)

Dentist

Dietitian

Medical Laboratory Technologist (Canada)

Medical Technologist (Mexico and the United States)

Nutritionist

Occupational Therapist

Pharmacist

Physician (teaching or research only)

Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist

Psychologist

Recreational Therapist

Registered Nurse

Veterinarian

College

Seminary

University

Technician/Technologist

Social Worker

Sylviculturist (including Forestry Specialist)

Technical Publications Writer

Urban Planner (including Geographer)

Vocational Counsellor

Agriculturist (including Agronomist)

Animal Breeder

Animal Scientist

Apiculturist

Astronomer

Biochemist

Biologist

Chemist

Dairy Scientist

Entomologist

Epidemiologist

Geneticist

Geologist

Geochemist

Geophysicist (including Oceanographer in Mexico & US)

Horticulturist

Meteorologist

Pharmacologist

Physicist (including Oceanographer in Canada)

Plant Breeder

Poultry Scientist

Soil Scientist

Zoologist

Need Help?

We are ready to accept Service request  from people and organizations to undertake CUSMA related application, contact us at Globalduniya Immigration.