Moving your established company overseas brings both challenges and chances for growth. Canada is a hotspot for immigrants and business people, attracting those looking for new opportunities. Its appeal as a relocation spot lies in various factors that make it attractive for people aiming to expand or start fresh in a thriving business setting.
Free Immigration AssessmentGrowing your business in Canada
Here’s an extensive roadmap for expanding your business operations into Canada.
To establish your company’s operations in Canada and secure Canadian work permits for you or your team, consider applying for the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) program. ICT program allows foreign companies to transfer executives, managers, or specialized employees.
Note that securing a work permit could take around 2-4 months, depending on your nationality and various other factors.
Business immigration to CanadaTo qualify, both the expanding company and the applicant need to meet specific requirements as mentioned below:
1. Verify your company’s eligibility
Not every business owner can relocate their companies to Canada. Several requirements must be met by both the expanding companies and selected applicants to take advantage of the ICT program’s provisions.
Criteria for Foreign Companies:
- Active Business Engagement: Your home company must be fully operational and involved in conducting business, such as selling goods or services, employing staff, acquiring customers, and generating revenue.
- Operational History: Your company should be at least one year old. The longer the history, the stronger the support for your application.
- Adequate Gross Revenue: Although there’s no fixed minimum revenue requirement, your business should demonstrate gross sales of CAD 300,000 or more. If your revenue is lower, seek legal advice to strategize your company’s expansion efforts effectively.
- Accessible Funds for Expansion: While there are no minimum criteria for operating a business in Canada, your company must exhibit enough funds to support Canadian operations. A sum of at least CAD 100,000 is recommended to sustain operations during the initial year.
- Justification for Expansion: Your company should have valid reasons for expanding to Canada, such as better customer service in North America or engaging in export activities. Discuss other potential reasons with an immigration lawyer to ensure a strong rationale for expansion.
Applicant Criteria:
- Position in Home Country: You must be an executive, senior manager, or specialized knowledge worker in your current company.
- Employment Duration: Demonstrate your current employment in your home company and have at least one year of work experience within the past three years in the above-mentioned position.
- Position in Canada: Show evidence of being transferred to a comparable role in Canada.
After meeting the eligibility criteria for the ICT program, the next step is establishing your company’s presence in Canada.
2. Setting Up Your Business in Canada
While establishing your presence in Canada, focus on the corporate ownership structure of your Canadian company. Canadian law mandates that your home country business and your Canadian company must have a parent/subsidiary or affiliate relationship.
Your Canadian company must register as a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of your existing business.
A subsidiary relationship occurs when your foreign company owns and controls your Canadian company, while a parent relationship is established when your Canadian company owns and controls your home company.
An affiliate relationship exists when the same individuals or group control your home company and your company in Canada.
After confirming the ownership structure of your Canadian company, the next step is to select the location for your corporate office in Canada. To register a Federal company in Canada, you’ll need at least one Canadian Director in your business.
However, not all provinces demand the presence of a Canadian Director. For instance, in Ontario or British Columbia, a Canadian Director is optional. Alberta mandates at least 1 Canadian director to supervise Canadian operations.
If finding a Canadian Director is challenging, seek guidance from a Canadian law firm or an accounting firm for assistance.
3. Applying for ICT Work Permit
After registering your company in Canada, you can apply for a work permit to operate within your newly established Canadian company. To complete the work permit application under the ICT program, you must submit various documents to Canadian immigration officers to prove your eligibility.
The necessary documents required are as follows:
For Foreign Company:
- Company registration document indicating the establishment date (a minimum of 1 year old company)
- Ownership documents and proof of business engagement (such as website, marketing materials, tax filings, licenses/permits, commercial lease agreement, employee remittance payments, etc.)
Applicant’s Employment History with the company:
- Employment contract and records, payslips
- Personal tax filings showing employment details
- Evidence of remuneration or dividend payments (for business owners)
- Company’s organizational chart, business cards, and reference letters.
Financial Documents:
- Company’s tax reports displaying gross revenues and sales figures
- Corporate bank statements showing sufficient liquid funds for expansion
Canadian Company Documents:
- Registration papers (Articles of Incorporation)
- Licenses & permits (if applicable)
- Shareholder agreement or share certificate confirming ownership
- Lease agreement (if applicable)
- Financial documents and marketing materials (website, promotional materials, if available)
Additional Requirements for First ICT Transfer:
- Business Plan outlining rationale for expansion, proposed business activities, investment amount, cash flow projections, and hiring plans.
Transfer Letter:
- Letter from the home company detailing the applicant’s current role, the position they’ll hold in Canada, and reasons for their presence in Canada.
Personal Documents of the Applicant:
- Resume, educational credentials, certificates & licenses, reference letters
- Evidence of advanced education or expertise
- Demonstrative ties to the home country (assets, resident family members, etc.)
- Travel history, police clearances, medical examination results
Additionally, ICT work permits typically have a duration of two years. Newly established Canadian companies can initially receive a one-year permit, extendable multiple times. You may bring your spouse/partner and children under 22 to Canada.
4. Arrival in Canada
Typically, Canadian authorities process work permit applications within 1 to 4 months.
Upon approval of your work permit application, you’ll receive a work visa to enter Canada (subject to your citizenship). You will receive your work permit document upon arriving at a Canadian port of entry.
To extend your ICT work permit, you must prove to Canadian immigration authorities that you have effectively established your operations in Canada and have been actively doing business.
The assessing officer will specifically evaluate the following factors before approving your ICT work permit extension:
Business in Canada:
When applying for an extension, you must demonstrate that your business in Canada is genuine and actively selling goods or services to Canadian or global customers. Profitability isn’t a requirement, but your business must be viable and generate sufficient revenue to cover expenses and employee payments.
Commercial premise in Canada:
Your company should maintain a physical presence in Canada rather than solely operating virtually. Even in the modern remote work landscape post-pandemic, having commercial premises in Canada, whether shared or co-working spaces, is necessary for you and your employees’ work location.
Employees in Canada:
The assessing officer will check if your company has employees working within Canada. Even if your employees work remotely, showcasing at least one local employee by the time of the extension application is essential. Emphasizing the importance of your presence in Canada is crucial, underscoring the active nature of your business and your pivotal role in leading the team.
Foreign Company:
Your foreign company must continue actively operating in your home country with the same ownership structure initially presented in your work permit application.
These factors are the most crucial to establish and demonstrate to the Canadian immigration authorities for extending the ICT work permit.
5. Initiate Permanent Residency Application
After working in Canada for 12 months under the ICT work permit, you might qualify to apply for PR through the Express Entry program. You must meet the eligibility criteria, and achieving adequate CRS scores is necessary.
Express Entry applicants with a job offer from their Canadian company can obtain an additional 200 CRS points (executives and senior managers) or 50 points (specialized knowledge workers) without needing an LMIA approval first.
To apply for permanent residence, apart from other requisites, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Language skills equivalent to at least CLB 7 (with a minimum IELTS General Test score of 6 for each band)
- At least one year of post-secondary education
- Police clearance for every country where you resided over six months in the past ten years.
- Medically fit and has no severe health conditions
We trust that our insights have provided you with an understanding of the process involved in expanding your company from anywhere in the world to Canada through the ICT program. Conducting business in Canada, like anywhere else, has its own set of challenges. However, the benefits of expanding your business to Canada far outweigh these challenges. No worries; ImmiLaw Global is committed to supporting you in overcoming these challenges!
For further guidance on relocating your company to Canada, contact the business immigration lawyers of ImmiLaw Global. The experts at ImmiLaw Global Firm assist in relocating your existing company to Canada but also help in selecting the appropriate business entity for your move to Canada.
Feel free to contact us for your queries.
