Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) Work Permit Canada: C61, C62 & C63
Current 2026 guidance on C61, C62 and C63 intra-company transfers for executives, senior managers and specialized-knowledge workers, including the corporate relationship, role and Canadian-operation evidence IRCC examines.
Intra-company transferee (ICT) work permits can allow multinational companies to temporarily transfer eligible employees to a related Canadian entity without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Depending on the worker, employer and applicable authority, the LMIA exemption may arise under an international trade agreement or under Canadian-interest/significant-benefit provisions of the International Mobility Program (IMP). ICT is a work permit pathway, not a business-investment program, and it is not job placement or recruitment.
Who the ICT category is for
ICT generally applies to employees in one of three roles being transferred to a qualifying Canadian entity:
- Executives who direct the management of the organization
- Senior managers who manage the organization or a key function or department
- Specialized knowledge workers with advanced expertise in the company's products, services, or processes
Key requirements
- A qualifying relationship between the foreign company and the Canadian entity (parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate)
- The worker must have been in continuous employment at the foreign company, in a similar position outside Canada, for at least 1 year full-time in the previous 3-year period. IRCC applies that same 1-year-in-3 test to the general International Mobility Program transfer codes C61, C62 and C63 under paragraph R205(a), as well as to the free trade agreement routes such as CUSMA and CPTPP, so the test does not depend on which country you are transferring from.
- The Canadian entity is, or will be, actively doing business
- The transfer is temporary and the role fits the executive, senior-manager, or specialized-knowledge definition
ICT vs C11: which business work-permit framework are you actually looking at?
Both can be assessed under R205(a), but they address different business-mobility situations. ICT is a corporate transfer from a qualifying multinational enterprise. C11 is the business-owner framework for a person coming to operate their own Canadian business. The route should be identified before the evidence package is built. Also considering a CPTPP trade-agreement route? Compare MAK's CPTPP work-permit guide and assess that category under its own requirements; an ICT assessment does not itself establish CPTPP eligibility.
Start with ICT when the facts are a corporate transfer
- The worker is already employed by an enterprise of a multinational corporation outside Canada.
- The Canadian enterprise has the required parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate relationship with the foreign employer.
- The proposed Canadian role is executive, managerial or specialized knowledge.
- For the R205(a) ICT categories, the worker has at least 1 year of continuous full-time foreign employment in a similar position during the previous 3 years.
Assess C11 instead when the facts are business ownership
- The person is coming to operate their own Canadian business rather than being transferred inside a qualifying multinational corporate structure.
- Under the current C11 business-owner instructions, the applicant must control at least 51% of the business to be considered as a business owner.
- The C11 assessment focuses on significant benefit, business and support-fund evidence, and a genuine temporary purpose. The current C11 instructions provide for a maximum work-permit duration of 18 months, subject to officer assessment.
Important route-selection point: IRCC's current ICT instructions expressly state that a foreign national seeking to establish a new business but transferring from an enterprise outside Canada that is not a multinational corporation is not eligible under the general ICT category; IRCC notes that the person may instead meet the C11 business-owner criteria. The word may matters: this is not an eligibility finding, and the C11 requirements still have to be assessed separately.
If you are comparing these routes, start with the C11 work permit guide and MAK's Business Immigration service page. Where the business case depends on projected operations or capital, also review the business-plan evidence guide and source-of-funds guide.
Prepare your ICT file
C61 expansion stop-check: is the overseas employer already a multinational?
A critical distinction before filing: IRCC's C61 instructions require an enterprise establishing a new qualifying Canadian enterprise to be an existing multinational with revenue-generating business operations in at least two countries before that Canadian expansion. A business operating only in its country of incorporation cannot use C61 simply to create its first foreign office in Canada. Merely registering a Canadian corporation does not cure that missing multinational history.
- First foreign expansion from one-country operations: pause the C61 plan. An owner may need a separate assessment of the temporary business-owner C11 category or an applicable trade-agreement provision; neither is automatically available or a route to permanent residence.
- Already multinational and adding Canada: prove actual revenue-generating operations in the existing countries, the proposed relationship with the Canadian entity, a credible timeline for Canadian operations, the transferee's qualifying employment and role, and the benefit of the proposed temporary transfer. A forecast is not proof of existing overseas operations.
- Transferring into an existing, operating Canadian affiliate: evaluate the applicable ICT executive/manager or specialized-knowledge category and the qualifying corporate relationship. Do not use a new-enterprise C61 rationale when the Canadian entity is already operating and the facts call for a different category.
Pre-filing evidence reconciliation: four questions
- Corporate history: Do registrations, tax records, transactions and operating records support the claimed countries of actual operation, rather than just addresses or planned branches?
- Ownership/control: Can shareholder registers, organizational charts and corporate documents trace a real parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate link? Supplier, customer or franchise relationships alone are not necessarily qualifying links.
- Canadian establishment: If the business is new, is there documentary support for when it will begin providing goods or services, and how it will fund and staff that activity? Do not represent planned clients or hiring as already secured.
- Transfer role: Do foreign employment records, the Canadian offer and organizational duties describe a consistent qualifying temporary role, with the overseas position available for return at the end of the assignment?
These questions organize evidence; they are not a substitute for the specific IRCC requirements or professional assessment. Consult IRCC's C61/C62/C63 instructions. If you need a corporate-structure and work-permit-route assessment, book a business immigration consultation.
International Mobility Program | employer and worker checklist
Intra-company transfer: who must do what before filing?
The employer's IMP offer step and the employee's work-permit application are separate actions. Confirm the actual exemption and company relationship before preparing a Canadian transfer.
- Confirm the correct ICT categoryCheck whether the proposed transfer fits C61, C62 or C63 under R205(a), or a relevant international agreement. Verify the multinational corporate relationship, worker's qualifying foreign employment and proposed Canadian role.
- Canadian employer prepares the offer and evidenceDocument the related Canadian entity, its real or planned operations, the proposed duties, wage, benefits and applicable exemption conditions. The foreign company should substantiate the employment and corporate connection.
- Employer completes the required IMP stepIn most employer-specific IMP cases, the employer pays the CAD 230 compliance fee and submits the offer through IRCC's Employer Portal, then gives the worker the resulting A-prefixed seven-digit offer number. Verify any applicable employer-offer or fee exemption first.
- Worker applies using the actual case documentsWhere required, use the employer's offer number with the work-permit application, role evidence, employment history and immigration-status documents. An offer or Employer Portal submission is not permission to start work.
Common preventable error: A Canadian company name or ownership link alone does not prove eligibility for an intra-company transfer. Assess multinational-business activity, the employee's qualifying position and the particular exemption rules before incurring filing costs.
Official IRCC sources checked October 31, 2026. This is general preparation guidance; special ICT, treaty, employer-fee and status conditions require case-specific verification. No personal professional review of this new section is claimed.
Which documents do both companies need?
Show the link between your foreign employment, Canadian company and proposed role. These are evidence categories, not a universal visa-office checklist.
Employer letter with dates, responsibilities and position; supporting records of employment and your qualifying executive, managerial or specialized-knowledge role.
Evidence showing the relationship between the foreign and Canadian entities, plus the Canadian employer's real business operations.
Job title, duties, organizational role and, if applicable, specific proof that the Canadian position needs your specialized knowledge.
Employer step: For most LMIA-exempt employer-specific work permits, the Canadian employer submits an offer through IRCC's Employer Portal and provides the resulting A-prefixed seven-digit number. Check whether a category-specific offer or fee exemption applies before filing.
Official references: IRCC's ICT evidence examples (visa-office checklist), outside-Canada work-permit documents, and Employer Portal guidance. Sources checked October 15, 2026. No new professional review is claimed.
ICT and permanent residence
Time spent working in Canada on an ICT can later support permanent residence through Express Entry (for example, the Canadian Experience Class) or a Provincial Nominee Program, depending on your full profile. It is not automatic.
How a licensed RCIC helps
We assess whether your role and the company relationship realistically fit the ICT category, what documents are needed, and how to present a complete application. We do not recruit or place workers, and final decisions are made by IRCC.
Official IRCC sources
- IRCC: Business people under free trade agreements, including company transfers
- IRCC: Intra-company transferees under R205(a) — C61, C62 and C63
- IRCC: Business owners seeking only temporary residence — C11
- IRCC: How employers hire through the International Mobility Program
- IRCC: Express Entry job offers and LMIA-exempt work permits
