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.
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.
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
