Intra-Company Transfers
An intra-company transfer moves an existing employee from your business abroad into a related business in Canada. It is the cleanest route an established company has, because it is LMIA-exempt: no advertising, no labour market test, no proving that no Canadian was available.
The reasoning is that you are not taking a job from the Canadian market — you are moving your own person into your own operation. Which is also why the conditions are about the relationship between the two companies and the seniority of the employee, rather than about the vacancy.
Three things have to be true
A qualifying relationship. The Canadian entity must be a parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate of the foreign one, and you have to document the ownership or control rather than assert it.
A qualifying employee. They must have worked for the foreign company full-time for at least one of the last three years, in an executive, senior managerial or specialised knowledge role — and must be coming to Canada to do a role of the same kind.
A real operation at both ends. Both businesses must be actively doing business, with premises and staff. A holding company and a mailbox will not support a transfer.
Specialised knowledge is narrower than it sounds
This is where most refusals happen. It does not mean experienced, senior or good at the job. It means proprietary knowledge of the company's product, service, techniques or management that is genuinely uncommon and could not readily be found in the Canadian labour market. Officers expect evidence — what the knowledge is, how it was acquired, why it cannot be transferred to someone here in a reasonable time. Specialised knowledge transfers also carry their own wage floor.
Opening a new Canadian office
A transfer can be used to start a Canadian operation, and that version is assessed harder. You will be asked for a business plan, evidence of premises secured, proof that the foreign company can support the venture financially, and a realistic staffing plan. The first permit is issued for a year, and the extension is assessed on whether the plan actually happened.
How long it lasts
Executives and senior managers can hold intra-company status for up to seven years; specialised knowledge workers for up to five. Those are ceilings, not entitlements, and they are not renewable indefinitely. If the person is meant to stay, permanent residence has to be planned during the permit rather than at the end of it — a transfer often builds exactly the Canadian experience Express Entry rewards.
Where Skylam comes in
Documenting the corporate relationship and the employee's role so that an officer does not have to take anything on trust, and — where the role is borderline — saying so before the application rather than after a refusal. New office transfers are worth planning several months ahead.
Requirements
Who qualifies
The companies
- A qualifying relationship: parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate, documented through ownership and control — share registers, incorporation documents, organisation charts.
- Both entities actively doing business: premises, staff, revenue, and a continuing operation rather than an intention to have one.
- The foreign business continues to operate while the employee is in Canada.
The employee
- Employed full-time by the foreign entity for at least one year in the last three, continuously.
- In one of three capacities, and transferring into the same kind of role:
- Executive — directs the management of the organisation or a major component, with wide discretion.
- Senior manager — manages the organisation, a department or a function, and supervises professional or managerial staff.
- Specialised knowledge — proprietary knowledge of the company's products, services, techniques or management that is genuinely uncommon, plus advanced expertise.
- Specialised knowledge transfers must meet the applicable wage floor.
Opening a new office
- A business plan with realistic projections.
- Evidence of physical premises secured in Canada.
- Financial capacity in the foreign business to fund the start-up and pay wages.
- A staffing plan showing the Canadian operation will support the role.
- An initial permit of one year, with the extension assessed against what actually happened.
The employer's own steps
- Submit the offer of employment through the Employer Portal and pay the employer compliance fee before the worker applies.
- Keep records for six years and expect the same inspection regime as any other employer — see Compliance & Employer Support.
Duration
- Up to seven years for executives and senior managers.
- Up to five years for specialised knowledge workers.
- Both are maximums across all intra-company time, not per permit.
Requirements change without notice. Check IRCC’s own page
Every case turns on its own facts. Book a consultation and a licensed consultant will tell you where you stand on Intra-Company Transfers.
Book a ConsultationLast updated 22 September 2026
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