Executives and Senior Managers
The group (as in NAFTA) includes persons in the managerial and senior executive positions. These persons are in possession of a letter from a company that conducts its business in Canada identifying them as an employee of a parent, affiliate, branch, or subsidiary of a company located outside Canada.
The holder of the letter must be transferring to a managerial or senior executive level position at a continuing and permanent establishment of that company in Canada for a temporary period.
Functional Managers
In the context of the intra-company transferee, functional managers manage an essential aspect of the company. Managing staff is not an essential function of the functional manager.
The functional manager usually operates at a senior level in the organization. The function that the manager manages is often an essential function of the company. The persons who are excluded from the category are those in the junior management level.
Managerial sounding titles such as foreman, supervisor, and managing supervisor will also not qualify in this category. A functional manager need not necessarily perform tasks such as the delivery of a service or production of a product.
Specialized Knowledge Workers
A specialized knowledge employee or worker must possess “proprietary knowledge of the company’s management, service, product, research, techniques or equipment” and “advanced level of expertise and knowledge”.
The intra-company transferee is required to demonstrate specialized knowledge on a balance of probabilities. Apart from this, they should also have advanced expertise and a high degree of proprietary knowledge.
Advanced expertise or proprietary knowledge alone will not qualify a person as one with specialized knowledge. Proprietary knowledge is specific expertise that is related to a company’s service or product.
It means that the company has not revealed specifications that will allow other companies to duplicate the service or product. Advanced proprietary knowledge implies that the applicant demonstrates an uncommon knowledge of the company’s services or product.
The applicant has an advanced level of knowledge and expertise of the company’s procedures and processes such as management or techniques, equipment, research, and production.
An advanced level of expertise is also required. This will require specialized knowledge that is gained through recent and significant experience with the organization. Specialized knowledge is used by the applicant to increase the productivity of the employer.
If the processing officer is not satisfied that the applicant has specialized knowledge then they will be refused exemption under the LMIA provisions.
Duration of Work Permits
The initial work permit is for a duration of one year. If you want the work permit to be renewed, the evidence is to be provided that the qualifying relationship still exists with the Canadian and foreign companies.
The other evidence that should be provided for a work permit renewal is proof that the new office has been staffed and that the new office is engaging in continuous provision of services and good for the past year.
Duration of Work Permit Limit for Intra Company Transferee
The maximum work permit limit duration for intra-company transferee is:
• Seven years for senior managers and executives.
• Five years for specialized knowledge workers.
If the applicant wishes to reapply as intra-company transferee they should work full-time outside Canada. This requirement also exists in NAFTA.
