Typically, if you want to work in Canada, you need to find a Canadian employer who can offer you a job that matches your education and work experience. The employer then needs to apply to the Canadian government for approval, which involves a Labor Market Impact Analysis (LMIA). This LMIA approval allows you to apply for a work permit in Canada.
However, there are some job offers or job categories exempt from the LMIA requirement. This means you can start working for a Canadian employer or even start your own business and work for yourself, which can eventually qualify you for immigration to Canada under the Canada Experience Class.
Following are three categories of workers or professionals or businesspeople who can work or start businesses in Canada without LMIA and without IELTS. This category is different from the Canada PNP business immigration program and the Canada Start-Up Visa program.
1. Significant Benefit to Canada: If you can demonstrate that the job offer presented to you will bring substantial economic, cultural, or social benefits to Canada in your work permit application to the Canadian government, you and the Canadian company are exempt from obtaining LMIA. This type of work permit is known as a C-10 work permit, and you may begin working for the Canadian company as soon as your application is approved.
2. Entrepreneur and Self-employed person: This class has two subcategories. The first is for those who seek temporary entry, typically for seasonal purposes, to operate their existing business, often self-employed individuals. The second is for those who want to start or run a business to meet the requirements for provincial nomination or selection as an entrepreneur, including Quebec, or for the federal Start-up Business Class.
The International Mobility Program (IMP) created this Work Permit, enabling foreign entrepreneurs and investors to obtain a work permit in Canada as self-employed individuals. The initial work permit is typically valid for two years and can be renewed multiple times, provided that the business in Canada remains active and profitable. Self-employed entrepreneurs and business owners operating under this work permit may eventually qualify for permanent residency in Canada. This is also referred to as a C-11 work permit.
3. Intra-company Transfer: (similar to USA L1 A & B Visa): The Canada C-12 work permit, also known as the intra-company category, enables international companies to temporarily relocate skilled employees to Canada to enhance management effectiveness, expand Canadian exports, and improve competitiveness in foreign markets.
To be eligible for a work permit under this category, intra-company transferees must meet certain requirements. Firstly, they must be currently employed by a foreign or Indian company and seeking to work in a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate of that company in Canada. Secondly, they must be transferred to a position in an executive, senior managerial, or specialized knowledge capacity. Lastly, they must have been continuously employed by a foreign or Indian company that intends to transfer them to Canada in a similar full-time position.
Each of these immigration categories requires extensive documentation, including a detailed and realistic business plan, market research, and evidence of the applicant’s education, relevant experience, and English language proficiency. If you are a successful businessman in India and wish to expand your business in Canada, one of these categories could be ideal for you to move to Canada immediately and eventually obtain permanent residency.
Obtaining permanent residency in Canada could also result in an 80% reduction in university education fees for your children and the opportunity to apply for Canadian citizenship after two years of permanent residency. Canadian citizenship may also allow you to apply for E1 and E2 business visas for the United States.
The author of this article/blog is Prashant Ajmera, an Indian immigration lawyer and the founder of Ajmera Law Group. He has been a Canadian citizen for the past 30 years and is also the author of two books: “Millionaire of the Move” and “How to Plan for Your Child’s Foreign Education: Myth vs. Reality”. He has been assisting and advising Indian businessmen to establish businesses in Canada since 1993. Consult us