As a part of Canada’s new tech talent strategy, Canada, on July 16, launched a new Open Work Permit (OWP) for H-1B visa holders.  

The open work permit is valid for a maximum of three years and enables candidates to work for any Canadian employer in specialized occupations. In addition, it allows them to bring their closely related family members to Canada along with them.  

This new pathway became incredibly popular, and the target of 10,000 applications was met in just two days. This caused people to search for alternative pathways for H-1B holders that they could pursue to immigrate to Canada. 

For H-1B visa holders, there are various pathways that allow them to enter Canada besides open work permits. Among them, many of the pathways don’t require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).  

Labour Market Impact Assessment, or LMIA, is a document that Canadian businesses or employers need to submit to the government to demonstrate that hiring overseas nationals will either have a positive or neutral impact on Canada’s labor force or economy and will not negatively impact it.  

Discover the various alternative pathways for H-1B holders. 

Available Alternative Pathways for H-1B Visa Holders. 

The following are the pathways that H-1B Holders can use to move to Canada.  

Global Talent Stream 

The Global Talent Stream (GTS) of Canada is a prominent pathway for foreign citizens employed in the IT sector. This criterion helps them qualify under “specialty occupation” for an H-1B visa holder. Canadian employers who desire to hire workers under the GTS program are required to submit an LMIA.  

There are two categories within the Global Talent Stream: Category A and Category B. 

Category A is for developing businesses that are able to explain the need to hire foreign workers with specialized talent.  

A designated referral partner, which is generally a provincial or local business association, must direct these businesses to the Global Talent Stream. 

Category B is for businesses that require to hire certain foreign workers skilled in any one of the enlisted occupations in the Global Talent Occupations. These listed occupations are generally high in demand and have an inadequate supply of domestic labor. 

As per the IRCC, the processing standard of the Global Talent Stream (GTS) is two weeks. So, the GTS applicants can expect their applications to be processed within two weeks.  

Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs) 

Another alternative pathway for H-1B Visa Holders is Intra-Company Transfer Work Permits (ICTs). It’s a different type of specialized work permit that doesn’t mandate employers to get an LMIA.  

This pathway is specifically designed for businesses to facilitate the transfer of employees who have branched in multiple countries. 

The Intra-Company Transfers work permit is suitable for employers in two situations: 

  • If businesses have a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate relationship within and outside of Canada  
  • If two companies are doing business and supplying goods and services on a regular basis, they must be functional in Canada. For them having just a physical location in Canada is not sufficient.  

Employees are able to obtain an Intra-Company Transfers work permit if they meet the following requirements. 

  • Employees must currently be employed by a multi-national corporation if they desire to enter Canada and work in a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate of that company. 
  • They must be transferred to a company that has an eligible connection with the company they are currently working in and will be working at the company’s legitimate and continuing establishment in Canada.  
  • They must be constantly employed by a company through payroll or a contract that intends to transfer them to Canada in an identical full-time role for a minimum period of one year in the three years before the date of initial application. 
  • He must be visiting Canada only for a temporary period.  
  • They must meet all the requirements of temporary entry in Canada. 
  • They must have specialized knowledge or must be a functional manager, a senior, or an executive manager.  

Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) 

A popular work permit for Mexican citizens working in multi-national companies having a branch in Canada is Canada-United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). 

Canada-United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) does not require an LMIA, similar to the Global Talent Stream and Intra-Company Transfers work permits.  

The citizens of America and Mexico don’t need a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) to travel to Canada. Therefore, they can apply for a CUSMA Work Permit either online or by paper at a visa office or at the Port of Entry like a border or an airport.  

There are four categories of temporary work for the applicants of CUSMA: 

  • CUSMA Professionals 
  • CUSMA Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs) 
  • CUSMA Traders 
  • CUSMA Investors 
  1. CUSMA Professionals: To be eligible under this category, the applicants must have a pre-planned job in Canada and must work in any one of nearly 60 specified occupations. Self-employed professionals do not qualify for this category. 
  1. CUSMA Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs): These work permits are given to employees who are temporarily in Canada and working in a US or Mexican employer’s branch. The applicants are eligible for this permit if they’ve constantly worked in a similar job role to work done in Canada for the employer for a minimum of one year of the last three years. 
  1. CUSMA Traders: This work permit is available for traders who can demonstrate that their objective is to conduct about 50 % of their trade of Goods and services between their country of citizenship and Canada. This can either depend on the volume or the value of the transaction.  
  1. CUSMA Investors: To be eligible for this work permit, investors are required to demonstrate that they have invested a good amount in an existing or new business in Canada. In addition, they must show that the purpose of entering Canada is to develop and lead a business in Canada.  

Business Visitors  

Business Visitors is a pathway for foreign citizens that allows them to visit Canada without an LMIA for business purposes such as attending business meetings, purchasing Canadian goods, providing after-sales service, obtaining training from a Canadian parent firm, or providing training to other employees.  

Business visitors may qualify for this pathway if they satisfy the following requirements: 

  • They must show that they intend to stay in Canada for not more than six months; 
  • They must reveal that they don’t intend to join Canada’s labor market; 
  • They must demonstrate that their primary business location and source of income and profits are located outside of Canada; 
  • They must show they have documents supporting their application; and  
  • They must demonstrate they satisfy the basic entry requirements of Canada.