IT professionals who do not need a Canadian work permit

Some tech professionals may be eligible to come to Canada as Business Visitors, which means they do not need a work permit to enter the country.

A Business Visitor is a foreign national who comes to Canada to conduct business activities. Since they do not enter the labour market on their trip, no work permit is required.

To be considered a Business Visitor, you must demonstrate the following:

you plan to stay for less than six months;
you do not plan to enter the Canadian labour market;
your main place of business and source of income and profits are outside Canada;
you have documents that support your application; and
you meet Canada’s basic entry requirements including a valid travel document such as a passport, enough money for your stay and return home, a plan to leave Canada at the end of your visit, and you are not a criminal, security, or health risk to Canadians.

IT workers may be considered Business Visitors in the following circumstances:

Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

After-sales service

After-sales service takes place during cross-border transactions. These situations arise when a Canadian company has purchased a product from a foreign company and the foreign company must provide service or do maintenance work on the product. Foreign tech workers may be required to travel to Canada to do this work. Perhaps the product is complex technical equipment or computer systems software.

It may be a case where the servicing of the product requires specialized knowledge which is only known to the employees of the foreign company. Therefore, the workers would be rendered eligible to enter as Business Visitors.

Guest Speakers/Workshop Participants

Another category of Business Visitors applies to those who are entering Canada to speak at a seminar or to participate in a workshop.

With the ever-expanding role of technology in today’s modern world, there has been a significant increase in the number of such seminars or workshops focusing on a wide array of tech-related subjects. Therefore, non-Canadian experts may be granted entry to Canada as Business Visitors so that Canadians might benefit from their specialized knowledge on a given topic.

Training

Another category of Business Visitor that is often seen from the tech field are those who enter Canada to receive training at a Canadian branch of a multinational company.

The use of certain equipment or software can require proprietary knowledge specific to that company. there is often no substitute in terms of who can provide training on this equipment or software. In such cases, there is no choice but to have the foreign national enter Canada to receive training as a Business Visitor.

Do you need a lawyer?

Although the hiring of a lawyer is at your discretion, immigration authorities have wide discretion when assessing individuals entering Canada. As a result of this, people who should receive consideration as Business Visitors may be denied entry on the basis of the border officer believing a work permit is required.

Therefore, if entering Canada for work, you may wish to check with a qualified immigration attorney to see what can be done to maximize the chances of your successful entry into Canada.