Canadian ICT visa
One of the ways to immigrate to Canada is through the Canadian ICT visa. ICT stands for Intra-Company Transfer. This immigration procedure is one of the subcategories of Canada’s IMP international relocation program.
Under Canada’s Intra-Company Transfer Program, international businesses that have a parent company, branches, subsidiaries or affiliates in Canada can transfer their key employees outside of Canada through the Canadian ICT Visa, or Inter-Company Transfer. .
If you are working in an international company and have a key job, the Canadian intra-company transfer visa can be the right way for you to immigrate to Canada.
What is ICT Canada visa?
The ICT visa is a type of Canadian temporary work visa and is reserved for international companies that are located outside of Canada and have established an office in Canada. In order to develop their business or transfer their business to Canada, these companies transfer some of their high-ranking and expert employees to the Canadian company.
What company can act? Any international company that can demonstrate that moving labor into Canada has a positive impact on the quality of their service to Canadians. So the interest of Canadians is involved? Yes, serving this company will ultimately lead to improving the lives and profits of Canadians.
Benefits of using the ICT program
Obtaining an ICT work visa without the need for an LMIA permit
Shortening the application process for ICT visa
Shortening the ICT work visa issuance process using the Global Skills Strategy program
The possibility of accompanying family members with ICT work visa holders
No need for high language skills
The possibility of converting a Canadian intra-company transfer visa to a Canadian permanent residence
Conditions for obtaining a Canadian intra-company transfer visa
In order to obtain an intra-company work visa in Canada, both the employees of the foreign company and the companies themselves must comply with certain conditions and rules. ICT work visas will not be issued to foreign employees if either party does not comply with Canada’s intra-company transfer rules.
Canada ICT visa requirements for company employees
Transfer employees must have at least one year of full-time work experience in a foreign company during the last three years.
Transfer employees must be posted to the Canadian office to do the same work they would do in their home country.
A job title to work in Canada must fall under one of the following three categories:
Executive: To be in charge of managing the company or a major part of it.
Senior Manager: Manage all or part of the company and supervise and control the work of other managers and specialist employees.
Specialized Knowledge: An employee who has specialized knowledge about the company’s products or services or a high level of expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures.
Canada ICT visa requirements for the companies themselves
The address of the company’s office in Canada must be known. In exceptional cases such as startups, another address can be introduced until the office is rented or purchased.
A company that wants to establish an office in Canada must have a realistic and defensible business plan to justify its activities in Canada (business plan).
The company must have the financial ability to start a business in Canada and pay the wages of the employees.
If the company wants to transfer its high-level managers to Canada, it must show that the scale of the company’s work in Canada will be large enough to require management-level work.
When companies want to send their specialist employee to Canada, they must be able to demonstrate that:
This specialist workforce definitely plays a role in their business
His activity in Canada is under the direction of the Canadian manager of the company.
Statistics of ICT work visas issued – 2015 to January 2022
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 January 2022
ICT visa 11,550 12,365 12,795 14,450 17,230 11,770 15,645 1,350
ICT visa 20152016201720182019202020211000012000140001600018000
x ICT visa
2015 11,550
2016 12,365
2017 12,795
2018 14,450
2019 17,230
2020 11,770
2021 15,645
What is the funding for the ICT visa?
The applicant must prove to the Canadian government with his financial ability documents that he has sufficient financial ability to stay and start a business in Canada and that he will not face any problem to meet the minimum requirements of living in this country. Therefore, financial resources can be divided into two parts:
Financial ability to cover the cost of living
Canadian immigration officers use the Lyco chart as a tool to assess an applicant’s financial means. LICO stands for Low-income cut-off and is used to show the poverty line in Canadian urban areas with a population of at least half a million people. In other words, if your income is less than the LICO, in Canada’s eyes you are below the poverty line. In short-term visas, officers expect you to show 12 months of credit in your bank account.
Number of family members Minimum amount required in Canadian dollars
1 person 26,620
2 people 33,140
3 people 40,742
4 people 49,466
5 people 56,104
6 people 63,276
7 people 70,448
More than 7 people: these amounts are added to 7,172 per person
One thing you should pay attention to is that the budget and financial resources mentioned in the table must be owned by the individual or shared with his wife, and the applicant cannot borrow the amount from another person.
financial ability to finance investment (starting a business in Canada)
Minimum amount required for investment according to new
A business in Canada will be determined and notified. Ways to prove financial ability:
Proof of financial ability through bank letter and quarterly circulation of short-term accounts
Proof of financial ability through a bank letter and one to two months’ circulation of short-term accounts along with sources such as affidavit
Proof of financial ability through a bank letter from long-term accounts (and financial source if needed)
Proof of financial ability through a foreign currency account along with providing a financial source
Proof of financial ability through bank letter and official real estate appraisal
Official real estate appraisal
Note that the last two are less recommended.
Introduction of ICT work visa types
As we discussed in the previous section about the requirements for the ICT work visa, three categories of people can apply for the Canadian intra-company transfer program, based on which we will have three types of ICT work visas. With this type of visa, you will be able to immigrate to Canada through the ICT program.
All three types of visas are Canadian temporary residence visas and have the same process:
Work visa for executives
People can apply for this type of visa who are in charge of managing a company or managing a major part or a subsidiary part of a company. These managers are under the overall supervision of higher-level managers, the board of directors or the company’s shareholders.
Work visa for senior managers
People can apply for this type of visa who are responsible for the management of the company or the management of a department or a sub-section of it and supervise the work of other managers and supervisors.
Work visa for specialists
Employees can apply for this type of visa if they have specialized knowledge about the products or services of the company they are working for and also have specialized information about the products or services of the host company and its application in international markets.
Documents required for ICT intra-company transfer work visa
The documents required to apply through the ICT intra-corporate transfer program are as follows:
Documents proving that the transferring employees outside of Canada are employed by the international company and intend to transfer to its Canadian office.
Documents that show that the transferred person has worked in that company for at least one year in the three years prior to the time of applying for an ICT visa. This work must have been done full-time (not part-time) and in the same position that is to be done in Canada. These documents can be in the form of legal slips or contracts.
Summary of the status and description of the duties of the transferee in an executive or managerial position. This document includes the job position, job title, job position in the company’s administrative organization and description of his duties in the country of origin.
The same documents for the future position in Canada.
In situations where the transfer force requires specialized knowledge, documents must be presented to show that the proposed person has this specialized knowledge.
A descriptive document indicating the existence of a tangible connection between the company’s activities in the country of origin and its Canadian office, or any other company that is considered its partner in Canada.
Receive invitation from Canadian company
Detailed business plan
Apply for Canada intra-company transfer visa
If you have all the required conditions for an ICT work visa and also provide all the necessary documents, you can apply for this type of visa and do the following steps:
Log in to the Canadian Immigration website.
Choose the following options in order to request a work permit:
Work –> Get a work permit –> Temporary workers –> Apply for a work permit
Create an account and answer the questions of the online application (choose Intra Company Transfer among the types of work permits).
Download the necessary forms from within the application and fill and sign them.
Sort the required documents and upload them in the relevant sections of the application.
Pay the application fee and the fingerprinting fee.
Make an appointment for fingerprinting from the Canadian Embassy in one of Iran’s neighboring countries and do it on the specified date.
After receiving the ICT work visa, pick up your passport to insert the visa label in it.
How long is the ICT application review period?
The duration of companies’ application for ICT visa is on average between 2 and 10 weeks. Of course, this period of time varies depending on the conditions and busyness of the Canadian Immigration Department.
What is the duration of the work permit with the ICT Intercompany Transfer Program?
The validity period of the work visa in the Canadian ICT program is one year. At the end of the first year and of course at the end of the following years, it is possible to extend the visa.
When applying for a visa extension, you must provide documents that show that you have tried to start a business and convince the immigration officer that you have made the most of your work visa in the first year.
Canada ICT visa extension
In order to extend the validity of the ICT visa, your company must provide documents to show that:
The relationship between the Canadian office (or Canadian company) and the home company is still valid.
The Canadian office has been active in providing goods and services for the past one year.
The Canadian office has secured the staff it needs.
Startup companies in Canada’s ICT program
Canada has made it possible for companies outside of Canada to launch and establish a Canadian start-up company through the intra-company transfer program or ICT.
What is a startup company?
A startup is a business that has been established in Canada for less than a year. Start-up companies, unlike other Canadian companies that use the ICT program, do not have the condition of “doing active business” because a short time has passed since the establishment of these companies and business owners or executives, senior managers or
Their employees with specialized knowledge can get ICT work visa and after entering Canada, start and develop that business and make it active.
The organization and structuring of the startup company must be done before applying for the transfer of business owners, managers and specialized employees to Canada. Because applying for an ICT work visa is conditional on having a job offer from a Canadian company. Therefore, that company must be registered in Canada and have a CRA business number.
Read more: Canada Startup Visa
Cost of Canada’s intra-company transfer program
Canada intra-company transfer work visa is a type of temporary visa and its cost is calculated like other Canadian temporary work visas. In this type of visa, the Canadian employer must pay the employer’s compliance fee for announcing the job offer in the employer system:
Conversion of intra-company transfer visa to Canadian permanent residence
A work visa through ICT will not automatically lead to permanent residence in Canada. After obtaining an ICT work visa and gaining at least one year of work experience in Canada, now you need a suitable path that will lead you to permanent residence in Canada:
One of the subgroups of Express Entry
As an old saying goes: All roads lead to Rome. But what is RAM here? Express Entry.
It is very likely that the path ahead of you will be Express Entry. Remember that wherever you talk about Canadian skilled visas, you will find Express Entry. Considering that at the end of the first year of being in Canada, you will have one year of Canadian experience, so the best subgroup in Express Entry is the CEC Canadian Experience subgroup.
How does one year of work experience in the ICT program pave the way for permanent residence?
Everything is done with three simple changes. Of course, instead of changing, it is better to say improvement of points. Let’s take a look at three basic improvements after the end of the first year of the work visa, in facilitating the conditions for obtaining permanent residence.
The first improvement Obtaining additional points in the Express Entry system:
Without work experience in Canada, you will not earn any points in the work section for the Express Entry Subcategory Canadian Experience Program. Having one year of Canadian work experience will get 35 points for the main applicant, and if you have 2 years of work experience in Canada, this point will increase to 46.
The second improvement Participating in the Canadian Experience Immigrant Program instead of participating in the federal Skilled Worker Program:
In the graphs below, see the minimum accepted points of these two programs during the last few draws:
Minimum Accepted Scores in Canadian Experience Program Minimum Scores 11-Jan-2315-Mar-2329-Mar-2326-Apr-238-Jun-234-Jul-231-Aug-2319-Sep-2310-Oct-23480500520540560580
Date minimum score
11-Jan-23 507
18-Jan-23 490
15-Mar-23 490
23-Mar-23 484
29-Mar-23 481
12-Apr-23 486
26-Apr-23 483
24-May-23 488
8-Jun-23 486
27-Jun-23 486
4-Jul-23 511
11-Jul-23 505
1-Aug-23 517
15-Aug-23 496
19-Sep-23 531
26-Sep-23 504
10-Oct-23 500
6-Dec-23 561
Minimum points accepted in the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
Date minimum score
11-Jan-23 507
18-Jan-23 490
2-Feb-23 489
15-Mar-23 490
23-Mar-23 484
29-Mar-23 481
12-Apr-23 486
26-Apr-23 483
24-May-23 488
8-Jun-23 486
27-Jun-23 486
4-Jul-23 511
11-Jul-23 505
1-Aug-23 517
15-Aug-23 496
19-Sep-23 531
26-Sep-23 504
10-Oct-23 500
6-Dec-23 561
As it is known, since April 2021, the minimum score of the Canadian experimental program has been between 350 and 370. However, in February 2021, a new record was broken and the minimum draw score reached 75, which is a very low score, and more than 27,000 people were accepted.
In contrast, in the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the minimum scores in recent draws have been higher than the average minimum scores of the Canadian Experience Program. So, your chances will be much higher in the Canadian experience subgroup.
The third improvement Strengthening English language: There is no guarantee, but it is likely that your presence in Canada will strengthen your English language and as a result, you will get a higher score in the Express Entry system. Usually, our presence in Canada is the depth of the language disaster! informs and leads to more seriousness in strengthening it.
now it’s your turn! See how many are you?
Calculate your score using the Smart Express Entry MasterVisa Canada score calculation tool.
First, calculate your score without including one year of Canadian work experience and then after including 1 year of Canadian experience. Try to be realistic about the IELTS score and don’t exaggerate. You are supposed to submit this score one year after entering Canada.
Was the result promising?
What would be better if it was. If not, now you can calculate Canadian work history with 2 years of experience in Canada. As long as you can convince Canadian immigration, you will be able to renew your ICT work visa.
The bold role of chance
Yes luck! Luck also plays a role. A year from now, no one knows what the Express Entry scores will look like in the Canadian Experience subcategory.
Do you remember the historical miracle of February 2021? No one could believe that on February 13, 2021, the Canadian government invited people with a minimum score of 75 in the Canadian experience to apply for permanent residence in Canada.
Of course, there is no need to wait for a miracle similar to the Canadian experience draw in February 2021, but a little luck will be enough. Anyway, to enter the lottery, we have to buy a ticket first.
(mrvisacanadaa)
No comment