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Canada Business Visitor

See: Canada Entry Requirements to know whether the Business Visitor Category is the right stream for you.

  1. The Law – Work without a work permit —Business visitor
  2. General Criteria
  3. After-Sales/Lease Services
  4. Warranty or Service Agreement
  5. Not Business Visitors (CUSMA Professionals and Other Service Providers)
  6. Trainers And Trainees
  7. Intra-Company Training And Installation Activities
  8. Board Of Directors’ Meeting
  9. Employees Of Short-Term Temporary Residents
  10.  A U.S. Person Controlling Work Performed in Canada by Canadian –   Employees of Foreign Companies Contracting Canadian Companies
  11. Sales
  12. Sales Negotiations
  13. Sales To The General Public
  14. Direct Sales Organizations
  15. Conventions
  16. Canadian Events
  17. Foreign Events
  18. Event Planners for a Foreign Organization
  19. Event Planners for a Canadian Organization
  20. Setting Up Display
  21. Contract Service Providers

1.

1. The Law – Work without a work permit —Business visitor 

Authority:
  • IRPR (Immigration Refugee Protection Regulations)
    • ¶ 186(a) facilitates entry to Canada for foreign nationals who intend to engage in international business activities in Canada. These activities are considered to be work* as per the definition in section R2, as the foreign national may receive wages or commission even though they are not directly entering the Canadian labour market.R187(2) provides specific examples, which are meant to be illustrative. Included in this category are persons providing after-sales service
      • ¶ 187 defines the criteria for entry of business visitors
      • ¶ 187(3) provides the general criteria that must be met
      • ¶ 192 – provides that “A foreign national is a visitor and a member of the visitor class if the foreign national has been authorized to enter and remain in Canada as a visitor.”
  • CUSMA (Canada United States Mexico Agreement)
    • Chapter 16, ANNEX 16-A, and APPENDIX 1 Business Visitors provides the mechanisms to achieve that objective. Chapter 16 does not replace, but adds to the existing provisions in the Immigration Regulations.
*work means an activity for which wages are paid or commission is earned, or that is in direct competition with the activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labour market

2. General Criteria

  • Business Visitors are persons who engage in international business activities related to research and design, growth, manufacture and production, marketing, sales, distribution, after sales services, and general service.
  • Key Requirement-Elements
    • Foreign Employer
    • The primary source of the worker’s remuneration remains outside Canada
    • The principal place of the worker’s employer is located outside Canada
    • The accrual of profits of the worker’s employer is located outside Canada
    • No intent to enter the Canadian labour market, that is, no gainful employment in Canada
  • NOTE: Business visitors should have all relevant documents on hand to present to the officer when seeking entry to Canada including letters of support from the business visitor’s parent company and a letter of invitation from the Canadian host business.

3.

3. After-Sales/Lease Services

  • The person seeking entry as a Business Visitor must be a citizen (not a permanent resident) of Mexico or the United States. In order to facilitate entry the applicant should have proof of their citizenship in the form of a birth certificate, passport, or certificate of naturalization.
  • After-sales/lease services include those provided by persons repairing and servicing, supervising installers, and setting up and testing commercial or industrial equipment (including computer software). “Setting up” does not include hands-on installation generally performed by construction or building trades (electricians, pipe fitters, etc.). This allows persons seeking entry to repair or service specialized equipment, purchased or leased outside Canada, provided the service is being performed as part of the original or extended sales agreement, lease/rental agreement, warranty, or service contract.
  • After-sales/lease service also includes situations where the sales/lease agreement or purchase order is for a software upgrade to operate previously sold or leased equipment, a service person coming to Canada to install, configure, or give training on the upgraded software should receive consideration as a business visitor, as long as the after–sales/lease service activity is clearly articulated in the new sales/lease agreement or purchase order. A sales/lease agreement or purchase order for upgraded software is a new contract for a new product. The fact that the upgraded software will be used to operate older equipment that may no longer be under warranty or under a service agreement is irrelevant.
  • Service personnel coming to perform service work on equipment or machinery that is either out of warranty, or where no service contract exists, continue to require a Labor Market Opinion (LMO) and a Work Permit. As with CUSMA, hands-on building and construction work is not covered by this provision.

4.

4. Warranty or Service Agreement

  • Service contracts must have been negotiated as part of the original sales or lease/rental agreements or be an extension of the original agreement. Service contracts negotiated with third parties after the signing of the sales or lease/rental agreement are not covered by this exemption. If, however, the original sales agreement indicates that a third company has been or will be contracted to service the equipment, R187 applies and a Business Visitor Record is obtainable. Where the work is not covered under a warranty, a work permit and an LMO is required.

5.

5. Not Business Visitors (CUSMA Professionals and Other Service Providers)

  • Where a Canadian employer has directly contracted for services from a foreign company, the employee of the foreign company performing the services for the Canadian company requires a work permit. This situation arises most often in the context of CUSMA. The service provider is not to be considered a business visitor simply because they are not directly receiving remuneration from a Canadian source. Since there is a contract between the Canadian company and the foreign worker’s employer there is a labour market entry. Since that foreign employer is receiving payment for the service that is being provided, it is deemed that the worker is receiving payment from a Canadian source. Consequently, the worker cannot receive consideration as a business visitor.
  • Example:
    • A Canadian airport undergoing expansion engages the services of an American architectural firm located in the U.S. The American architectural firm sends one or more of their architects to Canada to work on the project on site. Since the architects are working in Canada, and since their American employer is receiving payment for their services, the architects do not meet the business visitor criteria and cannot receive consideration as business visitors.
  • Documentation
As was the case for persons providing service under CUSMA, all business visitors coming in to do after-sales service for work periods of longer than two days must be documented on a Visitor Record. This requirement serves both as a facilitation and a control measure.
  • Supervisors
This provision also covers persons who enter Canada to supervise the installation of specialized machinery purchased or leased outside Canada, or to supervise the dismantling of equipment or machinery purchased in Canada for relocation outside Canada. As a guide, one supervisor can normally be expected to supervise five to ten installers or other workers.

6.

6. Trainers And Trainees

  • R187(2)(b) also covers persons entering Canada to provide familiarization or training services to prospective users or to maintenance staff of the establishment after installation of specialized equipment purchased or leased outside Canada has been completed. It also covers intracompany trainers and trainees.

7.

7. Intra-Company Training And Installation Activities

  • When a person is coming to provide training or installation of equipment for a branch or subsidiary company, they are considered to be business visitors. The same prohibition against hands-on building and construction work as for after-sales service applies. The foreign national should maintain their position in their home branch and not be paid by the Canadian branch above expenses. This provision may also apply to a trainer or specialized installer under an aftersales contract by the foreign branch (with the same conditions applying), as long as the service is provided company-wide and not just for the Canadian office.

8.

8. Board Of Directors’ Meeting

  • A person attending a meeting as a member of a board of directors may enter as a business visitor. Normally these people attend quarterly meetings. They are legally charged with the responsibility to govern an organization or corporation by, for example:
    • selecting and appointing a chief executive officer; • governing the organization by setting broad policies and objectives;
    • accounting to shareholders for products, services and expenditures.
    • While a board member may be well remunerated for their advice and expertise, they are considered to be business visitors under R187. There is a great deal of international mobility in this activity, and there is no real direct entry into the Canadian labour market.

9.

9. Employees Of Short-Term Temporary Residents

  • Persons employed in a personal capacity on a full-time basis by short term temporary residents, for example as a domestic servant, personal assistant or nanny (caregiver), would generally meet the business visitor criteria in R187(3)(a) and (b) and may enter as such. If the visiting employer extends their stay in Canada such that their employee is no longer considered to be working predominantly outside Canada or their employee’s primary source of remuneration can no longer be considered to be outside Canada, then that personal employee is no longer considered to be a business visitor and may be required to seek a work permit and an LMO to continue working. A stay of longer than 6 months would normally be found to exceed the threshold required by R187(3)(b).

10.

10. A U.S. Person Controlling Work Performed in Canada by Canadian –   Employees of Foreign Companies Contracting Canadian Companies

  • There are situations where foreign companies contract Canadian companies to provide services for them in foreign jurisdictions. It is not uncommon, where distances are great, that the foreign company will send one or more of their employees to Canada to ensure that the Canadian company is doing the job that they are contracted to do in a manner that meets the approval of the foreign company. Sometimes, these foreign nationals may be in Canada for up to two years.
  • Where a foreign company sends an employee to Canada to control or inspect the quality of a product that they have contracted, the foreign employee should receive consideration as a business visitor as long as:
    • That employee remains an employee of the foreign company;
    • That employee remains on the payroll of the foreign company;
    • The foreign company remains the beneficiary of the employee’s efforts;
    • The foreign company’s principal place of business remains outside Canada.
    • Example:
      • A foreign infrastructure company is building a new university in the foreign country. The foreign company contracts a Canadian architectural firm to do the architectural work. The foreign company wants to send one or more of their engineers to Canada to ensure that the work of the Canadian architectural company is being done according to their standards and desires. The foreign employees may be in Canada for up to two years. The fact that they will be in Canada for more than six months is irrelevant, since their principal place of business remains outside Canada (Appendix H).

11.

11. Sales

  • R187 defines business visitors as those who are not entering the labour market. R187(2)(c) gives the specific example of persons selling goods and services, who meet that definition as long as they are not selling to the general public. Potential buyers NOT classified as the ‘general public’ include wholesalers, retailers, corporations and institutions. Some examples of sales situations are given below:

12.

12. Sales Negotiations

  • A business visitor may sell, take orders or negotiate contracts for goods (or services) during the same visit to Canada. If, however, the goods are delivered or the services are provided during the same visit to Canada, a work permit is required.
  • Foreign sales representatives and agents may not sell predominantly Canadian-made goods or services provided by a Canadian without a work permit. The issue of whether the goods are made in Canada or outside relates to the issue of entry into the labour market. If a product is manufactured in Canada, and sold in Canada, there is no reason that a Canadian should not be the one to sell the product. On the other hand, if a product is manufactured in, for example, Africa, and then sold to a Canadian retailer, wholesaler or institution, this would be considered a normal international business practice. A foreign salesperson should be able to sell their products in another country. There is no entry into the labour market. Sales negotiations are considered in the same way; as not entailing entry into the labour market.

13.

13. Sales To The General Public

  • Persons engaging in regular sales to the general public require a work permit issued on the basis of an LMO.

14.

14. Direct Sales Organizations

  • Direct sales companies such as Amway/Quixstar, Mary Kay or Avon Cosmetics and Homes Interiors & Gifts Company will send individuals to prospect and recruit Canadian salespeople who will sell the company’s products. These individuals may enter to give training and motivation sessions, and assist recruits in making their first presentations and sales to Canadian consumers. They may carry with them, when crossing the border, training material, promotional material such as brochures and catalogues, and various samples of the products which are to be used for demonstrations and training purposes only and are not to be sold in Canada. These people may be authorized to enter Canada as business visitors.
  • R187 allows foreign salespeople to sell products directly, provided that the products are non- Canadian products and that they are not delivered or available to the buyer at the time of the sale (on the same trip); the seller being able only to take orders for the products at the time of the sale.

15.

15. Conventions

  • For events held by the following organizations: • Associations; • Corporations, and • Governments.
  • Events can be one of the following: • association meetings, conventions and congresses; • corporate meetings; • incentive meetings, or • trade shows, exhibitions and consumer shows.

16.

16. Canadian Events

  • A Canadian event is one being held by an organization which is located in Canada. The organization must be actively doing business in Canada. A Canadian event may be conducted by a branch or subsidiary of a foreign based organization.

17.

17. Foreign Events

  • A foreign event is one being held by an organization which is located in a country other than Canada. The organization must conduct its business from a location outside Canada.

18.

18. Event Planners for a Foreign Organization

  • Permanent employees of foreign organizations planning events in Canada do not require work permits if they are: • executive organizing committee members, or • administrative support staff.
  • Persons working under contract for foreign organizations planning events in Canada do not require work permits if they are: • event planners; • exhibit managers; • professional conference organizers; • destination marketing company personnel, or • event accommodation consultants.

19.

19. Event Planners for a Canadian Organization

  • Foreign nationals working under contract for Canadian organizations planning events in Canada require Work permits and an LMO.
  • Exhibitors Booth personnel, display stand personnel, and booth owners may enter Canada as business visitors to display or demonstrate goods at an event without work permits. Selling goods Exhibitors of all nationalities who want to sell foreign made goods to the general public and deliver them at the time of the sale require work permits. Work permits for this purpose are LMO exempt under R205(a) C10 (significant economic benefits). There are benefits deriving from their entry in that they hire Canadian services and purchase accommodations etc.
  • Exhibitors who are citizens of the U.S. and Mexico who merely take orders for goods from the general public that will be delivered to the customer after the seller returns to their home country do not require work permits. They can benefit from treatment as business visitors under CUSMA.
  • Exhibitors who take orders for foreign made goods on a business-to-business basis at trade shows that are attended by corporations, wholesalers, retailers, and institutions do not require work permits. They are considered to be business visitors. Exhibitors selling Canadian-made goods require work permits. Work permits for this purpose require an LMO.

20.

20. Setting Up Display

  • Company employees will require work permits to install and dismantle a booth or display if it is larger than a portable pop-up. Work permits for this purpose do not require an LMO

21.

21. Contract Service Providers

  • Foreign service providers who are working under contract for exhibitors require work permits. This includes persons who are involved in activities such as: •
  • the installation and dismantling of a show or exhibit; • audio video, staging, or show decorating services, and
  • lighting, carpet laying, carpentry, or electrical work.
  • All foreign service providers working under contract to Canadian events require work permits. Work permits for this purpose require an LMO. Foreign service providers who are supervisory personnel working under contract for foreign events require work permits. Work permits for this purpose do not require an LMO, as long as the supervisors will be directing local hires.