CUSMA professionals and intra-company transferees: LMIA-exempt work for US and Mexican citizens

Eligibility requirements

• Citizenship: the applicant must be a citizen of the United States or Mexico and must prove it. Lawful permanent residents of the US are not eligible under CUSMA.
• Professionals (T36): the occupation must be one of the 63 in Appendix 2 of Chapter 16, which IRCC says cannot be interpreted, and the applicant must hold the minimum qualification listed, typically a baccalaureate or licenciatura degree, with some professions accepting a licence or a diploma plus three years' experience. The work in Canada must match the profession; a bookkeeper cannot enter as an accountant.
• Pre-arranged employment: an employee relationship with a Canadian enterprise, a contract between the professional and a Canadian enterprise, or a contract between the professional's US or Mexican employer and a Canadian enterprise. Self-employment in Canada is not permitted, and control of the Canadian enterprise by the applicant leads to refusal.
• Intra-company transferees (T37 executives and managers, T38 specialised knowledge): one continuous year of full-time employment with the foreign enterprise in the three years before the initial application, which cannot be made up from part-time work, and transfer to a Canadian enterprise with a qualifying parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate relationship that is doing business in both countries.
• Specialised knowledge requires both an advanced level of expertise and advanced proprietary knowledge of the company's product, service, research, equipment, techniques or management; one without the other is insufficient, and a year of service alone does not prove it.
• No mandatory wage assessment applies under CUSMA, but wage remains a factor in the overall assessment and an indicator of specialised knowledge; pay need not come from the Canadian enterprise or be in Canadian dollars.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Proof of US or Mexican citizenship (passport or, for US citizens, a birth certificate with photo identification).
• For professionals, the offer or contract describing the duties, the profession's Appendix 2 entry, the degree or licence that meets the minimum qualification, and any provincial licensing where the profession is regulated.
• For transferees, a description of the qualifying relationship with tangible proof (ownership charts, registers), evidence that both enterprises are doing business, and the foreign employment record for the qualifying year.
• For specialised knowledge, an account of the proprietary knowledge and the advanced expertise, with evidence of why the Canadian position needs it.
• The Employer Portal offer of employment number and proof of the CAD 230 compliance fee, unless exempt.
• Where the applicant is already in Canada with temporary resident status, evidence of that status for an in-Canada application under IRPR section 199.

How to apply

1. 01

   Confirm citizenship and category

   Check that the applicant is a citizen of the US or Mexico and that the role is either a listed profession with the listed qualification or a genuine intra-company transfer. Where neither fits, the International Mobility Program's significant-benefit codes or an LMIA are the alternatives.

2. 02

   Prepare the Canadian employer's offer

   The Canadian enterprise submits the offer of employment through the Employer Portal, selecting the CUSMA exemption, and pays the compliance fee. The offer must describe the position, duties and qualifications consistently with the application.

3. 03

   Choose where to apply

   Citizens who are exempt from the temporary resident visa requirement, which includes US citizens, may apply at a port of entry. Applicants already in Canada with temporary resident status may apply from within Canada. Others apply online before travel.

4. 04

   Present the case at the border or online

   Bring the full documentary package: citizenship, offer or contract, qualifications, and for transferees the relationship and service evidence. Officers assess temporariness and whether CUSMA entry is being used to circumvent normal procedures.

5. 05

   Track duration and renewals

   Professionals may be extended in increments of up to three years without a numerical limit while the requirements continue to be met. Transferees are capped at seven years (T37) or five years (T38) in total, cumulative across all intra-company categories.

After approval & family planning

• Spouses of work-permit holders under certain free-trade agreements are eligible for a spousal open work permit; where the FTA route does not apply, the general high-skilled measure may, subject to its TEER and 16-month conditions.
• The employer must honour the offer as submitted, keep records for six years and cooperate with inspections; the compliance regime applies to treaty hires as to any other.
• CUSMA status does not confer permanent residence. Twelve months of skilled Canadian experience may support the Canadian Experience Class, and IRPA section 22(2) allows dual intent where the officer is satisfied the person will leave at the end of the authorised stay.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant is a US or Mexican citizen holding a genuine managerial role with a qualifying affiliate for a year, the CUSMA transfer may be assessed as an alternative to the significant-benefit codes; the citizenship condition is decisive. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• Port-of-entry applications are decided on the spot; a weak package risks refusal and a record that complicates later applications. Prepare the file as if for an online application.
• New-office transfers under CUSMA are limited to one year initially; the Canadian enterprise must be able to show it is doing business by the time an extension is sought.