April 14, 2022
The Intra-Company Transferee program, or ICT, is a federal business immigration program that offers a unique opportunity to qualified applicants and their family members.
If you’re an entrepreneur with a successful business in your home country, the ICT program may be an excellent option for you, not to mention the quickest way for you to come to Canada. By opening a branch, parent company, affiliate, or subsidiary of your existing business, assigning yourself a clearly defined role and participating in the daily operations of the company. In this way, you can successfully secure a work permit and subsequently immigrate to Canada without having to find a job through a Canadian employer.
The ICT also allows you to bypass the entire LMIA process, making it much faster and more efficient than other Canadian business immigration programs.
Interested in applying for this program? Find out if you would qualify for Canada’s ICT program, and learn what it takes to become a top candidate for one of Canada’s most sought-after immigration streams.
The ideal candidate for ICT
So, how do you know if you stand a shot at immigrating to Canada through ICT? Based on our years of experience at Desjardins Lawyers, there are certain qualities we have identified that make someone an ideal candidate to qualify for the ICT option:
- You are a business person who wants to immigrate to Canada by expanding your business activities in Canada and North America. While the ICT is mainly designed for foreign companies having an existing business in Canada, this program may also apply to newly established Canadian branches, affiliates, or subsidiaries.
- You own or work for an overseas business constituted 18-24 months which has been in active operation for at least one year with a proven track record, financial capacity and line of business which makes it possible to expand into Canada.
- You can demonstrate you have sufficient financial resources to launch a new business in Canada and the ability to invest at least $100,000 as a gesture of good faith.
- You possess an Intermediate level of English or French (7 out of 10).
- You have a post-secondary degree / diploma, etc., or
- You have a high school diploma but extensive, provable business ownership / business management experience.
How to permanently immigrate to Canada through ICT
The ICT program provides you with a temporary work permit, and it is assumed that when your work permit expires you will return to your home country to continue your business operations. However, with some Canadian work experience under your belt, your eligibility to apply for Canadian permanent residence significantly increases.
In order to stay in Canada permanently, your best option would be to apply through Canada’s Express Entry system. Express Entry candidates are evaluated based on a number of factors and given a Comprehensive Ranking System score (CRS). This score determines a candidate’s placement within the Express Entry pool, and thus their likelihood of receiving an invitation to apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence.
After 12 months of experience as a business owner and manager in Canada, your CRS score is eligible for a boost of up to 250 CRS points. Subsequently, your work experience may qualify you to apply through the Canadian Experience stream of Express Entry, giving you a greater chance of successfully obtaining your Canadian permanent residency.
Interested in exploring your options through ICT or any of Canada’s business immigration programs? Working with qualified immigration experts such as Desjardins Lawyers can help to expedite the process and increase your chances of success. Canada’s immigration programs and their requirements are subject to change at any time. If you think you would be a good candidate for ICT, now is the time to start the application process.
