New Eligibility Criteria for Intra-company Transfers to Canada 2025

If you’re planning an intra-company transfer to Canada in 2025, you’ll need to meet considerably stricter requirements. You must demonstrate advanced proprietary knowledge with at least two years’ experience, qualify under TEER 0-2 occupation categories, maintain legitimate physical business premises, and prove genuine employer-employee relationships. Your company must meet prevailing wage standards, create measurable economic benefits, and commit to local job creation. These enhanced criteria also limit family members’ work permit eligibility, making thorough preparation essential for approval.

Stricter Specialized Knowledge Requirements and Experience Thresholds

If you’re planning an intra-company transfer to Canada in 2025, you’ll face considerably stricter requirements for proving specialized knowledge than in previous years.

You must demonstrate unique, advanced proprietary knowledge combined with advanced expertise, positioning yourself as key personnel with skills that aren’t just highly developed but genuinely unique to your organization.

The experience threshold has increased markedly.

Experience requirements have jumped significantly, demanding at least two years with your foreign enterprise versus the previous one-year standard.

You’ll now need at least two years with your foreign enterprise, up from the previous one-year requirement. This change aligns with Canada’s emphasis on “significant experience.”

While rare exceptions exist for cases involving advanced proprietary knowledge, you shouldn’t count on qualifying with less experience.

These heightened standards mean you’ll need to prepare more thorough documentation proving your specialized knowledge isn’t merely technical proficiency but represents critical, unique expertise essential to your company’s operations.

High-Skill Occupation Classifications Under TEER Categories

When you’re applying for an ICT work permit in 2025, your occupation must fall within specific skill categories under Canada’s Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) system.

The government now requires specialized knowledge workers to hold positions classified as TEER 0, 1, or 2, representing high-skill occupations. TEER 0 includes management positions, TEER 1 covers occupations requiring university degrees, and TEER 2 encompasses jobs needing college diplomas or apprenticeship training.

If you’re in TEER categories 3, 4, or 5, you’ll face increased scrutiny during the application process.

These lower-tier classifications typically involve high school education or on-the-job training. While not automatically disqualified, you must provide stronger justification for your transfer, demonstrating exceptional circumstances that warrant approval despite the lower skill classification.

Physical Business Premises and Remote Work Restrictions

Canada’s updated ICT program now mandates that businesses maintain legitimate physical commercial premises to qualify for work permit applications.

You can’t operate from virtual offices or use mailing addresses alone. While you’re allowed to work from shared co-working spaces, IRCC will scrutinize your business’s legitimacy more closely.

If you’re planning remote work arrangements, you’ll need strong justification beyond time zone differences. The government wants proof that physical presence isn’t necessary for your specific role.

These restrictions apply more strictly to General ICTs under R205(a), while FTA ICTs face less stringent requirements.

Your company must demonstrate active business operations at its Canadian location. Without proper commercial premises, your ICT application will likely face rejection, particularly for start-ups attempting to establish their first Canadian branch.

Enhanced Documentation for Employer-Employee Relationships

Proving a genuine employer-employee relationship has become critical for ICT applications, as IRCC now demands thorough documentation showing the Canadian company actively directs and supervises the transferred employee’s daily activities.

You’ll need employment contracts clearly outlining reporting structures, job responsibilities, and performance evaluation processes. Your Canadian employer must demonstrate they’re not merely facilitating your presence but actively managing your work through regular meetings, project assignments, and oversight mechanisms.

Documentation should include organizational charts, email communications showing work direction, and evidence of integration into Canadian operations.

You can’t simply work independently or manage projects without supervision. The Canadian entity must exercise real control over your duties, schedule, and deliverables. This requirement prevents arrangements where you’re fundamentally self-employed or working primarily for the foreign entity while physically present in Canada.

Wage Standards and Prevailing Market Rate Compliance

Although wage requirements have always existed for ICT applications, IRCC’s 2025 changes introduce stricter enforcement of prevailing wage standards that you’ll need to carefully navigate.

Your offered wages must meet or exceed the median wage for your occupation and geographic location. You can’t offer below-market compensation to foreign workers, even if they’re willing to accept it.

IRCC now conducts more thorough wage assessments, comparing your offer against provincial wage data and industry standards. For specialized knowledge workers, you’ll face particularly intense scrutiny since some employers previously used lower wages to justify the “specialized” nature of positions.

You must document how you’ve determined appropriate wages, including market research and comparable positions. Any significant deviation from prevailing rates requires strong justification and risks application rejection.

Work Permit Duration Limits and Extension Criteria

Beyond meeting wage requirements, you’ll need to understand the specific time limits that apply to different ICT categories when planning your company’s international transfers.

Executives and managers can receive initial permits for up to three years, with renewal possibilities extending their total stay to seven years.

Specialized knowledge workers face tighter restrictions—they’re limited to three-year initial permits and can only remain in Canada for five years total.

Start-up permits under the C61 exemption present the strictest limitations. You’ll receive just one year initially, and extensions are granted only in extenuating circumstances with documented progress toward your business milestones.

These duration limits guarantee transfers remain temporary while giving businesses adequate time to complete their objectives and develop local talent to eventually fill these positions.

Start-up Enterprise Regulations Under Exemption Code C61

If you’re planning to establish your foreign company’s first Canadian branch, you’ll find that Exemption Code C61 offers a specific pathway for start-up enterprises that no longer qualify under the general ICT program.

You must be an executive, manager, or specialized knowledge employee to use this exemption. You’ll need to secure physical commercial premises, though you can initially use your legal counsel’s address.

Your application requires a detailed business plan with clear milestones, timelines, and evidence of economic benefits.

You’ll also need human resource plans demonstrating your capacity to support key business functions.

C61 permits are valid for only one year, and you can’t extend them unless you prove significant progress and face extenuating circumstances.

The documentation requirements are more extensive than previous policies demanded.

Economic Benefit Requirements and Job Creation Obligations

The economic benefit requirements now form a fundamental component of ICT applications, requiring you to demonstrate how your transfer will create significant value for Canada’s economy, society, or culture.

ICT transfers must demonstrate concrete value creation for Canada’s economy, society, or culture through measurable contributions.

You’ll need to show concrete evidence that your presence will generate opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents during your employment period.

Your application must include detailed projections of job creation, skills transfer initiatives, and measurable economic contributions.

You’re expected to provide specific hiring plans, training programs for local workers, and quantifiable business growth metrics.

The government scrutinizes whether you’ll genuinely enhance Canada’s competitive advantage through innovation, knowledge transfer, or market expansion.

These obligations aren’t merely suggestions; they’re enforceable commitments that immigration officers will evaluate during extensions and future applications.

Impact on Family Members and Open Work Permit Eligibility

When you’re planning an intra-company transfer to Canada, you’ll need to understand how the recent changes affect your family members’ ability to work in the country.

The 2025 updates have greatly restricted open work permit eligibility for accompanying family members.

Your dependent children are no longer eligible for open work permits under the ICT program. This change means they’ll need to secure their own work authorization through separate immigration programs if they wish to work in Canada.

However, if you’re transferring as an executive, manager, or specialized knowledge worker, your spouse or common-law partner can still qualify for an open work permit. They’ll need to demonstrate their relationship status and your valid ICT work permit to obtain authorization to work for any Canadian employer.

How Canadian Currents Immigration Services Can Help

Maneuvering the increasingly complex ICT program requirements demands professional expertise, and Canadian Currents Immigration Services brings decades of combined experience to guide you through every step of your intra-company transfer application.

Our team of immigration lawyers, consultants, and paralegals understands the intricate details of both FTA and General ICT categories, guaranteeing you choose the best route.

We’ll provide extensive assistance with:

• Evaluating your eligibility under current specialized knowledge criteria
• Preparing detailed business plans for C61 start-up applications
• Documenting economic benefits and job creation opportunities
• Steering through wage standards and TEER classification requirements
• Strategizing permanent residence pathways through Express Entry

Our tailor-made approach addresses your specific circumstances, whether you’re establishing a Canadian branch or transferring key personnel.

We guarantee your application meets all new operational requirements while maximizing approval chances.