New Restrictive Guidelines for Intracompany Transferees with Specialized Knowledge

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has released new, more rigorous, case processing guidelines for the Intracompany Transfer (ICT) category, which include a stricter definition of specialized knowledge. The new guidelines took effect immediately. 

Specialized Knowledge – New Definition 

Foreign nationals now require a high degree of both proprietary knowledge and advanced expertise to qualify for intracompany transferee work permits under the specialized knowledge Labor Market Opinion (LMO) exemption. Proprietary knowledge or advanced expertise alone will no longer qualify a foreign national under the exemption. In addition, CIC will now require knowledge to be both unique and uncommon to be considered specialized. 

Mandatory Wage 

The new guidelines require a salary or wage to be consistent with the individual applicant’s level of expertise. Typically, this will result in an above-average salary. As a result, a wage threshold will be set at prevailing wage levels as a baseline for application assessments. 

The salary requirement does not apply to specialized knowledge ICTs entering Canada pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or to any future or current free trade agreements. Salary levels, nonetheless, remain an important factor in the overall assessment of an application. 

What This Means for Employers 

The updated specialized knowledge guidelines may present a challenge for companies seeking to transfer employees to Canada. Employers and foreign nationals must be prepared to provide evidence that they meet the new eligibility standard. 

How Can Fragomen Assist 

Fragomen can assist clients with assessing requirements for work permits across Canada and can also assist with preparing and filing of work permit applications. We are monitoring government communications about the new eligibility criteria, as well as evaluating our case processing experiences to identify trends, and will provide additional updates as new information becomes available. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].

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