CETA European Union Work Permit Agreement

What Are the European Union Member Countries?

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Independent Professionals and Contractual Service Suppliers

Independent Professionals

Under the term ‘Independent Professional’ it is understood a person who is self-employed as a professional and who has a contract to deliver a service to a Canadian entity. The main requirements for such person are:

• be a citizen of the European Union member country.
• participate in a temporary supply of service for a time period not exceeding 12 months (If exceeding 12 months, the CETA provisions will apply only for the initial 12 months.).
• have been contracted to supply a service as per the Annex 10-E Concordance Table.
• have a university degree or a qualification at an equivalent level.
• must possess professional qualifications as per laws or requirements of the destination province or territory if required to practice an activity related to the delivery of the service.
• be engaged in the delivery of a service as a self-employed person.
• have at least 6 years of professional expertise in the sector of the professional activity.

Example: A self-employed Architect seeks entry to Canada to provide specialized architectural services to an Architectural company in Vancouver under a pre-arranged contract.

Contractual Service Suppliers

A Contractual Service Supplier is an employee of a company in the European Union who has a contract to provide a service to a Canadian consumer. At the same time, the EU company cannot be established in Canada.

• be a citizen of the European Union member country.
• participate in a temporary supply of service for a time period not exceeding 12 months (If exceeding 12 months, the CETA provisions will apply only for the initial 12 months.).
• have been contracted to supply a service as per the Annex 10-E Concordance Table.
• have a university degree or a qualification at an equivalent level.
• must possess professional qualifications as per laws or requirements of the destination province or territory if required to practice an activity related to the delivery of the service.
• must be an employee of the company which was granted a service contract.
• be an employee of the EU-headquartered company for a minimum one year prior to application.
• have at least 3 years of professional experience in the activity that is the subject of the service contract at the time of application.
• not receiving Canadian remuneration for the provided services other than the remuneration paid by the employing EU company.

Example: A Canadian engineering company contracts a German company to provide services in the area advanced mechanical testing. An experienced mechanical engineer employed by the German company in Hamburg seeks entry to Canada to provide mechanical engineering services under the pre-arranged contract.

Who Cannot Apply for a CETA Work Permit

The following sectors are not included in the CETA agreement and therefore European nationals may not benefit from the LMIA-exempt CETA Work Permit. Applicants must follow the standard Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) route.

• medical and dental services
• veterinary services
• midwifery services
• services provided by nurses, physiotherapists and paramedical personnel
• higher education services

Intra-Corporate Transferees

Canadian companies may hire an employee of an EU company as long as the Canadian and EU company are a part of the same international corporation. Intra-corporate transferees must:

• be currently employed by a company of a European Union member country or be a partner in a company of an EU member country.
• have been employed or a partner for at least one year at the time of the CETA work permit application.
• be temporarily transferred to a company that is either a subsidiary, branch or head company of the company in Canada.

The applicant must also fall under one of the below categories:

• senior personnel
• specialists
• graduate trainees

Senior Personnel

Senior personnel definition is equivalent to the NAFTA agreement understanding of an individual in an ‘executive capacity.’ The criteria are as follows:

• manages the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization;
• supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees, or manages an essential function within the organization, or a department or subdivision of the organization;
• has the authority to hire and fire or recommend those, as well as other, personnel actions (such as promotion and leave authorization); if no other employee is directly supervised, functions at a senior level within the organization hierarchy or with respect to the function managed; and
• exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has the authority

Specialists

Specialists are individuals with ‘specialized knowledge’ as understood by the NAFTA agreement. To have specialized knowledge an intra-corporate transferee applicant would be required to demonstrate, on a balance of probabilities, a high degree of both proprietary knowledge and advanced expertise.

Graduate trainees

The subcategory of graduate trainees includes the following criteria. The applicant must:

• have a university degree
• be temporarily transferred to a company in Canada for professional development or to obtain training in business techniques or methods.

Length of Work Permit

Senior personnel and specialist may be issued a work permit of up to less than three years depending on the length of the contract. Graduate trainees are eligible for a work permit of less than one year depending on the length of the contract.

Where to apply for a CETA Work Permit

Applicants may apply for a CETA Work Permit at a Canadian Port-of-Entry (i.e. airport, land crossing, harbour), providing that they do not need visa to enter Canada. Alternatively, applications may be submitted in paper or online at a Canadian visa office abroad. Those European nationals who are already in Canada may apply from within Canada without having to depart and apply from abroad. 

CETA Work Permit Processing Times

Canadian Port-of-Entry – application submitted upon arrival to Canada at an airport, land crossing or harbour are processed immediately by the immigration officer at the border. Note that those planning to use air travel to come to Canada must apply for eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization) prior to their departure.

Paper/Online Applications – Those from visa-required countries of the European Union must apply and be approved for a CETA work permit prior to the departure for Canada. This option is voluntary for those who otherwise do not need visa to enter Canada. The processing times depend on the workload at the responsible Canadian visa office abroad. Click here to verify the current processing times.  

Extending a CETA Work Permit

A majority of CETA work permits may be extended at the immigration officer’s discretion. Independent professionals and contractual service suppliers may be extended only to a total of 12 months within a 24-month period. The subcategories of intra-corporate transferees: senior personnel and specialist may be extended for 18 months. On the other hand, graduate trainees may not be extended at all. In all the permitted cases, the applicants must submit evidence that the extension is required and justified.