Business visitors - CETA [R186(a)] – Authorization to work without a work permit – International Mobility Program

In these instructions “officers” refers to employees of both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The instructions on this page should be reviewed in conjunction with:

• Business visitors [R186(a)]: Authorization to work without a work permit – International Mobility Program
• Public list of Employers who have been non-compliant

Officers should initially assess European citizens against the general business visitor instructions for R186(a) found in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) and related Program Delivery Instructions (PDIs). In cases where their activities are not covered by the general provisions, officers should refer to the business visitor provisions provided in Chapter 10 - Temporary Entry and Stay of Natural Persons for Business Purposes of the CETA to determine eligibility R186(a).

Under CETA, there are two categories of business visitors: short-term business visitors and business visitors for investment purposes.

On this page

• Eligibility
• Permissible business activities
• Restrictions on business visitor eligibility under CETA
• Business visitors for investment purposes
• Documentary evidence
• Final decision

Eligibility

To be eligible as a business visitor under the CETA, a foreign national must:

• be a citizen of a European Union member state
• be engaged in permissible business activities as described in Annex 10-D of the CETA
• be engaged in permissible activities that are international in scope
• not have intent to enter the Canadian labour market
  • the primary source of remuneration for the business activity remains outside Canada
  • the principal place of business of the foreign national remains outside Canada
• be compliant with existing immigration and admissibility requirements for temporary entry;
• request entry as a business visitor at the port of entry (POE)

Business visitors must apply at a POE in the same manner as persons covered by other paragraphs of R186. An application cannot be made prior to arriving in Canada.

Border services officers at the Primary Inspection Line may make the determination that a foreign national meets the requirements for temporary entry as a business visitors, except persons applying for entry under the after-sales service or after-lease service provision. These foreign nationals should be referred to Immigration Secondary due to the complexity of the application and for reasons of client service and program consistency.

Permissible business activities

The permissible business activities are generally of a commercial nature that reflect the components of a business cycle. Typical examples of business activities include, but are not limited to, consultation, negotiation, discussion, research, participation in educational, professional or business conventions or meetings and soliciting business.

The following are the permissible business activities under Annex 10-D of the CETA:

• Meetings and consultations
• Research and design
• Marketing research
• Training seminars
• Trade fairs and exhibitions
• Sales
• Purchasing
• After-sales or after-lease service
• Commercial transactions
• Tourism personnel
• Translation and interpretation

Where an activity is not listed in Annex 10-D of the CETA, officers should continue to assess the applicant against the general Business Visitor provisions found in the IRPR and the related PDIs.

The term “commercial transaction” found in some provisions in Annex 10-D of the CETA may be described as any act within the confines of the law that is performed expressly to derive a profit. Commercial transactions refer to discussions and negotiations in respect to the sale, purchase, marketing, distribution, advertisement, procurement, transmission, transportation or packaging of goods or services.

Meetings and consultations

• Natural persons attending meetings or conferences, or engaged in consultations with business associates.

Research and design

• Technical, scientific and statistical researchers conducting independent research or research for an enterprise located in the territory of the other Party. This means that the applicant would be conducting research in Canada, for an enterprise headquartered within an EU member state;

Marketing research

• Market researchers and analysts conducting independent research or analysis for an enterprise located in the territory of the other Party. This means that the applicant would be conducting research or analysis in Canada, for an enterprise headquartered within an EU member state;

Training seminars

• Personnel of an enterprise who enter the territory of the other Party to receive training in techniques and work practices who are employed by companies or organizations in that Party, provided that the training received is confined to observation, familiarization and classroom instruction only;

Trade fairs and exhibition

• Personnel attending a trade fair for the purpose of promoting their company or its products or services;

Sales

• Representatives of a supplier of services or goods taking orders or negotiating the sale of services or goods or entering into agreements to sell services or goods for that supplier, but not delivering goods or supplying services themselves. Short-term business visitors do not engage in making direct sales to the general public;

Purchasing

• Buyers purchasing goods or services for an enterprise, or management and supervisory personnel, engaging in a commercial transaction carried out in the territory of the other Party;

After-sales or after-lease service

• Installers, repair and maintenance personnel, and supervisors, possessing specialized knowledge essential to a seller's contractual obligation, performing services or training workers to perform services, pursuant to a warranty or other service contract incidental to the sale or lease of commercial or industrial equipment or machinery, including computer software, purchased or leased from an enterprise located outside the territory of the Party into which temporary entry is sought, throughout the duration of the warranty or service contract;

Commercial transactions

• Management and supervisory personnel and financial services personnel (including insurers, bankers and investment brokers) engaging in a commercial transaction for an enterprise located in the territory of the other Party;

Tourism personnel

• Tour and travel agents, tour guides or tour operators attending or participating in conventions or accompanying a tour that has begun in the territory of the other Party.

Translation and interpretation

• Translators or interpreters performing services as employees of an enterprise located in the territory of the other Party. This means that the applicant would be translating or interpreting in Canada, for an enterprise headquartered within an EU member state.

Restrictions on business visitor eligibility under CETA

Short-term business visitors cannot:

• engage in selling a good or a service to the general public
• receive remuneration directly or indirectly from a source in Canada
• be engaged in the supply of a service, except as provided in Annex 10-D

Business visitors for investment purposes

CETA also includes a provision for the temporary entry of business visitors for investment purposes.

A business visitor for investment purposes is an employee in a managerial or specialist position who is responsible for setting up an enterprise but who does not engage in direct transactions with the general public and will not receive direct or indirect remuneration from a Canadian source.

Specific eligibility requirements for after-sales or after-lease service

The following requirements apply to business visitors seeking entry under the after-sales or after-lease service provisions of CETA:

• citizen of the EU, who is employed by an enterprise established in the EU;
• purpose of entry is to install, repair, service, or supervise these functions, or train workers to perform services;
• work is pursuant to an original sales or lease contract and any warranty or service agreement incidental (connected) to the sale or lease of equipment or machinery (including computer software);
• equipment or machinery (including computer software) is commercial or industrial (not for household or personal use);
• equipment or machinery or computer software was manufactured and purchased outside Canada;
• work is carried out during the validity of any warranty or service agreement or any extensions of same;
• work requires specialized knowledge (which excludes hands-on building and construction work); and
• compliance with existing immigration requirements for temporary entry.

The CETA does not relieve after-sales or after-lease service personnel, or any other business person, from the obligation to comply with municipal, regional, provincial/territorial, or other federal requirements, where applicable.

Work that does not meet the eligibility requirements of after-sales or after-lease service

Persons whose activities or services in Canada would constitute hands-on building and construction work may not enter under R186(a) and CETA as after-sales or after-lease service.

Generally the entry of foreign tradespersons in the building and construction industry is subject to an assessment of the availability of domestic labour (an LMIA). As part of the LMIA process, Service Canada will consult with organized labour prior to making a determination.

For personnel performing the installation or servicing, entry should not be granted when performing hands-on building and construction work. The performance of these activities is not permitted, regardless of wording in sales, warranty or service agreements supporting they be completed.

Building and construction work: includes installing, maintaining, and repairing utility services, any part of the fabric of any building or structure, or machinery, equipment, or structures within a building.

Building and construction work includes activities normally performed by (but not limited to):

• labourers;
• millwrights;
• heat and frost insulators;
• bricklayers;
• carpenters and joiners;
• electrical workers;
• operating engineers (includes heavy equipment operators);
• elevator constructors;
• sheet metal workers;
• teamsters;
• boilermakers;
• residential, commercial, or industrial painters (including the application of all service coatings no matter how applied);
• bridge, structural, and ornamental ironworkers;
• plumbers and pipefitters;
• roofers;
• plasterers and cement masons.

Building and construction work includes work involving:

• assembly lines;
• conveyor belts and systems;
• overhead cranes;
• heating, cooling, and ventilation or exhaust systems;
• elevators and escalators;
• boilers and turbines; and
• dismantling or demolition of commercial or industrial equipment or machinery whether on-site or in-plant.

Documentary evidence

A business visitor under CETA must provide the following documentation:

• proof of citizen of a European Union member state,
• documentation to support the purpose for entry (must be a business activity listed in Annex 10-D of the CETA),
• need to be employed by an enterprise other than a non-profit organisation, and
• evidence that the business activity is international in scope and that the they are not attempting to enter the Canadian labour market,
  • the primary source of remuneration is outside Canada, and
  • the person’s place of business remains outside Canada and the profits of the business are accumulated primarily outside Canada.

In general, an individual who is to be paid in Canada would be considered to be joining the labour market and could not be authorized to enter Canada as a business visitor. The payment of expenses incidental to the trip is allowed, as is an honorarium. There are scenarios and country specific situations which require the need for an economic needs test and a work permit is required. Refer to the Annex 10-D of the CETA for reservations and exceptions applying in specific member states of the European union for key personnel and short term business visitors.

Oral declaration as to the principal place of business and the actual place of accrual of profits can be used as documentary evidence. If further proof is requested, a letter from the employer or the representing organization is sufficient. Prior approval procedures, labour certification tests, or other similar procedures cannot be required. Every effort should be made to avoid the requirement of a visa.

Documentary evidence for after-sales or after-lease service

Business visitors applying under the after-sales or after-lease service provision of Annex 10-D of the CETA should be referred for a secondary examination when seeking entry, due to the complexity of the application and for reasons of client service and program consistency.

The following documentation is required:

• proof of EU citizenship; and
• copies of the original sales or lease agreement, and warranty or service agreement, including extensions, which clearly support the purpose of entry.

The warranty or service contract must be incidental to, or connected to the sale or lease of commercial or industrial equipment or machinery, including computer software.

The warranty or service agreement does not need to have the same date as the sales or lease agreement. Particularly with third party service as it may take a number of months after the sale before the company installing or servicing the machinery is identified and sub-contracted.

The initial warranty or service agreement may be extended provided that the sales or lease agreement, or initial warranty or service agreement contained a provision allowing for the extension. The after-sales or after-lease service, therefore, continues to be contracted as part of the sale or lease of the equipment or machinery, or computer software.

Third party service

If third party service occurs, there must be clear wording in the sales or lease agreement that specifies a third party will perform the installation, warranty, or service work. Unless such wording exists, there is no evidence that the third party service is incidental to the sale or lease. However, the firm need not be named in the agreement, as it may take some time for the firm to be identified. When a third party is not named in the sales or lease agreement, business visitors may be expected to provide a letter from the seller of the equipment that identifies them as the third party referenced in the original sales or lease agreement.

When a seller or lessor located in the EU contracts the after-sales or after-lease servicing to a third party, the third party must also be established in the EU.

Lack of Documentation

Every effort should be made to allow documentation to be provided (e.g., by fax, email or verbal explanation) from the company in Canada or the business visitor’s employer in the EU.

The requirement for documentation has been imposed in order to clearly establish that the proposed activity is incidental or connected to the sale or lease of the equipment or machinery or computer software.

A verbal statement that the business of the applicant is being carried on outside Canada can be acceptable. Alternative indications (business cards, business papers, advertising pamphlets, etc.) may be helpful.

Final decision

Maximum length of stay for CETA business visitors

In most cases, the maximum length of stay for short-term business visitors and business visitors for investment purposes is 90 days in any 6 month period, if the applicant does not qualify under R186(a).

Officers may refer to the specific country reservations and exceptions in Annex 10-B – Reservations and exceptions applying in specific member states of the European union for key personnel and short term business visitors.

Visitor record

All CETA business visitors may seek entry to Canada for a number of regular visits related to a specific project. These visits may take place over a period of weeks or months. In these circumstances, consideration should be given to issuing a visitor record to reduce potential referrals to immigration secondary.