Investors – CUFTA [R204(a) – F70] – Agreements or arrangements – International Mobility Program
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
These instructions apply to IRCC employees. Since applicants can’t submit their applications at a port of entry, these instructions don’t apply to border services officers.
The instructions on this page should be reviewed in conjunction with the following:
- Employer-specific work permits – General processing – International Mobility Program
- Conditions and validity period on work permits
The Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) is an international trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine, and as such any work permit applications are assessed under paragraph 204(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). This regulatory section falls under the International Mobility Program (IMP).
The CUFTA contains provisions for the temporary entry of investors.
On this page
- Eligibility
- Documentary evidence
- Place of application
- Application assessment
- Length of stay
- Final decision
- Spousal provisions – Administrative code F73
Eligibility
To be eligible as an investor under the CUFTA, applicants must
- be a citizen or permanent resident of Ukraine
- establish, develop or administer an investment to which a substantial amount of capital was committed or is in the process of being committed
- The foreign national may be the owner of the enterprise committing the funds or an employee of the enterprise.
- Officers should take into consideration whether the commitment date of funds is unknown or not in the short term.
- be in a supervisory or executive role or a role that involves essential skills
- for example, setting up a specific franchise or a laboratory
Officers may refer to the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement investor instructions (Section 6) for definitions related to supervisors, executives and essential skills.
Officers may refer to the following guidelines for procedures on assessing a “substantial amount” of capital:
Documentary evidence
The onus is on the applicant to provide evidence that they meet the eligibility requirements and will be able to perform the work being sought as stated in the IMP offer of employment.
The following documents and evidence are required:
- proof of citizenship or permanent residence in Ukraine
- evidence that the investment in Canada is a real and active commercial or entrepreneurial undertaking that operates to produce a service or commodity for profit
- For example, an applicant may provide a plan for future investment, expansion, or development of a business
- proof of provenance of the funds that they indicate they will be investing
- proof of productive investment in Canada (for example, demonstrating that the investment will expand job opportunities locally)
- either
- an offer of employment number generated by the Employer Portal when they submit the offer for themselves or
- the Offer of Employment to a Foreign National Exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) form [IMM 5802] if authorized by the Client Experience branch or Immigration Program Guidance branch to submit the form (see Alternate submission [IMM 5802] for details)
Place of application
Due to the complexity of the application and for reasons of client service, program consistency and reciprocity, the initial application for a work permit as an investor must be submitted outside of Canada.
Citizens and permanent residents of Ukraine can also apply for investor status from within Canada if they meet the requirements of section R199.
Foreign nationals who wish to submit an application at a port of entry should be counselled to submit the application to IRCC.
Extension applications
Officers should compare the extension request to the initial work permit application in Global Case Management System (GCMS) and consider this information when assessing extension eligibility.
See Extending work permits issued under the CUFTA for details on when an application can be extended.
Application assessment
When assessing if the work permit application meets the requirements of the CUFTA, officers should review the IMP offer of employment that appears under the Employment Details tab in the GCMS for information provided by the employer (who could be the applicant) or the matching fields on the IMM 5802 form (if the employer was authorized to use it).
| Field | Considerations |
|---|---|
| LMIA Exemption Title and LMIA Exemption Code |
The employer is required to select this from a drop-down list of values in the Employer Portal. This code cannot be changed on the offer of employment. Employers should select F70 – Ukraine – Investor. |
| Requirements Exemptions Met |
Has the employer indicated how the position in Canada meets the eligibility requirements for the CUFTA? For example, what is the investment being made or proposed and what is the position in Canada, title, place in the organization, job description, etc. Does the explanation contain a description of the financial arrangement that was or will be used for the investment? |
| NOC and Job Title |
Do the National Occupational Classification (NOC) code and job title align with their duties as the investor? Will the applicant occupy a role as a supervisor, executive or employee with essential skills? |
| Duration |
The maximum duration for initial work permits under the investor category is 1 year. Is the employer requesting a longer period of time than what is allowed under the CUFTA? If yes, this may be an indicator that the foreign national may not be entering for a temporary purpose. |
| Duties and Job Requirements |
These are the activities that the foreign national will be performing. Do they align with the occupation? Do they make sense in relation to the investment that is being made? Are there specific requirements that align with the applicant’s role? In the case of an investor in an executive or supervisory role, what essential skills are required for the job?
|
| Minimum Education Requirements | Are the educational requirements compatible with the stated occupation outlined in the offer of employment? The client’s education may have some bearing on whether the client meets the job requirements; however, its relative weight may be less if their work experience is sufficient. |
Refer to Employer-specific work permits – General processing – International Mobility Program for further guidance.
Length of stay
The initial length of stay is 1 year.
Extensions of stay are allowed if the applicant is able to provide documentation that satisfies the processing officer of the applicant’s need to have their stay extended.
See Extending work permits issued under the CUFTA for details on when an application can be extended.
Final decision
The work permit will be issued under the authority of paragraph R204(a).
In GCMS, under the Application screen, officers should enter the information below in the specified fields.
| Field | Selection or input |
|---|---|
| Case type | 52 |
| Province of destination |
The province of destination entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the IMP offer of employment. This information is under the Employment Details – LMIA-exempt tab. If there is more than one location, officers should enter the primary location in the “Province of destination” field and the secondary location in the “User remarks” field. |
| City of destination |
The city of destination entered by the applicant should match the address of employment in the IMP offer of employment. This information is under the Employment Details – LMIA-exempt tab. If there is more than one location, officers should enter “Unknown” in the “City of destination” field and “As per the offer” in the “User remarks” field. |
| Exemption code |
F70 – Principal applicant This code is auto-populated from the IMP offer of employment. This code should only be changed in specific circumstances. For further instruction, see Changes between the offer of employment and the work permit application F73 – Spouse |
| NOC | The National Occupational Classification (NOC) code is auto-populated from the IMP offer of employment. |
| Intended occupation |
Job title This is auto-populated from the IMP offer of employment. |
| LMIA/LMIA-exempt # |
“A” number from the work permit application. This number is auto-populated from the work permit application, and it is what is used to “match” in the Portal. If the work permit application was submitted on paper, the officer must manually enter the number. |
| Employer | Business operating name |
| Duration |
Principal applicant: 1 year from the date of entry Spouse: same as principal applicant |
Spousal provisions – Administrative code F73
“Spouse” or “spousal” in this section refers to both married spouses and common-law partners.
Spousal eligibility is based on the citizenship or permanent resident status of the principal applicant. The dependent spouse does not have to be a citizen or national of Ukraine to apply.
Note: Officers should review these 2 pages when issuing a spousal work permit under CUFTA: