International Mobility Program: General Agreement on Trade in Services

In these instructions, “officer” refers to employees of both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

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

• Employer-specific work permits – General processing – International Mobility Program
• Assessing the genuineness of the offer of employment on a work permit application
• Conditions and validity period on work permits
• Public list of Employers who have been non-compliant

The temporary entry of business persons under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) can be facilitated without the need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment. Canada offers access for three categories of business persons: business visitors, intra-company transferees, and professionals.

Under GATS and in accordance with the IRPR, business visitors are work-permit exempt and qualify under R186(a), while intra-company transferees qualify under paragraph R205(a) with administrative codes C62 and C63. Professionals seeking entry under GATS may be granted work permits pursuant to R204(a) with administrative code T33, if they meet the criteria outlined below.

A GATS Professional is a person seeking to engage, as part of a services contract, in an activity at the professional level in a listed profession, where the contract is either:

1. obtained by a foreign service provider (juridical person from another WTO Member) with a Canadian service consumer, or
2. granted by a Canadian company to a foreign service provider that does not have a commercial presence in Canada

The professional must possess the necessary academic credentials and professional qualifications, which have been duly recognized, where appropriate, by the professional association in Canada. The Professionals category is designed to facilitate the short-term entry of a limited list of professionals delivering services under a contract in sectors where Canada has made commitments, excluding education, health-related, cultural, and sports services.

On this page

• Place of application
• Eligibility
  • Restrictions and Non-Eligible Sectors
• Documentary evidence
• Application assessment
  • Review of the offer of employment
• Final decision
  • Approval
  • Refusal
• Previous updates

Place of application

Applications for work permits under GATS may be made at a visa office or at a port of entry (POE).

Foreign nationals who are exempt from the requirement for a temporary resident visa, as well as foreign nationals who otherwise meet the requirements of R198, may apply for a work permit at the POE. For more information, consult: Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP): Persons who may apply at a port of entry.

Foreign nationals may apply for a work permit from within Canada if they meet the conditions set out in section 199 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a work permit in the GATS Professionals category, a foreign national must:

• be a citizen of a Member nation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) or hold permanent resident status in Australia, New Zealand, Armenia or Switzerland;
  • Note: WTO member nations (166 members as of August 2024) are listed on the World Trade Organization website.
• be seeking entry to work in an occupation listed in the GATS Professional Occupations & Qualification Requirements and meet the agreement’s criteria for that occupation;
• be qualified to work in that profession (degree or certification in a related educational program) as listed;
• have a valid, signed contract to provide a service between a Canadian service consumer (e.g., a Canadian business) and a foreign service provider from a WTO Member nation; and
• be compliant with all other requirements for temporary entry.

Under Canada's GATS commitments, professional occupations eligible for temporary entry into Canada are categorized into two groups:

• Group 1 Occupations and Group 2 Occupations

Each group is subject to specific conditions regarding how service contracts are obtained or granted, the commercial presence of the foreign service provider in Canada, and the eligibility of the Canadian service consumer. In addition to these contracting requirements, applicants must meet minimum educational qualifications, alternative credentials, and licensing obligations. Officers must assess applications based on these criteria to ensure compliance with GATS commitments.

Restrictions and Non-Eligible Sectors

Even if an occupation is listed as eligible under GATS, the following sectors are not covered:

• Education services
• Health-related services
• Recreational, cultural, and sports services

Contracts with personnel placement or personnel supply agencies do not qualify under GATS, even if the occupation is otherwise eligible.

A limit of 10 entrants per project applies to Senior Computer Specialists.

Geomatics Professionals must be working in aerial surveying or aerial photography.

Documentary evidence

A foreign national must provide sufficient documentary evidence to satisfy an officer that they are eligible for entry.

The following documents are required:

• proof that they are a citizen of a WTO Member nation, or that they hold the right of permanent residence in Australia, New Zealand, Armenia or Switzerland
• evidence that they hold anoccupation identified in GATS Professional Occupations & Qualification Requirements
• copy of a signed contract between the foreign service provider and the Canadian service consumer: the contract may have been signed by a foreign service provider located in any Member nation (Group 1 Occupations) or granted by Canadian company engaged in substantive business in Canada, with the foreign service provided having no commercial presence in Canada (e.g., no office, branch, or subsidiary) (Group 2 Occupations)
• evidence that the foreign national has the professional qualifications as detailed in GATS Professional Occupations & Qualification Requirements (copies of degrees, diplomas, professional licences, accreditation or registration, etc.)
• where required, documentation from the professional association in Canada by the applicable provincial/territorial government indicating that the foreign national’s academic credentials and professional qualifications have been duly recognized
• evidence that they meet the eligibility criteria may include, but is not limited to, the following
  • reference letters
  • letter of support from the company
  • job descriptions that outline the level of training acquired
  • years of experience in the field
  • degrees or certifications obtained in the field
  • list of publications and awards (where applicable)
  • a detailed description of the work to be performed in Canada
• an offer of employment submitted through the Employer Portal or through alternate means if authorized
  • the offer of employment provides confirmation of the pre-arranged employment;
  • the proposed employer in Canada;
  • the profession for which entry is sought;
  • details of the position (title, duties, duration of employment, arrangements as to payment); and
  • the educational qualifications or alternative credentials required for the position

Application assessment

Review of the offer of employment

When assessing if the work permit application meets the requirements for a GATS Professional, officers should review the offer of employment that appears under the Employment Details tab in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) for information provided by the employer or the matching fields on the IMM 5802 form (if the employer was authorized to use it).

Refer to Employer-specific work permits – General processing – International Mobility Program for further guidance.

Contract Requirements

Group 1 and Group 2 Occupations differ in how service contracts are obtained and granted.

• Group 1 Occupations: The contract must be obtained by a foreign service provider from a WTO Member nation. The foreign company may or may not have a commercial presence in Canada.

• Group 2 Occupations: The contract must be obtained by a foreign service provider from a WTO Member nation that does not have a commercial presence in Canada. The contract must be granted by a Canadian service consumer engaged in substantive business in Canada.

  Additional Conditions for Group 2 Occupations:

  • The requirement that the Canadian service consumer must be engaged in substantive business in Canada is interpreted to mean that the enterprise is not a shell company or was not established solely to facilitate the entry of foreign workers. Officers will need to rely on information provided by the applicant, supported by documents from the employer in Canada, such as business registration, financial records, or evidence of ongoing operations.
  • The requirement that the foreign service provider must not have a commercial presence in Canada can only be established based on information provided by the applicant. Officers should confirm that the professional is not seeking entry to provide services to their own company or employer, which has established itself in Canada merely to facilitate the entry of its own employees.
  • If the foreign service provider has a Canadian-based subsidiary, branch, or entity, the contract does not qualify under GATS.

Credentials, Qualifications & Licensing

All applicants must possess the necessary academic and professional qualifications, which must be recognized by the relevant professional association in Canada, where required.

Academic equivalencies will be determined by the relevant equivalency services in Canada.

Eligible GATS Professional Occupations & Qualification Requirements

In processing applications from Professionals, it is essential that officers refer to the chart for eligible occupations in order to understand what credentials are required for each occupation and which provinces issue licences for the practice of those occupations.

Baccalaureate degree: A degree from an accredited academic institution in Canada or equivalent

Graduate degree: At least a Master’s degree from an accredited academic institution in Canada or equivalent

Provincial licence: Any document issued by a provincial/territorial government or under its authority which permits a person to engage in a regulated activity or profession

If a licence to practice in Canada is required, officers cannot issue a work permit unless the applicant has obtained, prior to arrival in Canada, a temporary or permanent licence from the appropriate province.

If the applicant presents a provincial licence, it is not necessary for officers to examine the documentation from a professional association or the applicant’s professional qualifications as the province has already done that, except in the case of Foreign Legal Consultants, Urban Planners and Senior Computer Specialists where the foreign-based employer cannot be established in Canada.

If no licence is required to practice in Canada, officers cannot issue a work permit unless the applicant can produce documentation from an appropriate professional association in Canada, indicating that their academic credentials and professional qualifications have been recognized.

If the applicant presents such documentation from the appropriate professional association in Canada, it is not necessary for officers to examine the applicant’s educational credentials as the professional association has already done that.

Final decision

Approval

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.

Refusal

If an officer is not satisfied that all the requirements of section R200, including the assessment under paragraph R204(a), are met, they must record their reasons and outline the rationale underlying the decision as well as the facts and elements considered. They must also provide an explanation for the decision in a case note.

A decision is reasonable and therefore defendable when another person is able to trace the decision maker’s reasoning, without encountering fatal flaws in the overarching logic, and is satisfied that there is a line of analysis within the given reasons that could reasonably lead the tribunal from the evidence before it to the decision maker’s conclusion.

The officer needs to engage with the documentary evidence that was provided by the applicant. Simply stating ‘I have reviewed the submissions and I am not satisfied that section R204 is met’ is not sufficient for another reasonable person to understand the logic of the decision without reviewing all of the evidence again.

Refusal reasons should clearly indicate which criteria or what requirement of section R200 was not met and explain how the conclusion was reached.

For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.

Refusal grounds in the GCMS

The GCMS has standard text for refusal grounds. Officers should ensure that the refusal grounds selected for the refusal letter match the reasons that they have stated in their case note.

If an officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant is not able to perform the work sought, they should select “paragraph R200(3)(a) You were not able to demonstrate that you will be able to adequately perform the work you seek.” Officers should ensure that they clearly indicate in their refusal notes why they are not satisfied.

Given that there is no specific refusal ground for GATS in GCMS, when an officer is not satisfied that the criteria have been met, they should select the refusal ground “Other” and add a short explanation in the Comments field that they are not satisfied that section R200 or paragraph R204(a) have been met.

Previous updates

2014-10-23