Intra-Company Transfer: A Small Yoga Studio's Path to Canada
How a tiny business used the ICT work permit to begin the immigration process
The intra-company transfer is not the most common route to a Canadian work permit, but it is one we work with regularly. It is a variant of the immigration scenario known as owner/operator – a process in which the applicant obtains permanent residence by establishing a business in Canada.
The mechanism works as follows: a foreign company that has a branch or affiliate in Canada transfers one of its employees to the Canadian office. That employee can then receive a Canadian work permit, which in turn becomes the first step in what we call a multi-stage immigration process.
This recent case deserves particular attention because the parent company was genuinely small – and yet we secured approval from the immigration authorities for the transfer of a key specialist to a newly opened Canadian branch.
The Parent Company
The parent company is a small yoga studio in a Russian city. At the time of the application, it had been operating for several years. How small is it? Apart from the owner, the studio employed only a handful of part-time instructors.
In other words, the parent company is a very modest business – one of hundreds and thousands like it in cities around the world.
The Canadian Branch
To facilitate the move to Canada and the eventual pursuit of permanent residence, a Canadian company was incorporated to serve as the Canadian branch of the yoga studio. A detailed five-year business plan was developed for the new operation.
The Transfer
A critical condition for the successful development of the Canadian branch was the transfer of a key employee whose knowledge and experience were essential for establishing the business operations.
In a small yoga studio, that key employee is none other than the owner. It is the owner who is transferred from the Russian company to the Canadian branch, and for this purpose receives a Canadian work permit.
The Path to Permanent Residence
The studio owner's ultimate goal is, of course, permanent residence in Canada. How exactly that goal will be achieved remains to be seen. It could be direct immigration through Express Entry with additional points (under the Federal Skilled Worker or Canadian Experience Class programs), or immigration through a provincial nominee program.
In the meantime, the primary task is to take deliberate, sequential steps in the right direction – building the qualifications and Canadian experience needed to take advantage of a suitable immigration program when the time comes.
Small Business, Big Opportunity
This and similar cases clearly illustrate an important point:
In the context of immigration, "head office," "branch," and "Canadian subsidiary" do not necessarily mean large multinational corporations with millions in revenue, hundreds of employees, and neon logos on building facades.
As in many other immigration and visa contexts, a business is simply a business – a company that produces goods or sells services for profit. The size of the company is not the deciding factor.
It is worth noting separately that this application was approved by the Canadian visa office in Warsaw – an office that is well known for its exceptionally stringent approach to applications of all kinds, resulting in a high refusal rate that is often difficult to justify.
The intra-company transfer mechanism works equally well for very large corporations and for small businesses – even for sole proprietors.
Lawpoint Immigration has extensive experience with owner/operator immigration and intra-company transfers. If you are considering this pathway, we can evaluate your business situation and help you plan the process from the initial work permit through to permanent residence.