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(403) 452-9515
Ackah Business Immigration Law – Personal and Corporate Immigration
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1 (403) 452-9515

1 (800) 932-1190

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Work Permit Exemptions

LMIA-Exempt and Other Work Permit Exemptions

Professionals who want to enter Canada may not need a work permit or LMIA if they qualify as a Professional under the NAFTA Business Visitor After Sales Service category R186(a) for Work Permit Exemptions.

If you need to enter Canada temporarily to provide pre-arranged professional services as a salaried employee of a Canadian company or are contracted by a Canadian employer in one of over 60 occupations covered by NAFTA you can enter Canada as a cross border business professional.

Temporary Business Visitors to Canada such as highly specialized after-sales and service employees are often qualified to enter Canada without a Work Permit for cross border business and authorized to work under the NAFTA trade agreement. Few people know about this special business visitor visa. While NAFTA 2.0 has not yet been ratified, we don’t expect this provision to change.

How To Enter Canada under NAFTA R186(a)

Business Visitors who want to enter Canada for after-sales or service work can apply at the airport to a Canada Border Agent. They will need to provide verification of their Business Visitor application including:

  • letters of support from the business visitor's parent company
  • a letter of invitation from the Canadian host business
  • a verbal statement that the business of the applicant and their source of income is outside Canada
  • supporting documentation such as business cards, business papers, advertising pamphlets

The NAFTA Business Visitor After Sales Service category provision applies to service people who want to enter Canada for after-sales and lease services including software upgrades to previously sold or leased equipment. A service person coming to Canada to install, configure or give training on upgraded software may be considered a Business Visitor. A sales or lease agreement or purchase order for upgraded software is considered a new contract for a new product.

A Business Immigration Lawyer can help you determine if your job meets the requirements for NAFTA R186 (a) entry to Canada without a work permit, and assemble the documentation to present to the Border Agent.

Supervisors and Trainers R187: Training and Installation Activities

Individuals can enter Canada with a work permit exemption to provide familiarization or training services to prospective users or staff after the installation of specialized equipment purchased or leased outside Canada.

A Business Immigration Lawyer can help you determine if your job meets the requirements for NAFTA R187(2)(b) entry to Canada without a work permit, and help you to assemble the documentation to present to the Border Agent.

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We have been using the services of Ackah Business Immigration Law for over 5 years. Evelyn and her team have provided vital and critical help to us in navigating the complicated and ever changing rules on how to bring qualified and talented dancers to Canada as foreign workers to become part of our company. Diversity enriches what we do and these dancers are essential to our artistic success and community outreach. Evelyn’s team lead the application process, take care of all the administration and provides constant support throughout the process. As a small registered charity having this expertise available is instrumental to our success we applaud Ackah Business Immigration for generously supplying their professional services to us pro bono. Their involvement helps us to continue to enrich lives by engaging people in exploring, evolving and promoting the art of jazz dance.

– Kathi Sundstrom, Executive Director for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks

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