Citizenship
The passport, not residence, and not the city they sit in today. A US citizen in Berlin is still a CUSMA candidate. A German citizen in Texas is not.
Employers · LMIA-exempt
LMIA-exempt FTA permits for professional hires.
US and Mexican citizens under CUSMA. Netherlands and Poland under CETA. Singapore under CPTPP. The UK under the Canada-UK TCA and CPTPP. An LMIA-exempt permit may be faster than an LMIA, including Global Talent Stream, when the passport and duties fit.
Tell us three things
Citizenship, actual duties, and start date are usually enough for a first answer on whether an FTA permit is open, whether Global Talent Stream is faster, or whether the hire should wait.
Actual duties
Officers read the job description against a closed occupation list. Titles written for an ATS are how these files fail.
Start date
TN, CETA, CPTPP, and LMIAs do not move at the same speed. Commit the date after the route is real.
Which agreement
United States & Mexico
CUSMA professionals (TN)
Skips the labour-market assessment. Turns on citizenship and a closed list of professions.
Flat professional fee $4,500. Government and employer compliance fees additional.
Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, the UK
Professional and intra-corporate categories
CETA covers the Netherlands and Poland. CPTPP covers Singapore. The UK is under the Canada-UK TCA and CPTPP. Each agreement sets out LMIA-exempt categories: contractual service suppliers, independent professionals, investors, and intra-corporate transferees. Lists, credential thresholds, and maximum stays differ by agreement. We match the person to the chapter that exists. We do not stretch CUSMA language onto a passport it does not cover.
Intra-company transfers are often available regardless of FTA. They carry a ceiling on total time in Canada.
Where these hires go wrong
- The offer letter was written for the ATS. The duties have to match the occupation list. Fix the description before anyone files an offer of employment.
- A start date was promised first. Different routes have different speeds.
- Nobody explained what the company signed. An LMIA-exempt offer of employment still binds the employer on wages, working conditions, and record-keeping. The file is inspectable.
- The FTA was the wrong tool. A contractor who is not a US or Mexican citizen has no TN. An LMIA or an intra-company transfer is usually the next place to look.
General legal information for employers, not advice about a specific hire. Contacting the firm does not create a solicitor-client relationship.