LMIA-Based Work Permits vs. Intra-Company Transfers

Compare at a glance

OPTION A

Labour Market Impact Assessments

Employer-focused assistance with recruitment evidence, position requirements and the LMIA application process.

Employer eligibility
Recruitment strategy
Wage and position review
Application coordination

OPTION B

Intra-Company Transfers

Mobility planning for multinational companies transferring eligible executives, managers or specialized-knowledge employees to Canada.

Corporate relationship
Executive or managerial roles
Specialized knowledge
New office considerations

Full comparison table

Factor	LMIA-based Work Permit	Intra-Company Transfer Work Permit
Eligibility basis	Employer obtains positive LMIA proving no Canadian available	Qualifying transfer of an executive, manager, or specialized-knowledge employee within a related multinational company
Typical processing time	Roughly 8-30 weeks total including LMIA processing	About 4-8 weeks outside Canada; can be same-day at a port of entry for visa-exempt workers
Government fees	$155 work permit fee + $85 biometrics, plus a separate $1,000 employer LMIA fee	$155 work permit fee + $85 biometrics; no LMIA fee since it is LMIA-exempt
Outcome	Temporary status tied to the LMIA-approved employer/position	Temporary status tied to the transferring company and role
Best fit for	Employers hiring from the open labour market with no corporate affiliation	Multinational companies moving qualifying staff into a Canadian branch, subsidiary, or affiliate

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Unseen pitfalls when choosing between them

Employers sometimes assume ICT is simply a faster version of the same process, but it has a substantively different legal test — it requires proof of a genuine, qualifying corporate relationship (parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate) and, for specialized-knowledge cases, evidence the employee's knowledge is truly proprietary and not merely experienced; missteps here are a common refusal cause, unlike LMIA refusals which are usually about labour market impact. A second pitfall: because ICT skips the LMIA, some assume it also skips scrutiny of genuine intent — officers still assess whether the Canadian entity is operational and actively doing business, and shell or newly-formed Canadian affiliates face heavy scrutiny.

How to choose

If the employer has no corporate relationship to an overseas entity and is simply trying to fill a Canadian vacancy, the LMIA route is the applicable (and only) path, and the employer should budget for the recruitment/advertising period as part of the real timeline, not just the work permit processing time. If the worker is moving within a genuine multinational corporate structure into a qualifying executive, managerial, or specialized-knowledge role, ICT is typically faster and cheaper, but the employer should be prepared to document the corporate relationship and the Canadian operation's legitimacy in detail.