NAFTA Work Permit

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiated by Canada, the United States and Mexico in 1986 provides for the exchange of entrepreneurs in their respective spheres without the need for labour certification such as an LMIA (or LMO).

Canadian entrepreneurs may obtain an E-2 class nonimmigrant visa in the United States under the treaty. In turn, US entrepreneurs may apply for an Investor/Trader Work Permit to conduct business in Canada. The requirements for either are rigorous and include:

E-2 / Investor/Trader Work Permit Criteria for US / Canadian / Mexican Nationals Only

• Tangible and committed investment (or trade) of at least $100,000[1]
• Professionally prepared business plan or purchase documents attesting committed investment including the number of employees projected to be hired
• Evidence of applicant’s qualification to conduct the business
• Evidence of regulatory approval where required

As this is a highly specialized and rigorous visa stream (in terms of documentation), our Firm strongly recommends that a US or Mexican applicant conduct a full preliminary assessment with the firm’s leading practitioner before committing significant investment in Canada.

If the practitioner assesses a high probability of success, the following deliverables are provided by the firm in support an Investor/Trader Work Permit.

NAFTA Investor/Trader Work Permit Firm Deliverables:

• Review of Applicant’s business plan (or purchase title of an existing business)
• Review of committed funds and assembly of relevant supporting documents attesting the investment
• Preparation of cover letter and government forms
• Review of applicant’s qualifications for the business, including bio/resume
• Filing to the Canadian Consulate General of New York
• Interview preparation with the consulate (if required)
• Representation at Point-of-Entry before the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA)

[1] While NAFTA doesn’t provide a dollar amount, it is the firm’s experience that the minimum investment a visa post is willing to consider is $100,000 in committed funds. The wording of the treaty, however, goes much further specifying that the investment must be adequate to run the business (“viable”). If the business is an auto dealership, for example, the investment required would be significantly more than $100,000. If the business is an IT consultancy, than the $100,000 amount is probably sufficient to get it started. A hotel or restaurant may be significantly more than the above amount and would depend on the applicant’s business plan.