Business People are foreign national who seeks to engage in international business activities in Canada without directly entering the Canadian labor market, and where the primary source of remuneration and place of business remains outside of Canada. A qualified business people can enter Canada more easily because they do not need an LMIA or labor market impact assessment from Service Canada or a work permit for business visitors. Business people covered under NAFTA or North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA applies to different categories of business people they are: Business visitor, Professional, Intra company transferee, Traders and Investors.

Business Visitor is a separate category with different requirements and does not need a work permit.

Business visitor has allowed to short-term stays for business activities such as industry conferences, site visits, or training. Those who only seek entry for a temporary, usually seasonal, purpose to run their existing business (usually self-employed people) 

Business visitors must prove that their main source of income and their main place of business are outside Canada. 

A business visitor is someone who comes to Canada:

– for international business activities

– without directly entering the Canadian labour market

They don’t need a work permit to come to Canada, but may need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA).  (But if you are transferred to Canada by your company or are otherwise employed by a Canadian company, you will need a work permit.)

Professional is qualified to work in one of the more than 60 listed professions in NAFTA like accountant, computer systems analyst, engineer, management consultant and technical publications writer, must have a per-arranged Canadian employment.

Intra Company transferee

The intra-company transfer policy allows international companies with a parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate in Canada to temporarily transfer senior executives, managers or employees with specialized knowledge to the location in Canada in order to improve management effectiveness, expand Canadian exports and enhance the competitiveness of Canadian entities in overseas markets.