Canada Immigration Professionals

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Requirements to Professional Visitors

To qualify as a NAFTA/CCFTA Professional Visitor the following conditions have to be met by individual:

citizenship of the United States, Mexico or Chile;
profession identified in Appendix;
qualifications to work in that profession;
pre arranged employment with a Canadian employer;
provision of professional level services in the field of qualification as indicated in the Appendix; and
compliance with existing immigration requirements for temporary entry.

Necessary documentation

proof of American or Mexican citizenship;
confirmation of pre arranged employment provided by:
- a signed contract with a Canadian enterprise, or
- evidence of an offer of employment from a Canadian employer, or
- a letter from the American, Mexican or Chilean employer on whose behalf the service will be provided to the Canadian enterprise;
- the proposed employer in Canada;
- the profession for which entry is sought;
- details of the position (title duties, duration of employment, arrangement as to payment;
- the educational qualifications or alternative credentials required for the position;
evidence that the person has at least the Minimum Education Requirements and Alternative credentials listed in Appendix (copies of degrees, diplomas, professional licenses).

Pre arranged Employment: Employment in the category of Professional Visitors must be pre arranged with the Canadian employer. The Canadian employer may be an enterprise or an individual. The following are examples of pre arranged employment and do not preclude other arrangements as long as the professional is not self employed in Canada:

an employee employer relationship with a Canadian enterprise, or
a contract between the professional and a Canadian enterprise, or
a contract between the professional's American, Mexican or Chilean employer and a Canadian enterprise.

Self employment: The category of Professional Visitors does not allow self employment in Canada. A person who wishes to be self employed in Canada should make an application under another category such as Trader or Investor. However, an American, Mexican or Chilean citizen who is self employed outside Canada is not barred from the Professional category, provided the services to be rendered in Canada are prearranged with a Canadian employer.

A Canadian employer must be separate from the applicant seeking entry as a Professional. This means that if the Canadian enterprise offering a contract or employment to the applicant is a sole proprietorship operated by that applicant, then entry cannot be granted under the Professional Visitor category.

Field of qualification: A Professional must be entering Canada to provide professional level services in the field of qualification. Therefore, the Professional must be entering to work in an occupation described in Appendix, for which he or she is qualified.

Minimum Education Requirements: The applicant must meet the qualifications indicated in the Minimum Education Requirements and Alternative Credentials of Appendix. These qualifications represent only a minimum to permit entry and do not necessarily indicate the level of qualification required to perform actual work in that profession in Canada.

Number of contracts: It is possible for a professional to be working in Canada on more than one contract at a time. Information on each employer must be included on the employment authorization.

Duration

Initially the Professional Visitor should obtain status for a maximum of one year. Extensions can be issued for a duration of up to one year providing the individual continues to comply with the requirements for Professional. there is no limit on extensions, however, the applicant must demonstrate that the employment is still "temporary" and that he/she does not using NAFTA entry as a means to bypass normal immigration procedures.

Distinction between NAFTA and CCFTA

Unlike NAFTA which is a tri partite agreement among Canada, Mexico and the United States, the CCFTA is a bi lateral agreement between Canada and Chile only. Even though much of the CCFTA is modeled after NAFTA, the CCFTA is not binding upon the United States or Mexico. Thus, citizens of Chile should not presume that any of the rights and privileges granted to them under the CCFTA will apply with respect to the United States or Mexico. Similarly, citizens of the United States and Mexico should not presume that any of the rights and privileges granted to them under NAFTA will apply with respect to Chile.