Cusma (NAFTA) Work Permit

Canada United States Mexico Agreement – CUSMA

CUSMA, implemented on July 1, 2020, replaced NAFTA as a trilateral trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico. CUSMA preserves provisions for business visitors and workers traveling between these countries.

CUSMA/NAFTA Work Permit

The CUSMA/NAFTA Work Permit allows US or Mexican citizens to work in Canada without an LMIA. It’s for professionals like business visitors, traders, and investors, valid for up to three years and renewable. While LMIA-exempt, both employers and workers must follow Canada’s temporary work regulations. The IRCC may audit employers for compliance, crucial for protecting rights and maintaining labour market integrity.

Eligibility for CUSMA/NAFTA Work Permit

• The CUSMA work permit is only for citizens of the United States and Mexico.

• Applicants must prove their citizenship, typically with a passport.

• Occupations must be on CUSMA Professionals List ,covering various professions.

• Specific requirements may apply to each profession, such as academic qualifications or licenses.

• Applicants need a job offer from a Canadian employer related to their profession.

• The job offer should include roles, responsibilities, compensation, location, and duration of employment.

• Proof of relevant educational qualifications, like degrees or diplomas, is necessary.

• Documentation for licenses or professional memberships may be required.

• Credentials must meet Canadian regulatory standards and industry norms for the profession.

Categories of CUSMA/NAFTA Work Permits

American or Maxican may be eligible to work in Canada:

CUSMA Professional Workers

• LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment)-exempt work permit for professionals.

• Eligibility requires citizenship in the U.S. or Mexico, relevant professional qualifications, and a job offer in Canada.

• Application methods include entry at a Canadian Port of Entry, a visa office, or from within Canada.

CUSMA Intra-Company Transfers

• LMIA-exempt work permit for executives, managers, or specialized knowledge employees transferring within their enterprise.(Executive capacity, managerial capacity, and specialized knowledge.

• Executive Capacity Criteria: Directs the management, establishes goals and policies, exercises discretion, and receives general supervision.

• Managerial Capacity Criteria: Manages the organization or department, supervises and controls work, has authority over personnel actions, and exercises discretion.

• Specialized Knowledge Criteria: Requires proprietary knowledge related to the company’s product or services. Involves advanced expertise gained through significant and recent experience contributing to the employer’s productivity)

• Criteria include U.S. or Mexican citizenship, one-year full-time employment in a similar position, and a qualified relationship between enterprises.

• Work permits can be issued for up to three years with the option for extensions.

CUSMA Investors

• LMIA-exempt work permit for American and Mexican investors committing substantial capital to Canada.

• Requirements include U.S. or Mexican citizenship, American or Mexican enterprise nationality, and evidence of significant capital investment.

• If the applicant is an employee of the enterprise than their position must be in the executive capacity, managerial capacity, and specialized knowledge.

• (Executive Capacity Criteria: Directs the management, establishes goals and policies, exercises discretion, and receives general supervision.

• Managerial Capacity Criteria: Manages the organization or department, supervises and controls work, has authority over personnel actions, and exercises discretion.

• Specialized Knowledge Criteria: Requires proprietary knowledge related to the company’s product or services. Involves advanced expertise gained through significant and recent experience contributing to the employer’s productivity)

CUSMA Traders

• LMIA-exempt work permit for traders engaged in substantial trade of goods or services between the U.S. or Mexico and Canada.

• Criteria involve U.S. or Mexican citizenship, American or Mexican enterprise nationality, and proof of substantial trading involvement.

• Work permits may be issued for up to one year with potential for extensions.

CUSMA Business Visitors

• Exemption from Canadian work permit and LMIA for American and Mexican businesspeople engaged in international business activities temporarily.

• Eligibility is contingent on maintaining primary business operations outside Canada.

• Applications can only be made at a Canadian Port of Entry.

Application Procedures

• Varied methods for applying based on the category, including Canadian Port of Entry, visa office, or within Canada.

• Required documentation includes proof of citizenship, employment details, and enterprise information.

CUSMA Professional Work Permits may be issued for the following professions:

Specifies occupations considered professional under CUSMA for LMIA-exempt work permits.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/international-free-trade-agreements/cusma.html

List of eligible professions under the CUSMA Professionals category

Profession	Minimum education requirements and alternative credentials (in a related field or profession)
Accountant	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or C.P.A., C.A., C.G.A. or C.M.A
Architect	2Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial licence. (“State/provincial licence” and “state/provincial/federal licence” mean any document issued by a state, provincial or federal government, as the case may be, or under its authority, but not by a local government, that permits a person to engage in a regulated activity or profession.)
Computer Systems Analyst	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years’ experience.
	Note “Post-Secondary Diploma” means a credential issued, on completion of two or more years of post-secondary education, by an accredited academic institution in Canada or the U.S. “Post-Secondary Certificate” means a certificate issued, on completion of two or more years of post-secondary education at an academic institution, by the federal government of Mexico or a state government in Mexico, an academic institution recognized by the federal government or a state government, or an academic institution created by federal or state law.
Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjuster (claims Adjuster employed by an insurance company located in the territory of a Party, or an independent claims adjuster)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree, and successful completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims; or three years experience in claims adjustment and successful completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims
Economist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Engineer	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial licence
Forester	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial licence
Graphic Designer	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial licence
Hotel Manager (See note below for further details.)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree in hotel/restaurant management; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate in hotel/restaurant management, and three years experience in hotel/restaurant management Note: This provision refers to a management position to which other managers report (e.g., general manager, director). It also refers to specialty managers (e.g., food and beverage managers, convention services managers) within a hotel.
Industrial Designer	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience
Interior Designer	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience
Land Surveyor	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial/ federal licence
Landscape Architect	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Lawyer (including Notary in the Province of Quebec)	LL.B., J.D., LL.L, B.C.L. or Licenciatura Degree (five years); or membership in a state/provincial bar
Librarian	M.L.S. or B.L.S. (for which another Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree was a prerequisite) A librarian must have either: Librarian M.L.S. or B.L.S. (for which another Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree was a prerequisite) A librarian must have either: 1. a Master of Library Science degree; or 2. a Bachelor of Library Science and another baccalaureate degree which was necessary to enter the B.L.S. program. Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or equivalent professional experience as established by statement or professional credential attesting to five years experience as a management consultant, or five years experience in a field of specialty related to the consulting agreement
Management Consultant	Note: 1. A baccalaureate degree is not normally held by a scientific technician/technologist; therefore, an applicant must possess the skills noted above. 2. Basic research is theoretical or conceptual and is not conducted with a specific purpose or result in mind. Applied research is conducted with a practical or problem solving purpose in mind. Additional guidance (as agreed to by all parties of the Working Group, Dec. 2001): Individuals for whom ST/Ts wish to provide direct support must qualify as a professional in their own right in one of the following fields: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology, or physics. A general offer of employment by such a professional is not sufficient, by itself, to qualify for admission as a Scientific Technician of Technologist. The offer must demonstrate that the work of the ST/T will be interrelated with that of the supervisory professional. That is, the work of the ST/T must be managed, coordinated and reviewed by the professional supervisor, and must also provide input to the supervisory professional’s own work.The ST/T’s theoretical knowledge should generally have been acquired through the successful completion of at least two years of training in a relevant educational program. Such training may be documented by presentation of a diploma, a certificate, or a transcript accompanied by evidence of relevant work experience.Use the National Occupational Classification (NOC) in order to establish whether proposed job functions are consistent with those of a scientific or engineering technician or technologist.Not admissible as ST/Ts are persons intending to do work that is normally done by the construction trades (welders, boiler makers, carpenters, electricians, etc.), even where these trades are specialized to a particular industry (e.g., aircraft, power distribution).
Social Worker	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Sylviculturist (including Forestry Specialist)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Technical Publications Writer	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience
Urban Planner (including Geographer)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Vocational Counsellor	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Medical/Allied Professional
Profession	Minimum education requirements and alternative credentials (in a related field or profession)
Dentist	D.D.S., D.M.D., Doctor en Odontologia or Doctor en Cirugia Dental; or state/provincial license
Dietitian	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Medical Laboratory Technologist (Canada)/ Medical Technologist (Mexico and the U.S.)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience Note: A professional in this category must be seeking temporary entry to perform in a laboratory chemical, biological, hematological, immunologic, microscopic or bacteriological tests and analyses for diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease
Nutritionist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Occupational Therapist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Pharmacist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Physician (teaching or research only)	M.D. or Doctor en Medicina; or state/provincial license Note: Physicians may not enter for the purpose of providing direct patient care. Patient care incidental to teaching and/or research is permissible.
Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Psychologist	State/provincial license; or Licenciatura Degree
Recreational Therapist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Registered Nurse	State/provincial license; or Licenciatura Degree Note: To be authorized to enter Canada as a registered nurse, a licence issued by the province of destination is necessary
Veterinarian	D.V.M., D.M.V. or Doctor en Veterinaria; or state/provincial license
Scientist
Profession	Minimum education requirements and alternative credentials (in a related field or profession)
Agriculturist (including Agronomist)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Animal Breeder	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Animal Scientist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Apiculturist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Astronomer	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Biochemist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Biologist (including Plant Pathologist)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Chemist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Dairy Scientist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Entomologist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Epidemiologist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geneticist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geologist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geochemist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geophysicist (including Oceanographer in Mexico and the U.S.)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Horticulturist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Meteorologist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Pharmacologist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Physicist (including Oceanographer in Canada)	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Plant Breeder	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Poultry Scientist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Soil Scientist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Zoologist	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Teacher
Profession	Minimum education requirements and alternative credentials (in a related field or profession)
College	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Seminary	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
University	Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree

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