Pathway guide

Free trade agreements

Canada's free trade agreements let certain professionals, intra-company transferees, contract service providers, investors and traders from partner countries work in Canada without a labour market impact assessment (LMIA). Each agreement covers its own citizens (some also permanent residents) and has its own categories, occupation lists and time limits. You submit an offer of employment with the right exemption code and pay the compliance fee; the worker then applies for the work permit.

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Who it’s for

Employers hiring a U.S. or Mexican citizen in one of the 63 CUSMA professions
Companies transferring executives, managers or specialists from a related company in the U.S., Mexico, the EU, the U.K., a CPTPP country, Chile, Colombia, Korea, Peru or Ukraine
Canadian businesses contracting an EU, U.K. or Korean service provider or self-employed professional for a set period
Employers of professionals and technicians from CPTPP countries, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru or Ukraine
Companies owned by investors from a partner country, or trading mainly with that country

What it asks for

The worker is a citizen (or, for some agreements, a permanent resident) of a partner country.
Professionals: the job is on the agreement list or at the right TEER level, and the worker has the required degree and experience.
Transfers: a related company abroad and, usually, 1 year of continuous full-time work there in the last 3 years (6 months for Colombia and Peru), in an executive, manager, specialist or trainee role.
Service contracts: a signed contract, a foreign business with no Canadian establishment (EU and U.K.), and short stays (12 months in 24 under CETA and CUKTCA; 90 days under GATS).
Investors and traders: your Canadian company is at least half owned by nationals of the partner country, with a substantial committed investment or trade mainly with that country.
Some categories expect pay at or above the prevailing wage (CETA, CUKTCA and CPTPP transferees, CPTPP and Ukraine professionals).
Regulated jobs still need the provincial licence, and the stay must be temporary.
You submit an offer of employment with the exemption code and pay the compliance fee, and again for each extension.

What the employer does

Confirm the worker's citizenship and any permanent residence, then choose the agreement and category that fit the job.
Check the category rules: occupation list or TEER level, degree, experience, company relationship, ownership or trade, and pay.
If the job is regulated in your province, arrange the licence or registration with the regulatory body before you submit the offer.
Submit an offer of employment in IRCC's Employer Portal with the category's exemption code (for example T36, T37, T44, T52 or F61) and pay the $230 employer compliance fee.
Give the worker the 7-digit offer of employment number so they can apply for the work permit online (or, if they are visa-exempt and outside Canada, at a port of entry).
After approval, follow the offer and work permit conditions, keep records for 6 years, and submit a new offer before any extension.

Documents you’ll usually need

Proof of the worker's citizenship (passport) and, where relevant, permanent residence
Job offer or contract with title, duties, duration, pay and work location
Degrees, diplomas, licences and reference letters proving experience
For transfers: proof of the corporate relationship and the worker's employment records abroad
For service contracts: the signed contract between the foreign business and your company
For investors and traders: ownership records, proof of investment or trade, a business plan, and form IMM 5321 for CUSMA
Licence or registration for regulated occupations

Fees and timing

Employer compliance fee: $230 per offer, paid before the worker applies; repaid if the work permit is refused or you withdraw the offer before it is issued.
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Work permit processing fee for the worker: $155.
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Faster processing: IRCC aims to process complete online applications from outside Canada within 2 weeks for TEER 0 or 1 jobs once you have submitted the offer and paid the fee.
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IRCC says GSS applications will probably take more than 2 weeks while it recovers (help centre, modified 2026-09-28)
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CUSMA professionals: initial permits up to 3 years; extensions of up to 3 years at a time.
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CUSMA transferees: initial permits up to 3 years, 2-year renewals, total of 7 years for executives and managers or 5 years for specialists.
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CUSMA traders: 1 year at first, then 2-year extensions.
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CUSMA investors: 1 year at first, then 2-year extensions.
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CETA transferees: the lesser of 3 years or the contract, one extension of up to 18 months, total of 4.5 years; graduate trainees 1 year with no extension.
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CETA service suppliers and independent professionals: no more than 12 months in any 24-month period.
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CUKTCA transferees: the lesser of 3 years or the contract, one extension of up to 18 months, total of 4.5 years; graduate trainees 1 year with no extension.
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CUKTCA service suppliers and independent professionals: no more than 12 months in any 24-month period.
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CPTPP professionals and technicians: 1 year at first; extensions with supporting documents.
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CPTPP transferees: up to 3 years at first, extensions of up to 2 years, total of 7 years for executives or 5 years for specialists.
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Chile professionals: up to 3 years at first; extensions of up to 3 years at a time.
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Colombia professionals and technicians: up to 3 years at first; extensions of up to 3 years at a time.
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Peru professionals and technicians: up to 1 year at first; extensions of up to 1 year at a time.
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Korea contract professionals: up to 3 years at first; extensions of up to 3 years at a time.
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Panama professionals: up to 3 years at first; extensions of up to 3 years at a time.
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Ukraine professionals: 1 year at first; extensions of 1 year at a time.
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GATS professionals: at most 90 days in a 12-month period, with no extension.
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Watch out for

Only citizens qualify under CUSMA: permanent residents of the U.S. or Mexico do not.
Trade agreements do not remove provincial licensing rules for regulated jobs.
Most people already in Canada can no longer apply at the border (flagpoling ended December 24, 2024); professionals under CUSMA, Chile, Korea, Panama, Colombia and Peru are among the exceptions.
IRCC lists the United Kingdom as a CPTPP member (ratified September 1, 2026), so U.K. citizens may now use CPTPP professional, transferee and investor categories as well as CUKTCA.
Panama: only the professional category is in force; its trader, investor, transferee and spouse provisions are not.
CETA and CUKTCA contract workers are capped at 12 months in any 24 months across all contracts, and the foreign business cannot have a Canadian establishment.
CETA, CUKTCA and CPTPP transferees, and CPTPP and Ukraine professionals, are expected to be paid at least the prevailing wage; allowances do not count.
Spousal open work permits exist under CETA, CUKTCA, Colombia, Korea, Ukraine and, for some countries, CPTPP; CUSMA, Chile, Panama and Peru give spouses no special status.
Every extension needs a new offer of employment, and trade agreement permits are for temporary stays only.
Short business trips (meetings, after-sales service) may not need a work permit at all; the business visitors guide explains these rules.

Official pages

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Checked against official sources on October 16, 2026. The employer assessment checks your answers against these requirements, and a lawyer reviews anything unusual.