A business visitor is a person who wish to enter Canada:
- For international business activities
- Without direct entry into the Canadian Labour Market
These are people who are in Canada to meet business persons doing business operations with their country, to conduct site visits and if a Canadian company is invited for training about product use, sales or other business transactions. They are not required to have a work permit to come to Canada.
Business visitors also have a requirement to prove that their main source of income and business location is outside Canada. If you are working for a Canadian company, you may require an open work permit. Even to fulfill a contract with a Canadian company, and having it sent by a foreign company, you are supposed to have an open work permit as it is also not considered as a business visitor. Business people are different from business visitors, as they are entitled to do work in Canada under free trade agreements.
Step 1 : Understand whether you require a work permit or you are a business visitor
- To qualify, you must show that you plan to stay for only a period less than 6 months.
- There is no plan of entering Canadian Labour market
- The main location of your business, sources of income and profits are all outside Canada.
- You have all required documents to support your claim
- You can meet all the fundamental entry requirements such as possessing a valid travel document like passport, have required money for your stay and return, have a plan to exit Canada by the completion of your visit period, and a person without criminal, security or health risk to Canadians.
Activities that you are entitled to conduct as a Business visitor:
- Buy Canadian goods or services in favor of foreign business or government.
- Take orders for goods or services
- Be part of meetings, conferences, conventions or even trade fairs.
- As part of a sales agreement or warranty, give after sales services.
- Participate in training organized by a Canadian parent company that you work for outside Canada.
- Train staff of a Canadian branch of a foreign company.
- Get training from a Canadian company that has sold equipment or services to your company.
Step 2 : Find out the requirement to have a visa or an electronic travel authorization (eTA)
- What is the travel document you have to travel to Canada
- Provide the country code that is mentioned in your passport.
- Do you hold a dual Canadian citizenship?
- Do you have a valid permanent resident of the US with a green card or similar document to prove your status?
- What is your purpose for visiting Canada?
Step 3 : Get an event code from your meeting, event or conference organizer
If the organizer of your meeting, event or conference has registered the program with IRCC, and if you need a visitor visa, you will need to provide an event code. They will also provide instructions on how to apply for a visa. This can be an identification that you are a participant of an event registered with us.
Step 4: Apply for the visa or an eTA as per requirements
Step 5: The documents you need to carry while traveling to Canada.
