“Why My Intra Company Transfer Visa Got Rejected?”
Business owners can expand their businesses to Canada and start operating under the Intra Company Transfer Canada Program. This offers such businesses a chance to offer products and services in the Canadian market and help business owners obtain Canadian permanent residence.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) receives numerous ICT work visa applications each year and assesses each is using strict criteria. IRCC officers reject many ICT visa applications for failing to meet these criteria. This guide will examine why Intra Company Transfer visa applications are rejected.
1. Your True Intention is to Gain Status
The ICT transfer program offers a pathway for business owners to receive an LMIA-Exempt work permit and then come to Canada to operate their businesses. These business owners can then use the Canadian work experience they gained leading their company to apply for permanent residence. For this reason, IRCC is careful to scope out people who can’t demonstrate that their business has a justifiable reason to be in Canada.
Some red flags they look out for include the following:
- Your business isn’t registered in Canada
- Your business doesn’t have a Canadian bank account that’s funded
- Your business doesn’t have a commercial lease agreement in Canada
- You haven’t visited Canada before and do have any business dealings or partnerships with people in Canada
2. Your Bank Account Is Being Improperly Funded
IRCC requires your business to have a Canadian bank account containing funds as proof that you have funds to set up and operate the business. However, they also check to see the source of your funds. If they notice you have funded the bank account using your finances instead of the company’s parent account, they will reject your application.
Related Post: Intra Company Transfer to PR
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3. Moving Over More Foreign Workers Full-Time than Canadian Employees
The Canadian government set up the Intra Company Transfer program to bring foreign businesses to Canada. This benefits the country by bringing in foreign funds through investments. It also helps create jobs for Canadians.
IRCC carefully assesses foreign businesses with entities in Canada and checks to see that they are hiring enough Canadians for their operations. Suppose IRCC notices that a particular business is bringing in more employees from its foreign parent company than hiring Canadians in its first year of operations. In that case, it may reject or revoke the business’s visa application.
Related Post: Intra Company Transfer from India to Canada
4. Failing to Establish the Canadian Company’s Relationship With the Foreign Company
IRCC will also reject your application if you fail to establish a relationship between the parent company and its new branch in Canada. Therefore, business owners must include a comprehensive business plan that describes the company type and whether it is a subsidiary or another entity affiliated with a foreign parent company.
If one of the business’s employees is being transferred to Canada, their applications may be rejected if they have been employed with the company for less than one year.
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5. The Company Doesn’t Present a Significant Benefit to Canada
The Canadian government wants to ensure that only companies that present a significant benefit to Canada set up operations in the country. Business owners that fail to demonstrate their business meets these criteria will have their Intra Company Transfer visa applications rejected.
This requirement isn’t fixed, so many business owners are unaware that their business plan fails in this regard. For example, a parent company may be willing to invest up to $200,000 to set up a subsidiary in a major Canadian city such as Vancouver or Toronto. However, this amount is much smaller than the value of many businesses in these pricey Canadian cities.
The same business might satisfy IRCC’s requirement by putting up the same amount in an underpopulated Canadian community that desperately needs foreign investment.
Need help?
As you can see, IRCC has no shortage of reasons to reject ICT visa applications. If you are a business owner that would like to expand their business in Canada, please contact Elaar Immigration. Our experienced Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants are familiar with the ICT visa application process and can help you meet IRCC’s criteria in each area described above. Establish a successful business in Canada with Elaar Immigration’s assistance.
Contact us today to start your business journey in Canada.
