Work Permits · Free Trade Agreements
CETA Work Permits
The Canada–EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement gives citizens of EU member states LMIA-exempt routes into Canada, as intra-corporate transferees, contractual service suppliers, independent professionals, investors and technologists. The categories are narrow, time-limited and unforgiving of poor fits.
27
EU member states covered
No
LMIA required under CETA
T41–T48
Exemption codes across five categories
24 mo
Overall window for service suppliers, incl. extensions
The framework
How CETA work permits operate
Chapter 10 of the CETA facilitates temporary entry for EU citizens engaged in trade in goods, services or investment. Work permits are assessed under paragraph R204(a), LMIA-exempt, within the International Mobility Program, in force since September 21, 2017.
CETA is unusual among Canada’s trade agreements in two ways: it extends privileges to spouses of intra-corporate transferees (open work permits, code T45), and it imposes hard time caps, intra-corporate transferees may extend only up to 18 months, contractual service suppliers and independent professionals live within a 24-month overall window, and graduate trainees get no extension at all.
Like all treaty permits these are employer- or contract-specific and need an Employer Portal offer with the compliance fee. Compare CUSMA, CPTPP, the full trade agreement family or general intra-company transfers.
The categories
Five doors for EU citizens
Each category has its own codes, tests and time limits. The right one depends on who employs you, who pays you, and what the Canadian engagement actually is.
Most used
Intra-corporate transferees: T41 / T42 / T44
Senior personnel, specialists and graduate trainees moving within a corporate group to a Canadian entity. Spouses can obtain open work permits (T45).
- Qualifying corporate relationship
- Senior personnel, specialist or graduate trainee
- Extensions capped at 18 months; none for trainees
Contractual service suppliers & independent professionals: T47 / T43
Employees of an EU company with a services contract in Canada, or self-employed EU professionals with a Canadian engagement, in covered sectors.
- Contract with a Canadian client in a covered sector
- Professional qualifications and experience proven
- 12-month extensions within a 24-month total window
Investors & technologists: T46 / T48
Investors establishing or administering a substantial investment (T46), and engineering or scientific technologists (T48) with specified credentials.
- Substantial committed capital, documented
- Supervisory or executive investor role
- Technologists: credential and duties match required
Step by step
How a CETA application works
01
Fix the category
Employment structure, contract and sector tested against Chapter 10, the category drives everything else.
02
Employer files the offer
Employer Portal offer of employment and compliance fee on the Canadian side.
03
Build the evidence
Corporate documents, the services contract, credentials and experience, per the category’s test.
04
Apply
EU citizens are generally visa-exempt and may be eligible to apply at a port of entry with a complete package.
05
Watch the clock
CETA’s caps are hard limits. Extension and PR strategy must start well before the window closes.
The essentials
What a CETA file must show
CETA rewards precise structuring. Four things must line up:
- EU citizenship, residence in the EU is not the test
- A genuine category fit: ICT, service supplier, professional, investor or technologist
- Qualifications, contracts and corporate relationships documented
- An exit-and-extension plan that respects CETA’s time caps
Strategy
The time caps change the plan
An intra-corporate transferee who arrives on a three-year assignment cannot simply renew indefinitely. CETA extensions are capped at 18 months. A consultant on a 12-month contract has, at most, 24 months in the category including extensions.
That makes sequencing decisive: whether to start under CETA and pivot to the general intra-company transfer rules, an LMIA, or permanent residence through Express Entry. The best route depends on the corporate structure and the person, mapped before arrival, not at month 17.
Work with me
How I help
For applicants
EU professionals & transferees
- Category selection across CETA’s five doors
- Contract and credential evidence built to the treaty test
- Port-of-entry packages prepared to survive scrutiny
- Sequencing to longer-term permits or permanent residence
For employers
European corporate groups
- Structuring assignments around CETA’s time caps
- Employer Portal filings and compliance
- Spousal open work permits for transferees
- Comparison against general ICT rules and the LMIA route
Good to know
CETA questions, answered
Citizens of the 27 EU member states. Residence or employment in the EU is not enough on its own, citizenship is the anchor, and each category adds its own employment and qualification requirements.
Initial permits are issued per the treaty terms, and extensions are limited to a maximum of 18 months. Graduate trainees cannot extend at all. Longer assignments need a different legal basis, planned in advance.
An employee of an EU enterprise that has a services contract with a Canadian client in a covered sector. The person stays employed and paid by the EU company. Independent professionals are the self-employed equivalent, with their own contract.
Spouses of CETA intra-corporate transferees can apply for an open work permit under exemption code T45, one of the few trade agreements with express spousal provisions.
The treaty category ends, but other routes may continue: the general intra-company transfer provisions, an LMIA-based permit, or permanent residence. Which pivot works, and when to start it, depends on your record in Canada.
Official Sources & Notes
Official sources: IRCC program delivery instructions – CETA overview · CETA (Global Affairs Canada) · IRPR s. 204 (Justice Laws) · IRCC – LMIA exemption codes
This information is current as of July 2026 and is provided for general information only. It is not legal advice. Immigration programs, fees and requirements change frequently, and eligibility always depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, please book a consultation.
Plan the European assignment properly
CETA can move EU talent into Canada quickly, if the category, contract and timeline are right. Book a consultation and we’ll structure it before the clock starts.