11-07-11
Operational Bulletin 316 (July 4, 2011) – “Assessing Intra-Company Transferees under Specialized Knowledge”
Since the cancelation of the IT workers national exemption program in September 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has received an increase in Intra-Company Transferee (ICT) work permit applications. To ensure consistency in processing this type of application, the department has issued an operational bulletin instructing all immigration officers to consider a number of factors to determine whether the application supports a claim of specialized knowledge. These factors include:
– Education: is a diploma or degree required for the position sought in Canada?
– Knowledge: is it relatively unique within the company and industry, in that it is not commonly held?
– Experience: does the experience with the foreign company/the respective industry support the claim of specialized knowledge?
– Salary: is the salary realistic in terms of Canadian wage levels for the occupation concerned?
– Relevant training: does any previous training support the claim to specialized knowledge?
– Supporting documentation: do the resume, reference letters, etc. support the claim?
What is Specialized Knowledge?
?In addition to having knowledge of the proprietary tools used or developed by the employer, a specialized knowledge worker should also have the following characteristics:
– Knowledge that is uncommon (i.e., beyond that generally found in a particular industry and within the company);
– Knowledge that has been gained through extensive experience and is difficult to acquire in a short period of time;
– Difficulty to train another worker to assume such duties; ?
– The required knowledge is complex in that it cannot be easily transferred;
– A person possessing such knowledge would be in a position that is critical to the well-being or productivity of the Canadian employer.
Occupation
To evaluate the applicant, immigration officers will use the National Occupational Classification system.
Salary/Wage Requirements?
Foreign workers must demonstrate that their salaries in Canada are consistent with Canadian wage-levels for the given occupation. Specifically, immigration officers must verify that the specialized knowledge worker’s salary, is the same as the average wage for the stated occupation in the specified Canadian geographical location.
Further, non-cash per diems will not be considered in the calculation of a worker’s salary in Canada. This may include, for example, amounts paid by the employer for meals, transportation and accommodation. However, only compensation paid directly to the employee in monetary form will be included.
For more information about immigrating to Canada, contact FWCanada – Canadian Immigration Law Firm
