Why can we bring candidates to Canada and the US without visa sponsorship?
In order to create the most favorable conditions for Canadian and US business to compete internationally, Canada and the US have entered into bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTA). Most FTAs facilitate the mobility of temporary business persons with specific characteristics to Canada and the US.
Generally, foreign workers eligible under a FTA require a work permit to work in Canada, and are exempt from obtaining a Labor Market Impact assessment (LMIA), making the process of obtaining a work permit seamless, inexpensive, and quick.
The Canada-United States-Mexico (CUSMA) agreement allows Canadian, Mexican, and US persons with a certain level of education and in certain professions to work in all three countries with a 3-year work permit or TN visa. As long as they have a formal job offer compensated at a market rate.
The Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), along with the Chile, Peru, Colombia and Korea FTAs are akin to CUSMA and all contain provisions that grant temporary entry to 4 categories of business persons: business visitors, professionals, intra-company transferees, and traders and investors.
Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), professionals are authorized to enter under either as professionals or intra-company transferees.
Entry requirements vary significantly from one category to another. However, the same LMIA exemption applies.