Trans-Pacific Partnership to allow streamlined travel and work authorization for designated business persons

IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Canada would grant temporary entry and streamlined work authorization to certain foreign business persons without subjecting them to labor market testing or numerical quotas under a draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement released today.

What does the change mean? The categories of individuals covered by the agreement include business visitors, intra-company transferees and investors from the other 11 signatory countries, as well as designated professionals and technicians from Australia, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and Peru. The designated categories are conditioned on reciprocal treatment of Canadian nationals by the individual country.

• Implementation time frame: The agreement has yet to be finalized, and its implementation date is not yet determined.
• Who is affected: Nationals of signatory countries entering Canada for business or other purposes covered by the agreement.
• Impact on processing times: Processing will be streamlined for qualifying foreign nationals because they will not be subject to labor market testing.
• Business impact: The agreement removes barriers for certain business people to enter and work in Canada.
• Next steps: The TPP agreement must be ratified by the 12 participating countries and will depend on each country’s ratification process.

Background: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a wide-ranging deal that reduces barriers to trade and travel among 12 countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

BAL Analysis: The agreement has yet to be signed, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has indicated his support for it. If implemented as drafted, it will liberalize cross-border travel for employers sending foreign nationals from participating countries to Canada for certain business roles.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Canada. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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