NAFTA Exemption

Citizens of the US and Mexico can apply to enter Canada under the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) Exemption – Appendix 1603.D.1 which allows business professionals to qualify for a temporary work permit without obtaining a positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Service Canada. Under NAFTA, professionals will normally be issued a one-year temporary work permit. Extensions may then be granted in one-year increments, although the situation should normally continue to be “temporary”. Note that the longer the duration of a temporary stay, the greater the onus will be on the individual to satisfy Immigration Officials of temporary intent, especially when requesting an extension of status.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has requested that UBC opt to use the NAFTA exemption to bring US and Mexican academics to Canada rather than obtaining a Labour Market Opinion. Therefore our office will be following CIC’s directions and obtaining a pre-approval for an LMO exemption. It is at the discretion of the CIC officer issuing the work permit whether the duration will be for one year or greater.

Details on immigration process are found on our Immigration Process for Foreign Academics page.

If you have any questions about the above process, please contact Faculty Relations at fr@exchange.ubc.ca.