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The line that matters

Visitor or worker — not both

Officers care less about the label on your ticket and more about what you will actually do in Canada.

Business visitor

Short stay. Business stays abroad. You are not joining the Canadian labour market.

  • Meetings, conferences, negotiations
  • Site visits and due diligence before a purchase
  • After-sales meetings where the work is done outside Canada
  • Training or familiarization that is incidental to a foreign job

Work permit required

You will be employed in Canada, or you will actively run a Canadian business from inside Canada.

  • Day-to-day management of a Canadian company
  • Providing services to a Canadian employer or clients in Canada
  • Hands-on operations after buying or incorporating
  • Any role that is really a Canadian job

Go to work permits →

Requirements

What a business visitor generally needs to show

IRCC and CBSA look at purpose, duration, ties, and whether the work is really being done in Canada.

  • You intend to stay in Canada for less than six months.
  • You do not intend to enter the Canadian labour market.
  • Your main place of business and source of income remain outside Canada.
  • You can show the purpose of the visit — for example an invitation, conference details, or proof of business activities.
  • You meet Canada’s basic entry requirements, including a valid travel document and admissibility.
  • You have enough funds for the stay and to leave Canada.
Typical uses we see: visiting a target company before a share purchase, meeting investors or counsel, attending a trade show, or a short trip to set up an Ontario corporation before a C11 or ICT application. The visit is the visit. The operating plan is a separate file.
FAQ

Business visitor questions

The questions that decide whether you should travel as a visitor at all.

Canada does not have a separate “business visa” category in the way many people mean it. A business visitor is someone who comes for short-term business activities without entering the labour market. Depending on nationality, that may be a visitor visa (TRV), an eTA, or visa-exempt entry — the status question is whether you are visiting or working.
No. If you will work in Canada — including actively managing a Canadian business from inside Canada — you generally need a work permit. Exploratory meetings, negotiations, and site visits can be visitor activities. Day-to-day operation is not.
Business visitor activities are meant to be short-term, typically under six months. Officers can still refuse entry if they think you are coming to work, settle, or stay beyond a genuine visit.
You can be refused entry or found to have worked without authorization. That is why we separate visitor trips from work-permit files before you travel — especially if you already incorporated in Ontario or are about to buy a business.
Often a visitor trip, if you are not remaining to operate. Bring the invitation or transaction documents. If the real plan is to stay and run the company, start with a work permit instead of stretching visitor status.

Coming for meetings — or coming to operate?

Book a free consultation. We will tell you whether visitor status is enough, or whether you need a work permit before you travel.

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