Hi, I am interested in expanding my U.S. corporation to Canada. I have a Canadian partner (who is incorporated) who would be the resident Canadian 50% shareholder/director and I would be the other 50% director shareholder. After incorporation, I would be looking to be an intra company transferee with specialized knowledge. Will I need an LMO/work permit to work? Do you feel this type of arrangement is generally acceptable to gain entry? Will I be viewed differently because both corporatoins are one person operations? Thanks, any information would be greatly appreciated. --Andy

As a 50% shareholder, government policy would ordinarily prevent the processing of a Labour Market Opinion for you, given that their interpretation would be that the employer and employee are the same. The intra-company transfer provisions may therefore be the most attractive option. The viability of such a case would be subject to issues surrounding the potential benefit to Canada; the foreign and Canadian businesses would have to be evaluated to give an estimate of the case's likelihood of success.