What extra requirements apply to a 'new office' intra-company transfer compared to an established business?

A "new office" intra-company transfer, where the Canadian entity is newly established or has only been operating for a short time, faces extra scrutiny compared to a transfer into an already-established Canadian business. IRCC wants to see that the Canadian office is a real, viable operation, not just a shell created to support an immigration application, so the applicant generally needs to show a concrete business plan, physical premises suited to the intended operations, and a realistic path for the Canadian office to actually function and grow.

The detail that trips people up is that a new office transfer typically only qualifies for a shorter initial permit than an established-business transfer would receive, with the expectation that the office will be reassessed once it has had a chance to become established. This means approval at the outset is not the end of the story — a further review looks at whether the office actually developed as planned, with real staff, operations, and activity, before any further extension is considered. Simply keeping the office registered without meaningful activity is unlikely to satisfy that later review. Because the evidence needed to show a viable new office, and the reassessment process itself, can be detailed and fact-specific, anyone planning a new office transfer should work closely with an immigration lawyer from the outset.