Generally, foreign workers eligible under a FTA require a work permit to work in Canada, but are exempt from obtaining a Labor Market Impact assessment (LMIA), making the process of obtaining a work permit seamless, unexpansive and quick.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is the largest FTA to which Canada is a party, and several Foreign Trade Agreements in which Canada is a party:
The Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), along with the Chile, Peru, Columbia and Korea FTAs are akin to the NAFTA and all contain provisions that grant temporary entry to 4 categories of business persons: business visitors, professionals, intra-company transferees, and traders and investors.
Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), professionals are authorized to enter under either as professionals or intra-company transferees.
Entry requirements vary significantly from one category to another. However, the same LMIA exemption apply.