CUSMA Trader and Investor Work Permits (T34, T35): How Americans and Mexicans Run a Canadian Business
A US or Mexican citizen who owns, or is building, a business in Canada often assumes the choices are an LMIA or a Canadian startup program. There is another door, written into the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA): the trader and investor work permits, IRCC codes T34 and T35. Neither needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
They are also narrower than they look. The investor permit has no minimum dollar amount, and people read that as flexibility. In practice it means the officer decides what "substantial" means for your business, and the rules on ownership, control and committed money are strict.
Below is who these permits are for, what IRCC tells officers to check, and where these files usually go wrong.
What the CUSMA trader and investor permits actually are
Both permits are issued under paragraph 204(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), which covers work under an international agreement. CUSMA, the agreement that replaced NAFTA, covers citizens of the United States (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) and Mexico. It does not cover permanent residents of those countries, or citizens of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa or the US Virgin Islands.
The two categories are separate, and a person can hold trader status or investor status, not both:
Trader (T34): you carry on substantial trade in goods or services, mainly between Canada and the United States or Mexico, for a company with US or Mexican nationality.
Investor (T35): you have invested, or are actively investing, a substantial amount in a real Canadian business, and you are coming to develop and direct it.
Employees can use both categories too, if they are US or Mexican citizens and their role is executive, supervisory or needs essential skills. If you have a job offer rather than an ownership stake, the professionals category is often the more natural fit; I explain it in my guide to the CUSMA professionals work permit.
The company must be American or Mexican, by ownership
IRCC looks at who owns the Canadian company, not where it was incorporated. At least 50% of it must be owned, directly or through shares, by US or Mexican citizens. An Ontario corporation owned by two Texans passes the nationality test. A Delaware corporation owned mostly by Canadians does not.
Two details catch people. A US or Mexican citizen who is already a Canadian permanent resident does not count toward that 50%. And the majority owners must either live in the United States or Mexico, or hold temporary status in Canada that authorizes them to work as a trader or investor.
The investor permit: substantial, committed and at risk
IRCC tells officers there is no minimum dollar figure for a substantial investment. They apply a proportionality test instead: the amount you invested is compared with the total cost of the business. For a small business, you need to have funded a very high share of that cost. A larger enterprise can accept a lower percentage.
The business must be a real and active commercial undertaking that produces a service or commodity for profit, and it must return more than a living for you and your family. A business that only replaces your salary is the kind of marginal investment the instructions exclude.
What counts as the investment
Counts: cash in the business bank account used for operations, equipment and inventory purchases, and goods or machinery brought to Canada for the business.
Counts: loans secured by your own assets, such as a second mortgage on your home, and unsecured personal loans.
Does not count: a mortgage or commercial loan secured by the business's own assets.
Does not count: money sitting uncommitted in an account, or property held only to rise in value.
Only money already invested, or irrevocably committed, counts. You must also show that you possessed and controlled the funds and acquired them legitimately. A signed purchase agreement with the money in escrow reads very differently from a bank balance and a plan.
Control, not ownership alone
You are coming to develop and direct the business, and that needs a controlling interest. IRCC's instructions say an interest of 50% or less usually means the applicant lacks the requisite control, especially in a smaller enterprise, and that an equal partnership generally does not give it. Read that again if you are planning a 50/50 venture with a Canadian partner.
The trader permit: the trade must already exist
The trader category is for people whose main activity in Canada is international trade. More than 50% of the company's total international trade must be between Canada and the United States or Mexico, and the volume and value together must be substantial. Many small transactions can qualify if they add up to continuing trade.
The rule people miss is that the trade must already exist, shown by completed sales or by binding contracts that call for the immediate exchange of goods or services. You cannot use the trader permit to come to Canada and find customers. Services count as trade: IRCC's list includes banking, insurance, transportation, advertising, accounting, engineering, management consulting and tourism.
The role: executive, supervisory or essential skills
Owners and employees alike must fill a role that is executive or supervisory, or that needs essential skills. A supervisor here is someone primarily responsible for directing other employees, not someone who routinely does the hands-on work, and IRCC notes that first-line supervisors generally do not qualify. Essential skills means special qualifications that are vital to the Canadian operation, usually paid well above a skilled worker's wage.
How the application works
The Canadian company submits an offer of employment through IRCC's Employer Portal and pays the $230 employer compliance fee. The work permit fee is $155.
The applicant completes IRCC's trader and investor form (IMM 5321) and proves citizenship, the company's ownership, the investment or the trade, and the role.
IRCC says first applications should be filed from outside Canada because of their complexity. US citizens may apply at a port of entry, but IRCC counsels them to apply online. Mexican citizens cannot apply at the border: Mexico is listed in section 7.01 of the IRPR, and IRCC's port-of-entry rules exclude those nationals.
The first permit lasts up to 1 year. Extensions should be granted for 2 years at a time if the requirements are still met, and the officer compares the extension with what you said before.
Your spouse is not automatically covered
CUSMA gives no special status to spouses or children. Their entry is decided under the ordinary rules of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), so a spouse who wants to work needs a route of their own. Check the current rules before you assume an open work permit; my guide to spousal open work permits explains how those categories work.
The details that decide these files
The 50/50 partnership. Equal ownership fails the control test for investors. Settle the shareholding before you incorporate.
A loan secured by the business. However large, it does not count toward your investment.
Projected trade. Forecasts and letters of interest are not completed sales or binding contracts.
An owner with permanent residence. Canadian PR status takes that person out of the 50% ownership count.
The purchase structure. If you are buying an existing business, buying shares or assets changes what you own and what you invest. My comparison of asset and share purchases covers the trade-offs.
Where these permits sit among other business routes
T34 and T35 are temporary permits. They do not lead to permanent residence by themselves, so if that is your goal, plan the second step before you take the first. Owners who are not US or Mexican citizens, or who do not meet the CUSMA tests, usually look at C10 or C11 instead. I compare those routes in my 2026 guide to business immigration routes, and how I handle business owner work permits explains the owner route.
What I would do now
Write down who owns the Canadian company today, by citizenship and residence status, and who will own it after you invest.
Separate money you have already committed from money you plan to commit, and trace where each amount came from.
For a trader file, gather the completed sales and binding contracts, and calculate what share of the company's international trade is with Canada.
If you are a Mexican citizen, plan to apply online from outside Canada, not at the border.
Get advice before you sign a partnership, purchase or shareholder agreement. Ownership decided at signing is hard to undo.
This article reflects the rules as of September 2026.
If you want me to review your plan, you can book an online consultation. I work virtually, in English and Turkish, on flat fees. If a route does not fit your facts, I will tell you.
The articles on this site are general information, not legal advice, and reading them doesn't create a lawyer-client relationship. Immigration rules change often, so always consult a qualified Canadian immigration lawyer about your specific situation.
