Mailing Address

A registered corporation may apply to register an employee as an IFA specialist if the following conditions are met:

• the employee was either a non-resident of Canada immediately before entering into a written employment contract with the registered corporation, or was previously registered as a specialist under this Act
• prior to registration, the employee specializes in international financial activities other than back-up office services or administrative support services as described below
• the terms of the written contract of employment require that at least 70% of the employee's working time is devoted to performing international financial activities for the corporation

The following activities do not qualify as international financial activities if carried out by an IFA Specialist:

• Providing administrative support services directly related to a financial activity of a non-resident financial businesses. Call centres, marketing and advertising are excluded by regulation. An internal support function, such as a computer help desk, working directly with the non-resident employees, qualifies as an administrative support service.
• Providing back-up office services, which are described in the Act as providing services, equipment and premises to continue the business operations of the non-resident in the event their primary equipment or premises become temporarily unusable.
• Patent activity – selling, assigning or licensing to a non-resident a patent within a prescribed class of patents (see IFA 002, Life Science Patents).
• Patent activity – selling to a non-resident a good or service whose sales revenue is principally derived from an invention for which a patent, within a prescribed class of patents, is owned by the corporation (see IFA 002, Life Science Patents).