Can My Spouse Get a Work Permit Before We Get Canadian Permanent Residence?
Coming to Canada as a foreign-national has never been easy, and over the last few months it has become harder. In the fall of 2024, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a number of changes intended to curb Canada’s population growth. Amongst the casualties are programs that allow people to bring their families to Canada while they await a permanent residence decision.
Previously, the spouses of international students in Canada could apply to come to Canada on Open Work Permits. While one can always come to Canada through an Employer Specific Work Permit, Open Work Permits allow you to come first, and find employment later. They also do not require your job offer be approved through the LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment) process.
Only a fraction of these students can come to Canada. For your spouse to be eligible for an Open Work Permit, you must be in a PhD program, a Master’s program that runs for 16 months or longer, or be enrolled in one of the other programs listed on IRCC’s website. The list includes professional degrees, like medical and law school, as well as a short list of province-specific programs.
Canada has similarly restricted access to Open Work Permits for the spouses and dependent children of work-permit holders. While the requirements to be eligible for an Open Work Permit are quite detailed, the general rule is that the worker must have applied for economic permanent residence, be employed in a high-skilled field, and have a work permit that is valid for 6 months or more. High-skilled workers without a path to permanent residence can apply for open work permits for their spouses (not their children) if they have a work permit that is valid for 16 months or more.
Economic permanent residence includes standard express entry streams, as well as special programs such as the Agri-Food Pilot Program, Atlantic Immigration Program, Caring for Children class, etc. Generally a person has to have applied for permanent residence, for their family to be eligible for work permits, but in the context of some programs it is sufficient to be on “a pathway” to permanent residence – this means you received a work permit as part of a special pilot program that is supposed to lead to permanent residence.
High-skilled work is defined through the NOC TEER system, with TEER 0 and 1 jobs always being considered high-skilled. TEER 2 and 3 jobs are considered high-skilled in specific contexts. While being the family member of a low-skilled worker no longer gets you access to an open work permit, you can apply to renew an existing open work permit if it expires before yours.
While the Economic Class only includes the types of immigration applications mentioned above (no one immigrating through the Refugee or Humanitarian streams), some family-class immigrants can apply for open work permits. If a person has applied for permanent residence as a sponsored-spouse, they can apply for an open work permit so long as they have valid status (or have validly applied to restore their status), and are living with their spouse in Canada. The same applies to the dependent children of sponsored spouses.
To apply you will need an AOR (Acknowledgement Of Receipt letter) confirming IRCC is looking at your application. Individuals without valid status can apply for open work permits only after they have received Approval in Principle letters (letters stating they have met the basic requirements to receive permanent residence, but IRCC is still performing some extra checks before giving them the status).
All of these programs have a number of requirements. We strongly encourage speaking to a lawyer to make sure you do not make any mistakes in applying. IRCC often makes their policies sound more open in news releases than they are in reality. For example, there was an announcement in the Spring of 2023 that made it seem like sponsored spouses living abroad could get visitor visas, when in practice this was often not the case. If you are eligible, contact your local Legal Aid clinic for more information.
The above is a simply a summary of sources of income. This is legal information and not legal advice. If you need further information or need legal advice, please call our Intake Line at 416-441-1764 ext. 1.