During the processing of Family class sponsorship applications, some spouses, children, & partners of sponsors will arrive in Canada as temporary residents. Thus, open work permits are available to them! 

IRCC declared that at the end of May, a temporary public policy would enable these people to work in Canada while their application is under processing. 

The public policy facilitates issuing open work permits to international citizens who are applying to live & work in Canada under the family class sponsorship, i.e., dependent children over 18 years. 

In addition, these open work permits were previously only allowed for inland spousal sponsorship programs. However, it is now being extended to those who are applying outside Canada. 

IRCC asserts that issuing open work permits will help families become financially stable, thus enabling them to integrate into their communities. Along with this, such people will also help boost the economy and address the national labor shortages. 

 

What Are Eligibility Requirements?

IRCC officers might grant open work permits to international citizens who meet one of the following conditions. An international citizen: 

  • Is an applicant who has submitted a PR application under spouse/common-law partner in Canada or as a spouse/ conjugal partner under the family class.
  • Has submitted a work permit application, wherein the duration of the permit is two years. 
  • Is the subject of a sponsorship application submitted by a permanent resident spouse/common-law partner or a Canadian citizen? 
  • Has the same residential address as their sponsor in Canada. 
  • Has valid temporary application status in the country. 
  • Is eligible for or has applied for status restoration.   

OR

A foreign national: 

  • Is a dependent child who has been included as an accompanying family member in a PR application. 
  • Has the exact same residential address as the sponsor at the time of application. 
  • Has submitted a work permit application, wherein the work permit duration is two years. 
  • Has valid temporary status in the country.
  • Is eligible & has applied for status restoration. 

 

Declaration Of Family Reunification Measures 

On May 26, Sean Fraser announced certain modifications to support family reunification & family class immigration in Canada. 

Apart from the new open work permits, some additional measures include: 

  • Rapid TRV processing times for spousal candidates
  • New & dedicated tools for processing spousal TRV candidates 
  • Open work permit extension for open work permit holders expiring between August 1 – December 3, 2023.   

 

He further asserted that these measures represent IRCC’s dedication to reuniting families & show the significance of family reunification as an integral part of Canada’s immigration strategy.