Canada recently declared a new policy that enables the dependent children of temporary foreign workers to be eligible for work permits. Canada’s work permit pathways aim to combat acute labor shortages in the country. In addition, they offer more opportunities for people to stay with their families, thus integrating into the Canadian community.
Under this new policy, family members who fulfill specific criteria will be eligible for a work permit. This includes common-law partners, conjugal partners, spouses, dependent children, etc., of work permit holders who are in a job of any TEER category or who are the principal candidates & have an open work permit. In addition, it also includes family members of economic class PR candidates who golf a work permit.
However, family members of workers in TEER 4 or 5 professions under the low-wage stream of the Agriculture & Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program of TFWP aren’t eligible presently.
In addition to Canada’s work permit pathways, applicants must note that TEER categories correspond to the type & amount of training, education, responsibility, & experience needed to work in a profession.
- TEER 0: This category includes management professions which require a high education level & work experience. Examples of occupations include advertising, public relations manager, marketing, financial managers, etc.
- TEER 1: Occupations in this category need a university degree. Examples include financial advisors who give information on financial matters & software engineers who design & develop computer software.
- TEER 2: This category includes professions that need a college diploma, apprenticeship training of at least two years, or any supervisory profession. Examples include computer network & web technicians who set up & maintain computer networks & medical laboratory technologists who perform tests & conduct analysis of samples.
- TEER 3: An applicant must have a college diploma, less than 2 years of apprenticeship training, or more than six months of on-the-job training. Examples include dental assistants, bakers, dental laboratory assistants, etc.
- TEER 4: Professions in this category need a high school diploma or a few weeks of on-the-job training. These are generally entry-level positions that do not require extensive education or specific skills. Examples include home childcare providers, visual merchandisers, retail salespersons, etc.
- TEER 5: This category’s professions do not require formal education. Instead, applicants rely on short-term work demonstrations. These jobs often involve basic service tasks or manual labor. Examples include ground maintenance laborers, delivery service drivers, door-to-door distributors, etc.
Earlier, work permits were only available to spouses & family members of principal candidates that were either in high-skilled professions or international students. By extending Canada’s work permit pathways to the spouses, dependent children, & common-law partners of TFWs, the nation aims to improve financial stability & make it easier for families to integrate into their communities while adding to the Canadian labor force via untapped talent already residing in Canada.
Moreover, this new policy regarding Canada’s work permit pathways will allow families of 200,000 foreign professionals to enter the Canadian workforce.
Eligibility Criteria
A dependent child is one who is either your own child, your spouse’s child, or your common-law partner’s child. To be eligible for the program, a child should be:
- Below the age of 22
- Unmarried & without a common-law partner
Suppose the child is 22 years old or more than that. In that case, they qualify as dependent if they have been depending upon their parents for financial support before turning 22 & cannot support themselves due to mental or physical ailments. These conditions must persist until the processing of the application is complete.
For children whose age-eligibility was established on/ before October 23, 2017, might be applicable for work permits. In addition, children who are in the exclusive custody of their other parent might still be included in the sponsorship application, despite written agreements or court orders highlighting a lack of custody or accountability on the part of the sponsored person. Furthermore, the children also need to pass any mandatory medical, security, & background checks, if required.
It is vital to note that for permanent inhabitants, including dependent children offers them a potential opportunity to sponsor the child in future as a family class member if there are changes in custody or living conditions/ situations. PRs who do not declare all family members in the application can be at a loss of losing their PR status. Thus, children in the custody of a previous spouse/ common-law partner are also dependent children.
If the children of temporary foreign workers wish to work in Canada, they must apply for their work permit either individually or with their family. In addition, they might be eligible for an open work permit if a Canadian citizenship or permanent inhabitant is sponsoring them or if they are foreign workers in Canada. However, if they aren’t eligible for the open work permit, their employer might need to obtain an LMIA from ESDC. This assessment is generally required before hiring a temporary foreign professional for a specific job.
In addition, it is vital for dependent children who wish to work in Canada to check the minimum age requirements for the kind of job they want to work in, along with the province/ territory they wish to reside in. Moreover, in some cases, a medical examination might be needed before dependent children are able to work in Canada.