Canada’s commitment has been renewed as the nation has decided to reunite the families & keep them together. It’s the central goal of the nation’s present immigration system. 

IRCC has put into practice new procedures intended to accelerate family reunification, ensuring that dependents and spouses can arrive in Canada even though they aren’t eligible to reunite with their families. 

Moreover, some additional measures have also been declared by the former immigration minister on May 26, which include: 

  • Expedited processing times for TRV for spousal candidates with new, dedicated tools designed to process the TRV applications. 
  • The provision of a new open work permit scheme for both family class as well as spousal candidates. 
  • Expanding the eligibility of open work permits to spouses & family members of Canadian citizens, permanent inhabitants, students, temporary workers, etc.

Expedited Processing Times & New Tools 

As far as Canada’s commitment is concerned, the new processing tools & measures aim to increase efficiency, precisely where non-complex applications are concerned. These measures have already given favorable outcomes, with spousal TRV candidates seeing a 98% approval rating. Much of this efficiency comes down to IRCC’s current implementation of new analytics in processing of applications . This can use a multi-factor analysis of applications in order to help immigration officers determine if a candidate is eligible for PR or not. Thereafter, immigration officers can assign the application to a category where it is most likely to be readily approved, thus streamlining application processing times. 

New OWPs For Spousal & Family Class Candidates

As of January 30, 2023, open work permits were made available temporarily for spouses of individuals participating in TFWP, i.e., Temporary Foreign Worker Program & IMP, i.e., International Mobility Program. This initiative will continue till 2025. IRCC believes that offering work permits to dependents, spouses, & common-law partners of these professionals will help alleviate some stress on them, thus improving financial stability & facilitating family unity & integration into the communities. 

Moreover, this initiative also consists of working-age children who are 16 years of age or older, the primary applicants of all skill levels. According to IRCC’s estimations, the program will help around 200,000 families of foreign nationals to enter the Canadian workforce, thus assisting in reducing the labor shortage & boosting economic growth. 

Open Work Permit For Outland Applicants 

On May 26, IRCC also declared an updated family sponsorship policy for outland applicants.

This updated policy now renders dependents, partners, and spouses of permanent inhabitants, Canadian citizens, students, and temporary workers eligible for open work permits. These family members are conjugal partners, spouses, common-law partners, & dependent children over 18 years of age. 

Earlier, open work permits were only accessible to candidates via inland sponsorship or to applicants already residing in the nation through TRV. However, this new measure enables applications from outside Canada to be considered for open work permits. 

IRCC intends to process the spousal applications within 12 months. The eligibility criteria stipulate that family members having a temporary resident status, are eligible or have applied to restore their position, or who have maintained their position/ status at the time of open work permit application may qualify for the work permit. 

According to IRCC public policy, immigration officers can grant open work permits to international candidates who satisfy either of the two sets of conditions. 

For instance, a foreign national can be a principal applicant who has applied for PR under the common-law partner or spouse category in Canada or as a spouse/ conjugal partner/ common-law partner under the family class category whose application has been accepted by IRCC. 

Such candidates must: 

  • Have filed a work permit application for a maximum time frame of two years.
  • Share a residential address with their sponsor at the time of application. 
  • Be the subject of a sponsor application submitted by a permanent inhabitant or Canadian citizen spouse/ conjugal partner/ common-law partner.
  • Possess a valid temporary resident status or be eligible for & have applied for status restoration. 

Another example is that a foreign national can be a dependent child included as a family member in the PR application. They must have:

  • Submitted a work permit application for a maximum period of two years
  • Maintain a valid temporary resident status or be eligible for & have applied for status restoration
  • Share a residential address as the principal candidate & their sponsor at the time of application