Ottawa announces changes to open work permits for family members of temporary residents

Only spouses of certain international students and foreign workers will be able to apply for a family OWP

Ottawa announces changes to open work permits for family members of temporary residents

The federal government has made some more changes to its rules around immigration that will take effect in the first month of the year.

Ottawa has announced changes to open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of temporary residents, with the new rules coming into effect on Jan. 21.

The new policy will restrict OWP eligibility for spouses of international students to those enrolled in specific academic programs. These include:

  • Master’s programs lasting 16 months or longer
  • Doctoral programs
  • Select professional and eligible programs

Outside of studies at the master's or doctoral level, students in the following programs can continue to receive a family OWP for their spouse or common-law partner, According to CIC News:

  • Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS DMD)
  • Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
  • Doctor of Medicine (MD)
  • Doctor of Optometry (OD)
  • Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
  • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN)
  • Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc)
  • Bachelor of Nursing (BN)
  • Bachelor of Education (BEd)
  • Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc).

Also, eligibility for spouses of foreign workers will be limited to workers employed in targeted roles under the National Occupational Classification (NOC), according to IRCC. These include:

  • TEER 0 or 1 occupations
  • Select TEER 2 or 3 occupations linked to government priorities or labour shortages
    • These include occupations in the natural and applied sciences, construction, health care, natural resources, education, sports and military sectors. The full list will be available on Jan. 21.

Additionally, foreign workers must have at least 16 months remaining on their work permit for their spouse to qualify for an OWP. Dependent children of foreign workers will no longer be eligible for an OWP under the new criteria, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Recently, the federal government also stopped providing study permits to flagpolers at a port of entry.

Current OWPs

OWPs issued under the previous rules will remain valid until their expiry date. According to the government, affected families will still have options to extend their permits in certain circumstances.

“In situations where students may need more time to complete their program or where family members received a shorter work permit than the principal applicant, in-Canada family members (including spouses and dependent children) can apply to renew their work permit as long as they are applying under the same criteria as the current work permit, and the requested duration of the renewal matches that of the existing study or work permit of the principal applicant,” said the IRCC.

Spouses of workers covered by free-trade agreements and those transitioning to permanent residence will not be impacted by these changes.

Meanwhile, family members who will no longer qualify for a family OWP can apply for any type of work permit they are eligible for under Canada’s work permit programs.

Ottawa has made significant changes to immigration rules over the past year.