The Canadian government places great importance on family reunification as a central pillar of its immigration strategy. To enable more families to be together, the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has introduced a new measure that allows certain family members of permanent residents, Canadian citizens, temporary workers, and students already in Canada to be eligible for an Open Work Permit.
Under the previous rules, open work permits were only accessible to applicants through inland sponsorship (those already living in Canada on a Temporary Residence Visa – TRV). However, with the new measure, individuals applying from outside of Canada (outland sponsorship) can now also be eligible for open work permits.
The family members covered by this measure include spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners, and dependent children over 18 years old.
For a family member to be eligible for an open work permit, they must meet certain criteria as outlined by the IRCC:
- Valid Temporary Resident Status: The family member should have a valid temporary resident status, either maintained or eligible for restoration, at the time of applying for the open work permit.
- Same Residential Address: The family member must have the same residential address as their sponsor in Canada when applying for the open work permit.
The IRCC public policy allows officers to grant an open work permit to foreign nationals who meet one of the following conditions:
- Principal Applicant: The foreign national is the principal applicant who has submitted a permanent residence application under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada, or as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner under the family class, and the application has been accepted for processing by IRCC. Alternatively, the foreign national has submitted a work permit application for a maximum duration of two years and is the subject of a sponsorship application submitted by their Canadian citizen or permanent resident spouse, common-law or conjugal partner.
- Dependent Child: The foreign national is a dependent child included as an accompanying family member in the application for permanent residence. They have submitted a work permit application for a maximum duration of two years and have the same residential address as the principal applicant and their sponsor in Canada at the time of application.
The IRCC aims to process all spousal sponsorship applications within 12 months, allowing families to be reunited more efficiently.
The introduction of this measure is expected to facilitate family reunification by providing eligible family members the opportunity to work in Canada while their sponsorship or permanent residence application is being processed, enhancing the overall immigration experience for families.