What changed on January 21, 2025
Since January 21, 2025, a spouse or common-law partner is eligible for an open work permit only in narrower cases. For students, it depends on the study program. For workers, it depends on the TEER level of the job, the time left on the work permit and whether the worker is on a pathway to permanent residence. Check which group you fall into before you plan income or moving dates around a spouse’s permit.
Spouses of international students
The student must hold a valid study permit and be in a master’s program of 16 months or longer, a doctoral program, an eligible program on IRCC’s list (such as the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot or certain provincial nursing and health programs), or a listed professional degree program at a university: dentistry, law (LLB, JD, BCL), medicine, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc, BN), education (BEd) or engineering (BEng, BE, BASc). The spouse’s permit is usually valid for the same period as the study permit.
Spouses of foreign workers
If the worker is not on a pathway to permanent residence, the spouse may qualify when the worker is in any TEER 0 or 1 occupation, or in one of the TEER 2 or 3 occupations IRCC lists by NOC code. The worker’s permit must be valid for at least 16 months after IRCC receives the spouse’s application, with an exception for foreign-trained medical professionals recruited by Quebec. Family members of workers in TEER 4 or 5 jobs who are not on a PR pathway are not eligible under this measure. For workers on listed PR pathways, spouses and dependent children may be eligible if the worker’s permit is valid for at least six months after IRCC receives the application.
Dependent children and extensions
Since January 21, 2025, dependent children of high-skilled workers who are not on a PR pathway are no longer eligible for open work permits under this measure. A family member already in Canada can still apply to extend the initial permit received under the measure if their permit is shorter than the principal’s and they apply before it expires. A spouse of a student can extend under the student stream only while the student stays full-time in an eligible program, is not in the last term, and not beyond the student’s permit. IRCC cannot issue a permit past the expiry of the principal’s permit or the family member’s passport.
Fees and a planning checklist
IRCC lists a work permit fee of $155 plus the open work permit holder fee of $100. Before you apply, record the principal’s program or NOC code and TEER, the permit expiry date, the date 16 months (or six months) after you expect IRCC to receive the application, and the spouse’s passport expiry. These dates decide eligibility more often than the job offer itself. If the facts do not match any listed case, the spouse may need a different kind of work permit.
Frequently asked questions
Does a college diploma program qualify my spouse for an open work permit?
Only the program types IRCC lists qualify: master’s programs of 16 months or more, doctoral programs, listed professional degree programs and listed eligible programs. A college diploma program is not on that list.
How much time must be left on my work permit?
For a high-skilled worker not on a PR pathway, at least 16 months after IRCC receives the spouse’s application. For listed PR pathways, at least six months.
Can my children still get open work permits?
Not under the measure for high-skilled workers who are not on a PR pathway, since January 21, 2025. Dependent children may still be eligible under the measures for workers on a PR pathway.
Official sources
- https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/help-your-spouse-common-law-partner-work-canada.html
- https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/eligibility.html
- https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children.html