On January 14, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced important changes to open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of foreign workers and international students in Canada. This post primarily focuses on recent changes to open work permits for spouses of foreign workers.

Starting on January 21, 2025, the ability to obtain a spousal open work permit (SOWP) has once again been restricted to a specific group of spouses and common-law partners of foreign workers. At the same time, dependent children of foreign workers, or their dependent child, are no longer eligible to apply for an OWP. These changes have ended the temporary measure to extend work permits to family members of foreign workers announced by IRCC back in December 2022.

Changes to open work permits for spouses of foreign workers not transitioning to permanent residence

In situations where a principal applicant is not transitioning to permanent residence, as of January 21, 2025, spouses of foreign workers are only eligible to apply for a SOWP if both principal applicant and spouse meet specific criteria.

To qualify, the principal applicant must meet the following four (4) requirements at the time the decision is made:

1. Be employed or will be employed in certain occupations classified as high-skilled, namely:

• Any occupation within Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) occupation categories 0 (management) or TEER 1 (professional) occupation; or
• Designated occupations in TEER categories 2 or 3 in sectors facing labour shortages or government-prioritized areas. These include occupations in the natural and applied sciences, construction, health care, natural resources, education, sports and military sectors. The list of eligible TEER 2 or 3 occupations is now available here.

2. Be in one (1) of the following situations in relation to their immigration status:

• Have a valid work permit or a provisional approval for a work permit that has not been issued yet (i.e. received a port of entry letter of introduction) – with some exceptions; or
• Have authorization to work without a work permit.

3. Have valid work authorization (see point 2) for a period of at least sixteen (16) months after the receipt of their spouse’s open work permit application.
4. Be physically residing or plan to physically reside in Canada while working.

Spouses or common-law partners must additionally meet the following three (3) requirements at the time of submission:

1. Meet the general eligibility requirements for a work permit;
2. Be in a genuine relationship with the principal applicant who makes them eligible for the OWP; and
3. If they are in Canada, they must be eligible to apply for a work permit from within Canada and must similarly be in one (1) of the following situations in relation to their immigration status:
   • Have valid temporary resident status;
   • Have applied to extend their status before it expired (e.g. maintained status); or
   • Are eligible for restoration of their status as a visitor; worker; or student.

In its announcement, IRCC has indicated that “[s]pouses of workers covered by free-trade agreements and those transitioning to permanent residence will not be impacted by these changes.” However, IRCC updated guidance also specifies that “[s]pouses or common-law partners of work permit holders under certain free trade agreements (FTAs) are eligible for a spousal open work permit,” and encourages applicants to check the FTA they are applying under to verify whether their spouse or common-law partner may be eligible.

IRCC has also indicated that family members of individuals who have submitted a permanent residence (PR) application or who are transitioning to PR but have not yet submitted their PR application (e.g., Atlantic Immigration Program, CSQ holders, Provincial Nominees under exemption code T13) are not subject to these changes.

IRCC will process applications received before January 21, 2025, under the previous eligibility criteria.

Foreign workers’ family members in Canada will still be able to apply for an extension of their initial work permit, even after January 21, 2025, if:

• They are in Canada;
• Their current work permit is valid for a shorter period of time than the principal applicant’s; and
• They apply to extend their work permit before their initial work permit expires.

Spouses of low-skilled foreign workers not transitioning to permanent residence

Spouses of foreign workers employed in occupations classified as low-skilled – TEER 4 or 5 categories – or those excluded from the select TEER 2 or 3 occupations list, are no longer eligible to apply for a spousal open work permit since January 21, 2025.

Spouses of Post-Graduation Work Permit holders

These changes also apply to spouses of post-graduation work permit (PGWP) holders. If international students qualify for a PGWP once they complete their program, their spouses may now only qualify for a SOWP if the principal applicant secures a job offer in an eligible occupation. Spouses who had previously obtained a SOWP as an accompanying spouse of an international student, may consequently be unable to extend their previous SOWP if the PGWP holder does not have a post-graduation job offer available to them in one of the required occupations.

A few other implications

Some of the practical implications that have been raised by immigration bar colleagues relate to the fact that ineligible spouses will likely have to resort to applying for visitor status to keep their families together. Under visitor status, spouses of foreign workers will not only be unauthorized to work and therefore be unable to financially contribute to their family income and to the Canadian labour market, but they will also be unable to access important benefits, such as provincial health care.

In Ontario, some work permit holders are eligible for Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) coverage. Among those eligible are individuals with a valid work permit who are employed full-time for an employer in the province for at least 6 months. Typically, if you meet this requirement, your spouse and dependents should also qualify for OHIP. However, dependents on visitor status are not eligible for OHIP.

Having a work permit can also often allow accompanying family members to build their own Canadian work experience, which may facilitate a family’s pathway to permanent residency. For example, under the Express Entry system, a principal applicant’s profile and overall score may be strengthened by certain spousal factors, such as their accompanying spouse’s level of education, first official language level, and any prior Canadian skilled work experience. As mentioned earlier, however, visitor status precludes temporary residents from engaging in any employment in Canada.

Spouses on visitor status as a result of these changes will consequently be unable to contribute to their family’s prospects for permanent residence, unless they are able to secure a job offer in one of the qualifying high-skilled occupations. These situations may also possibly cause some spouses to work without authorization, to meet their families’ needs, and might push some people underground.

Another key concern that has been raised relates to the controversial issue of different interpretation and application of regulations around the validity of Visitor Records by IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). This issue has meant that sometimes persons holding Visitor Records that are still well within the validity date printed on their document, and who try to re-enter Canada, are told that they no longer have status.

For some years now, members of the immigration bar have been trying to address the inconsistent implementation of the applicable regulations to ensure that the period of authorized stay listed on a Visitor Record continues to be valid upon re-entering Canada. In view of recent changes to spousal open work permits, if this is not resolved soon this could impact family members on Visitor Records who are unlikely to be aware of these issues and who may inadvertently lose their status as a result of them.

It is important to note that these changes will inevitably have a great impact on foreign worker’s ability to settle in Canada and will see many family members separated. When the measure to extend work permit eligibility to family members of foreign workers was initially announced in December 2022, IRCC recognized in its news release that the temporary measure aimed to: “improve the emotional well-being, physical health and financial stability of workers by keeping families together.” IRCC moreover expected that this would mean better integration into the worker’s “work environment and community.”

In its November 2023 Notice regarding Supplementary Information for the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC also stated that, for the family class, “having family support is important for newcomers’ well-being and social adaptation, and it also provides an economic benefit.” However, this also applies to the entire worker class throughout the spectrum of occupational categories, many of whom work in Canada and contribute to their community and the economy for many years. Although IRCC has long identified family reunification as one of its priorities, critics have long raised concerns with Canada’s true commitment to keep families together. Historically, this has been raised concerning restrictions of open work permits for spouses of workers in “low-skilled” occupations. This continues to be a concern for many.

Please note that the information provided is not legal advice. Immigration law and policy is complex and constantly changing, therefore if you have any questions about your specific circumstances, please contact a lawyer for adequate guidance.