Important Changes to Canadian Open Work Permits for Family Members

Canada is implementing new restrictions on the eligibility criteria to obtain open work permits for dependent family members of international students and foreign workers. Effective January 21, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will limit the issuance of dependent open work permits to only spouses of certain international students and foreign workers. 

Key Changes to Eligibility

For Spouses of International Students

Spouses of international students will only be eligible for an open work permit if the international student is enrolled in one of the following programs:

• Master’s programs that are 16 months or longer; 
• Doctoral programs; or 
• Select professional and eligible programs

For Spouses of Foreign Workers

Spouses of temporary workers will only be eligible for open work permit if:

1. The foreign worker is employed in:
   • TEER 0 or 1 occupations, or 
   • Select TEER 2 or 3 occupations in sectors with labour shortages or linked to government priorities (the full list of eligible occupations will be available on January 21, 2025).
2. The foreign worker’s work permit must have at least 16 months of validity remaining at the time their spouse applies for an open work permit.

This means that the open work permits will now only be available to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations – and in select jobs in sectors with labour shortages. Prior to this change, the spouses of most foreign workers were eligible for open work permits, regardless of the foreign worker’s occupation and skill level, with limited exceptions. In addition, under the new rules, dependent children of temporary foreign workers will no longer qualify for dependent open work permits.

How will these new changes impact those with existing dependent open work permits? 

If you currently hold a valid dependent open work permit that was approved under the previous measures, your work permit will remain valid until its expiry date. 

If you are the spouse of a foreign worker who obtained their work permit under a free-trade agreement (i.e., CUSMA etc.) or you are already transitioning to permanent residence in Canada, these new changes will not affect you. 

To learn more about your eligibility to apply for an open work permit as a family member of a temporary resident, please contact us.