Canadian spouses and common-law partners who qualify for permanent residency have the right of legal residence in Canada through an Open Work Permit.
The open work permit pilot enables Canadians’ spouses and partners to work for permanent residency through spousal sponsorship in Canada. To qualify, they must, among other criteria such as qualifying through the CRS points calculator – already live in Canada with the legal status at the same address as their partner. They don’t have to already have a job offer.
The pilot was expanded for the fourth time in January last year to 31 July 2020 by the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). No word on whether the pilot will be extended this year has been published so far.
The major difference of open work permit is that foreign nationals are allowed to work for any Canadian employer. Some work permits are employer-specific, where the foreign national can only work in Canada for the employer who is named on their permit. Since its first implementation in 2014, IRCC has extended the pilot each year. It enables spouses and common-law partners to work until permanent residence is obtained.
How to get an Open Work Permit in Canada?
You may apply jointly or separately for the Open Work Permit Pilot and Spousal Inland/Common-Law Sponsorship.
If you apply at once, all documents and proof of payment shall be submitted by mail. If that is not possible, IRCC tells you to justify why, and will maintain the application for 90 days’ despite of the coronavirus pandemic. Where the application remains incomplete in 60 days, with an additional 90-day period IRCC is going to demand the missing documents.
You must register for an open work permit on-line if you are already applying for sponsorship and obtained the permanent residency visa in principle. In principle, the approval is a letter from IRCC which specifies that the eligibility requirements for permanent residence have been met, but medical, safety and background checks remain to be carried out.
If the approval has not in principle been received, IRCC is to send the work permit application by mail. All documents and payment proof should be included.
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