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There has been some confusion with the Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP) program eligibility. This program is for spouses and common-law partners of applicants who are applying for a work permit or already have a work permit inside Canada. The primary applicants may be international students, PGWP applicants and holders as well as LMIA and LMIA exempt work permit holders. In early 2023, the Canadian government (IRCC) updated the eligibility requirements adding some key factors to the mix. Although the IRCC website might look complicated, we’re going to make it easy to understand and navigate.
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The best way to figure out if your spouse or common-law partner is eligible is to ask these 3 questions. If the answer to any of them is “yes” it’s a positive sign that your partner/spouse will be eligible.
1: Do you have an employment offer from or work permit with a Canadian employer in an occupation with the right NOC code TEER?
* Qualifying occupations fall under the NOC codes in TEER categories 0,1, 2 or 3.
* You can find your NOC code here. The 2nd digit from the left will identify your TEER level.
2: Is your work permit TEER 4 or 5 but based on an OPEN work permit or LMIA exempt WP such as Post Graduate WP?
* If your work permit is based on a low wage closed LMIA or any agricultural temporary foreign worker stream (seasonal or not) then unfortunately your spouse or partner will not be eligible for a SOWP. (*exception below)
* You can check the status of your work permit and verify your wages against the provincial high/low threshold here
3: Do you have a work permit (even low wage) but have already applied for your PR application (under any program) and have an acknowledgment of your application with the IRCC with a file number?
* If you can answer yes to this question, you’re exempt from all the above, and your spouse or common-law partner would be eligible for the SOWP.
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Here are a few examples of specific scenarios to give you an idea if your spouse or common law partner could be eligible for the open work permit:
A: You’re a cook on a closed work permit in Toronto for $18/hour. Your NOC code would either be in TEER 2 or 3 on a low wage LMIA. Since you are in a high skilled TEER, if you meet the rest of the eligibility your spouse or partner can apply for an open work permit.
* If you are applying for your own work permit from outside or inside Canada for the first time (as the main applicant) then you can apply with your spouse or partner at the same time since you meet the eligibility and you can ask the officer to process your dependent’s permit applications after deciding on your case.
B: You are a farm worker, on a low wage LMIA work permit inside Canada, and applied under the Agri-Food pilot program or maybe the Ontario PNP in-demand occupation for your PR. After you received your Provincial nomination, you applied to the federal government for your final PR and you have an Acknowledgment of Receipt PR file number. Your spouse or partner can now apply for an open work permit.
C: You’re a store clerk, on a closed LMIA work permit working in Manitoba, being paid $16/hour. Your NOC occupation and TEER level is 4. This means you are both in a low wage LMIA closed work permit and a low skilled TEER 4 occupation, making your spouse or partner ineligible to apply for an open work permit
D: The same scenario as above (Scenario C), but you are on an open work permit such as a PGWP. Then you would be eligible to apply for your spouse or partner’s open work permit.
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For all the above scenarios, you should either already have a work permit valid for 6 months or more or be applying together with the rest of your family members, in which case IRCC will decide on your spouse or common law partner’s SOWP when they decide on your application.
Make sure you have the required documentation attesting to the genuine relationship between you and your spouse or common law partner (i.e. marriage certificate or proof of common law status). Girlfriends and boyfriends don’t count according to the IRCC ☺
Also, dependent children’s study permits are not restricted by these eligibility criteria for a SOWP. So even if you are on a low wage closed work permit or farm worker without a PR application under process, your dependent children are still eligible for study permits in Canada.
Do you want to become a PR in Canada? At INGWE we could support you! Get a FREE email assessment with one of our licensed immigration consultants. We speak over +8 languages and we have helped applicants from +50 countries in their immigration path to Canada. Fill out our form, click here.
I hope the above explanations and scenarios have provided some clarity to the eligibility pathways for this program. There are some additional exceptions available that we haven’t gone into here.
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