Recently, in the month of July 2023, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced a new measure allowing Open Work Permits for Outland Family Sponsorship Applications. This is a significant step forward towards family reunification.
Understanding Open Work Permits
An Open Work Permit is a special kind of work permit that doesn’t require a specific job offer from a Canadian employer. This permit gives you the freedom to work for any employer in Canada without needing a labor market impact assessment (LMIA). In the past, applicants under the Outland Family Sponsorship stream couldn’t get Open Work Permits, which limited their job opportunities while their sponsorship application was being reviewed. Open work permits were previously only available to those who were sponsored from within Canada or who were already citizens of the country while on a Temporary Residence Visa (TRV). But now people who submit an application from outside of Canada (through outside sponsorship) may qualify for open work permits under the new regulation. In addition, partners, spouses, and dependents of citizens, temporary workers, permanent residents, students, and students currently residing in Canada may also avail the same.
How to Get Open Work Permits?
Family members may be qualified for an open work permit if they have the same residential address as their sponsor in Canada, have a valid temporary resident status, have maintained it, are qualified for it, and have applied to have it restored.
According to IRCC official policy, agents may issue an open work permit to foreign nationals who satisfy one of the following requirements:
- You must be the main applicant for permanent residence and have a sponsorship application submitted by your Canadian citizen or permanent resident spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner or
- The applicant’s dependent child has been included as an accompanying family member
- Additionally, you must share the same address with your sponsor in Canada at the time of the application.
- It’s also important to have valid temporary resident status in Canada, or if it has expired, you should have already applied for restoration of status.
- Has submitted a work permit application, where the duration of the work permit requested is a maximum of two years
Open work permits for outland spousal sponsorship was introduced alongside other family reunification policies like:
- Quicker processing timeframes for temporary resident visas (TRV) for spouses
- Specialised processing tools for spousal TRV applicants that are new.
- Extensions of open work permits for people whose permits expire between August 1 and December 31, 2023
The inclusion of Open Work Permits for Outland Family Sponsorship applications is a remarkable development in Canadian immigration policy. This change demonstrates Canada’s dedication to family reunification and immigrant integration. The IRCC, according to Fraser, is dedicated to reuniting families more rapidly and enabling them to start working and supporting themselves more soon once they arrive. He claimed that by doing this, Canada strengthens its economy and social fabric while also assisting recent immigrants in realizing their full potential.
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