Starting January 21, 2025 Canada is making some important changes to its immigration rules. These changes are about who can get an open work permit (OWP) if they are family members of international students or foreign workers.
What Are the New Rules?
1. For Spouses of International Students If your spouse is studying in Canada, you can only get an OWP if they are in one of these programs:
- Master’s programs that are 16 months or longer
- PhD (Doctoral) programs, OR
- Select professional and eligible programs
What are the Select professional and eligible programs?
- Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD)
- Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
- Doctor of Medicine (MD)
- Doctor of Optometry (OD)
- Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN)
- Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc)
- Bachelor of Nursing (BN)
- Bachelor of Education (BEd)
- Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc)
2. For Spouses of Foreign Workers You can get an Open Work Permit if your spouse is working in Canada and:
- Their job is in a TEER 0 or 1 occupation (high-level jobs like managers or professionals).
- Their job is in some TEER 2 or 3 occupations where there are not enough workers, or the job is very important for Canada.
These jobs could be in areas like:
- Science and technology
- Construction
- Health care
- Natural resources (like mining or forestry)
- Education
- Sports and the military
Important: Canada will share the full list of jobs on January 21, 2025.
Also, your spouse’s work permit must have at least 16 months left when you apply for your Open Work Permit
3. Dependent Children Children of foreign workers can no longer get family will no longer be eligible for Open work permit as from January 21, 2025
Can I renew my Open Work Permit?
If you already have an OWP, it will still be valid until it expires. If you are in Canada and want to renew your OWP, you can do that if:
- You follow the same rules as your current work permit, AND
- Your new OWP ends at the same time as your spouse’s study or work permit.
Who Is Not Affected by These Changes?
Some people are not affected by these new rules:
- Spouses of workers covered by free-trade agreements (special agreements between Canada and other countries).
- Spouses of workers who are becoming permanent residents.
If you don’t qualify for a family OWP anymore, you can still apply for other types of work permits if you meet the rules for them.
Why Are These Changes Happening?
Canada is focusing on making sure its immigration system helps the economy and fills jobs where workers are needed the most. These changes mean fewer people can get OWPs, but they are designed to help important job sectors.
What Should You Do Next?
If these changes affect you or your family, here’s what you can do:
- Check if you still qualify for an OWP under the new rules.
- Plan ahead if you need to apply for or renew a work permit.
- Look for more information about the full list of jobs and programs on January 21, 2025.