Spouses or partners of international students who are married or in a common-law relationship often accompany them when they move to Canada. While you focus on your studies, your spouse or partner could look for work opportunities at different establishments. The best way to go about this is to ensure that they receive an open work permit.
While closed work permits are employer-specific, open work permits are way more flexible. If you have an open work permit, you can work with any eligible employer in the country and take up any position. The open work permit is issued by the Canadian government such that it is valid for the same duration as your study permit.
Your partner will need to follow specific procedures to obtain a work permit. For instance, they might be required to provide an upfront medical examination. Again, our experienced immigration lawyers can help you out here. We specialize in providing you with comprehensive services that enable the completion of such formalities in the smoothest way possible.
Work Permit
Eligibility Criteria
Open work permits are issued to spouses or partners enrolled as full-time students in recognized Canadian institutions. The students need to have a valid study permit. The person applying should be either married to the student or fall into the definition of a common-law partner.
A common-law partner is an adult person who isn’t married to you but has been living with you for a minimum of 12 months. There should be no long separation gaps (other than for valid reasons such as work or familial obligations).
One of the critical differences between regular work permits and an open work permit is that you don’t need an active job offer to apply. Instead, if the student and the partner satisfy the relationship criteria established by the government, the partner is eligible for an open work permit.
Generally, the work permit’s validity coincides with that of the study permit.
When is the Right Time to Apply?
It is entirely at your discretion when you plan to apply for the open work permit. Some people choose to do so before their partner shifts to Canada. You can also apply for a work permit in Canada with your partner. It is acceptable to apply for the study permit for the student and the work permit for the partner at the same time.
If you and your partner satisfy the necessary criteria of the visa requirements, a study permit and work permit will be issued. The spouse of an international student does not need to have a job offer in hand to apply for a work permit. However, once your partner has decided to work in Canada while studying, they must complete the work permit application.
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This is available on the official website of the Canadian consulate. You can apply for the study permit and the open work permit together by paying the required fees. Some partners opt to arrive in Canada as visitors and later secure a work permit. Many applicants can apply for a work permit at the airport or the Canadian border. This holds if neither of you is issued a temporary resident visa (TRV).
The Process: How to Apply Online
You can choose to apply for the work permit yourself by creating a GC Key. The application can be made entirely online, and you will be required to gather the necessary documentation. Once you have filled out all the forms and paid the application fee after submitting all the documentation, your application will be through.
The application is quite a tedious process as it requires you to access the portal and complete the registration process from scratch. You will have to make sure that you enter the right answers and there should be no discrepancy. You can choose to seek assistance with your application. An authorized representative will be able to apply on your behalf.
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An important thing to keep in mind is that if you hire someone to help you with your visa process, they should be an authorized representative with the IRCC.
Work Permit Restrictions
Sometimes, you may face a few restrictions on the work permit that the IRCC issued. A prominent example of this is the restrictions posed by workplaces that require immigration medical examination mandatorily. Suppose you have not undergone an immigration medical examination before arriving in Canada. In that case, you might face restrictions when you try to apply for jobs in primary or secondary school level educational facilities, child care establishments, or healthcare settings. You will have to comply with medical examination requirements should you wish to work with such establishments.
Do you require assistance or guidance with your open work permit application?
Immilaw Immigration offers you various immigration services, including assistance with your application. It is a full-service immigration law firm based in Canada. We have offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, and Winnipeg. We have a team of dedicated lawyers who can help you with your application requirements. We guarantee improved success rates on your visa application due to the engagement of a Canadian lawyer who will help you file your application.
Our specialized services are rendered by lawyers who, unlike other consultants, are familiar with the intricate details of the process. Years of immigration data testify that the success rate of visa applicants is much higher for those who avail assistance from an immigration lawyer rather than an immigration consultant. Further studies indicate that the rejection rate on your visa is almost 19.3% when you prepare and submit the visa application by yourself. Hiring an immigration consultant only meagerly reduces the rejection rate to 18%, which is still pretty high.
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When you hire an immigration lawyer to help you with the process, the lawyer can help support your application with a personalized lawyer-submission letter addressed to the Visa Officer, which smoothens the process considerably. To prepare a successful visa application, you need to have up-to-date knowledge, careful planning, meticulous documentation, and proper filing skills- all of which are areas of expertise for our seasoned immigration lawyers at Immilaw Immigration.
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