Spousal and Family Open Work Permits

A spousal open work permit lets you work for almost any employer rather than one named on the permit. Eligibility narrowed on 21 January 2025 and has been adjusted twice since, so the first thing to check is whether your partner still qualifies you.

Canada Shaws Consulting Inc. · Richmond, BC · Practising since 2015 · Regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC)

Tell us your partner’s occupation or programme, how long is left on their permit, and where you both are now. We check eligibility at no charge and tell you which permit applies before you pay for anything.

Spousal open work permit eligibility if your partner is a worker

Eligibility is no longer general. Since 21 January 2025 it depends on the skill category of your partner’s occupation and on how much time is left on their work permit.

What IRCC checks	The current requirement
Your partner’s occupation	They must be working in any occupation classified at TEER 0 (management) or TEER 1 (professional), or in one of the select occupations at TEER 2 or TEER 3 that IRCC publishes by NOC code. TEER 2 and 3 occupations do not qualify unless the specific NOC code is on that list.
Time left on their permit	Their work permit must be valid for at least 16 months after IRCC receives your open work permit application. Not 16 months from when you started preparing it, but 16 months from the day it arrives.
Your relationship	You are the spouse or common-law partner of the principal worker.

• Dependent children and grandchildren are no longer eligible for a new open work permit under this measure. That changed on 21 January 2025. Family members already in Canada may be able to extend a permit they already hold if they still meet the conditions.
• You are excluded if the principal applicant has made a refugee claim that has been referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board, already holds a spousal open work permit themselves, is subject to a removal order, or has applied for a post-graduation work permit that has not yet been approved.

Spousal open work permit eligibility if your partner is a student

This is a separate measure with its own list, and it is narrower than most families expect. Being the spouse of any international student has not been enough since 21 January 2025.

• Your partner holds a valid study permit and is enrolled in a master’s degree programme of 16 months or longer, or
• a doctoral programme of any length, or
• one of the professional degree programmes at a university that IRCC lists: Doctor of Dental Surgery, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Optometry, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Juris Doctor or Bachelor of Law, a pharmacy programme, a nursing degree (BScN, BSN, BN or BNSc), a Bachelor of Education, or a Bachelor of Engineering, or
• one of the named pilot and bridging programmes, which include the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot, nursing credential recognition programmes in Quebec, and bridging programmes in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia.

A master’s programme shorter than 16 months does not qualify a spouse, and neither does a college programme, a bachelor’s degree outside the listed professional degrees, or a certificate or diploma. The permit issued to the spouse is normally valid for the same period as the student’s study permit. See IRCC on helping your spouse work in Canada.

The other open work permits, and which one is yours

The spousal permit is one of several. The one that applies to you decides the timing, the documents, and whether you can keep working while you wait.

Your situation	The permit that applies
You are being sponsored from inside Canada by a spouse or partner	An open work permit filed alongside the inland spousal sponsorship application, so you can work while permanent residence is processed. This is a different route from the two above and is not affected by the TEER rules.
You have applied for permanent residence and your permit is expiring	A bridging open work permit, which keeps you working while the residence application is decided. It has to be applied for while your current permit is still valid.
You have just graduated	A post-graduation work permit. It is open, issued once only, and tied in length to your programme, and it requires a language test result for applications submitted on or after 1 November 2024. See our PGWP guide.
Your partner is a worker or student and you do not meet the tests above	No open permit on that basis. The alternative is an employer-specific permit, which means an employer application comes first. See LMIA and work permits for employers.

Timing is what this application is about

Open work permits are rarely refused on merit. They are lost on timing: filed after a permit expired, filed before the underlying application was submitted, or filed on a basis that had already changed.

• A bridging permit must be applied for while your current permit is still valid. After it expires you are in restoration, which is a different and less comfortable application with its own deadline.
• A spousal open permit depends on your partner’s status remaining valid and still qualifying. If their occupation, programme or permit end date changes, the basis can disappear part-way through the application.
• The 16-month test is measured from the day IRCC receives your application, which means a delay in filing can itself make you ineligible.
• An inland sponsorship open permit is tied to the sponsorship being filed. Filing them in the wrong order costs weeks.
• A post-graduation permit must be applied for within 180 days of confirmation that you completed your programme, and there is no second chance at it.

What the government charges, before anything we charge

These are IRCC’s own fees. They are what you would pay whether you used a representative or not.

IRCC fee	Amount
Work permit, processing fee	CAD 155
Open work permit holder fee	CAD 100
Biometrics, one person	CAD 85
Biometrics, family of two or more applying at the same time	CAD 170 maximum

Taken from the IRCC fee list on 5 September 2026. Government fees change, so confirm the current amount there before you pay.

What an open work permit costs

These are our professional fees, on top of the government fees above. The assessment itself is free, and for this application it is often the whole answer, because eligibility can usually be settled in one pass.

Service	What it covers	Professional fee
Assessment of your case	You send the form, we check which permit you qualify for under the current rules and tell you what it would take.	Free
Open work permit, full representation	Eligibility confirmation, forms, supporting evidence, filing and follow-up to the decision.	CAD 1,150
Filed with a spousal sponsorship	The open work permit prepared and filed alongside an inland sponsorship, in the right order.	CAD 1,150 plus the sponsorship fee
Paid consultation	20, 40 or 60 minutes with a senior RCIC, for cases that need advice before a decision. Credited against full representation if you retain us within 7 days.	from CAD 120

Fees are professional fees only. They do not include IRCC or ESDC government fees, biometrics, medical examinations, translations, or applicable taxes.

Your journey with Canada Shaws

The same seven steps apply to every matter we take, whichever programme it is. The first two cost nothing, and the third is optional.

1. Free preliminary assessment. You complete our client intake form with your background, your goals and your current circumstances. An RCIC reviews what you have provided and carries out a preliminary assessment to identify the immigration programmes or pathways that may be relevant to your situation on the information available at this stage.
2. Assessment follow-up and information review. Our client representative contacts you to introduce the pathways the RCIC identified, explain our service process and professional fees, and understand your circumstances better. They may also review what you submitted, clarify anything incomplete or unclear, and confirm whether more information is needed. You can ask questions and see the available next steps.
3. Optional paid RCIC consultation. After the assessment and follow-up, you decide whether you want to speak directly with an RCIC before proceeding. If your questions are complex, or you want a detailed professional discussion of the options identified, you may book a paid consultation. It is optional. You can also proceed straight to signing up if you are ready.
4. Sign up with your RCIC. If you decide to proceed, you enter into a formal service agreement directly with the RCIC who will be professionally responsible for your matter. Once it is in place, the file moves into formal case preparation.
5. Detailed information and document preparation. Our team collects and reviews the detailed information and supporting documents your matter requires, and guides you through preparing them.
6. Application preparation and RCIC final review. The case team prepares your application package under the supervision of your RCIC: forms, supporting documents, submission letters and any other required materials. Your RCIC carries out the final professional review before submission.
7. Submission, updates and next steps. After submission we keep you informed of material developments. If immigration authorities request further information or issue a decision, our team guides you through the response, the result, and what happens next.

Who will handle your file

Every file is prepared under a named licensed consultant, and you can verify either of us on the CICC public register before you pay anything.

Both consultants are listed as Entitled to Practise on the CICC public register. Verify any Canadian immigration consultant at register.college-ic.ca.

Questions people ask before they apply

My spouse has a work permit. Do I automatically qualify?

No. Since 21 January 2025 you qualify only if their occupation is at TEER 0 or TEER 1, or is one of the select TEER 2 or TEER 3 occupations IRCC lists by NOC code, and only if their work permit will still be valid for at least 16 months after IRCC receives your application. Spousal work permit in Canada covers the background.

My spouse is an international student. Can I work?

Only if they are in a master’s programme of 16 months or longer, a doctoral programme, one of the listed professional degrees such as medicine, dentistry, law, pharmacy, nursing, education or engineering, or one of the named pilot and bridging programmes. Shorter master’s programmes and college programmes do not qualify a spouse.

Can our children get open work permits too?

Not under this measure. Dependent children and grandchildren stopped being eligible for a new open work permit on 21 January 2025. A child already in Canada holding one may be able to extend it if they still meet the conditions.

What is the difference between a spousal open work permit and spousal sponsorship?

One lets you work; the other makes you a permanent resident. They are often filed together and are frequently confused. Sponsorship versus the open work permit compares them, and our spousal sponsorship service covers the residence side.

My permit expires while my PR application is pending. Can I keep working?

That is what a bridging open work permit is for, and it must be applied for before the current permit expires. Bridging open work permit eligibility covers who qualifies.

Can I change employers on an open permit?

Yes. That is what makes it open. Some occupations still require a medical examination before you may work in them, and the permit itself may carry conditions. Read the conditions printed on your own permit before you accept a role rather than after.

Did the spousal open work permit rules really change?

Yes, three times. From 21 January 2025 the spousal open work permit for a worker’s partner is limited by TEER category and by 16 months of remaining permit validity, and children became ineligible. Exceptions were then added for British Columbia Significant Investment Project workers on 23 March 2026 and for health-care professionals recruited by Quebec on 25 May 2026.

Check whether you still qualify for a spousal open work permit

Send us your partner’s occupation or programme and the end date on their permit. There is no charge for the assessment: you will get back whether you qualify under the current rules, which permit applies if you do not, and what the work would cost.

Requirements described on this page are taken from the published criteria of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (and, where a page says so, Employment and Social Development Canada or the relevant province) and were checked on the date below. Immigration rules change, and the official criteria govern, so confirm the current requirement before you act on anything here.
No representative can guarantee an immigration outcome, and we do not promise one. What we commit to is a complete, correctly prepared application and a named licensed consultant responsible for it. Canada Shaws Consulting Inc. provides immigration consulting services as Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants; we are not a law firm and do not provide legal services.
Page last verified: 5 September 2026.