Ottawa has restricted work permit qualification for family members of those in Canada as temporary residents.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that starting on Jan. 21, only spouses of select international students and foreign workers will be able to qualify for open work permits.
The restrictions limit applications to spouses of students who are enrolled in master’s programs more than 16 months in length, and doctoral programs, according to a Jan. 14 government statement.
It also restricts work permit applications to spouses of foreign workers who are working in TEER 0 or 1 occupations (management positions or jobs that usually require a university degree), or select TEER 2 or 3 occupations (those that usually require a college degree or apprenticeship training) in industries with labour shortages or jobs that are connected to government priorities (includes jobs in the natural and applied sciences, construction, health care, natural resources, education, sports, and military sectors).
Ottawa said a full list of eligible jobs will be released on Jan. 21.
In addition, the foreign worker must have at least 16 months remaining on their work permit at the time when their spouse applies for the work permit.
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Dependent children of foreign workers will no longer be able to apply for work permits, the government said.
Those work permits that were approved under the previous measures and have not expired will still be valid, the government said.
Work permit extensions can be applied for from within Canada in situations where an international student needs more time to finish their program and the family member’s work permit is set to expire before that time. However, the government said that applications must be for the same criteria as the current permit, and the time duration must match that of the study or work permit of the international student.
The changes will not impact spouses of foreign workers who are covered by free-trade agreements, or those who are transitioning to permanent residence.
Family members who are not exempt from applying for a family work permit can still apply for any type of work permit if they are eligible under Canada’s programs.
The changes follow other immigration restrictions, including no longer granting extra points to temporary foreign workers applying for permanent residency for jobs based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the measure would reduce fraud in Canada’s Express Entry System, which is an online framework for managing the country’s skilled immigration programs.
Ottawa also put restrictions on the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers in most sectors. It now also requires employers to pay foreign workers 20 percent over the median hourly wage in their province.
Canada has also stopped automatic 10-year multiple-entry visas.
Visa officers will now evaluate each application on a case-by-case basis. They will decide how long the visa is valid for and whether it is a single-entry or multiple-entry visa.
In October 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said immigration targets would be reduced from 500,000 new permanent residents for 2025 and 2025 to 395,000 and 380,000 respectively. That number will be further reduced to 365,000 in 2027.
Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.
