Effective January 21, 2025, only spouses of certain international students and overseas workers will be able to apply for a family open work permit (OWP).
Under the new rules, finalised on January 14, 2025, OWPs will be limited to spouses of master’s students enrolled in programs longer than 16 months, doctoral programs, or “select professional and eligible programs”, said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
“The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to—just like not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to,” said immigration minister Marc Miller, announcing the IRCC’s intentions in September 2024.
“Our immigration system must preserve its integrity, and be well managed and sustainable.”
The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to
Marc Miller, immigration minister
Prior to the change, spouses of international master’s students on programs shorter than 16 months were eligible for an OWP. Permits obtained under the previous rules and have not expired, will continue to remain valid.
Despite the IRCC’s announcing its intention to limit spousal work permit eligibility “later this year” in September 2024, the timing of the announcement has sparked criticism from stakeholders who work closely with international students.
“The IRCC timing of the announcement was at the worst time for these international graduates. Many just graduated and were in the process of applying for the PGWP,” said regulated immigration consultant and founder of CIP StudyAbroad, Gautham Kolluri.
“Also, the job market unfortunately is very slow after the new year. IRCC could have given more notice and enforced the new regulation from 1st May, 2025 instead of 21st January, 2025. This could have given more time for the international graduates to prepare and search for the qualifying jobs,” added Kolluri.
The policy’s implementation builds on a raft of IRCC announcements in September 2024, in which IRCC hinted at changes to OWP. At the time, Miller predicted that the changes would result in a reduction of 50,000 and 100,000 fewer permits issued over the next three years, for students and foreign workers respectively.
For those holding work permits, OWP eligibility is now limited to spouses of foreign workers in occupations in sectors with labour shortages or linked to government priorities.
These include occupations in the natural and applied sciences, construction, health care, natural resources, education, sports and military sectors. The full list will be available on January 21, according to the IRCC website.
Under the new rules, workers must have at least 16 months remaining on their work permit at the time their spouse applies for the OWP and dependant children of foreign workers will no longer be eligible.
In September 2024, Miller shocked the sector by announcing further restrictions on Canada’s study permit caps and expanded the restrictions to include post-graduate students.
Tighter language requirements and new PGWP eligibility criteria were also introduced, in a drive to achieve the IRCC’s overall goal of reducing temporary residents from 6.5% to 5% of Canada’s total population.
