Canada confirms the Open Work Permit Pilot as a permanent program

Canada has recently taken a cordial step by making the Open Work Permit Pilot as a permanent program. With the OWPP, the foreign spouses or common-law partners of Canadian residents can work in Canada while they are waiting for the approval of their permanent residence application. The Open Work Permit Pilot was introduced in December 2014 as a temporary program. Later on, it was extended until July 31, 2020. Now, the IRCC has declared it a permanent program. The OWPP is meant for applicants of inland sponsorship only. Canada allows the spouses and common-law partners to be sponsored by their Canadian partners, and let them come to Canada by applying for the open work permit pilot. A large number of work permits in Canada are employer-specific. So, the foreign nationals are restricted to work for the employer specified on the work permit. However, the Open Work Permit Pilot allows foreign partners to work for any employer in Canada. Thus, it provides great flexibility to the workers.

Who is eligible for OWPP?

The IRCC allows the following persons to apply for the OWPP:

Spouses/common-law partners of skilled foreign workers;
Spouses/common-law partners of foreign students;
International graduates from a Canadian post-secondary institution.

Please Note: The foreign workers of the spouses/common-law partners must be working in a skilled occupation with NOC skill level 0, A or B. The foreign partners can submit their OWPP application at the time of applying for permanent residence application through the family-class sponsorship program. However, they can also submit the OWPP application separately if they have already applied for the PR application.

Eligibility conditions for OWPP

Immigration candidates must fulfill the following requirements if they want to get an open work permit in Canada:

Apply for permanent residence through the Spouse Common-Law Partner Class;
The spouse or common-law partner should be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
The Canadian spouse or common-law partner should have submitted the sponsorship application;
Foreign partners must live at the same address as their sponsor’s;
Must have temporary resident status in Canada.

Those applicants who have received approval on their PR applications can apply online for the Open Work Permit Pilot. Approval means that they are eligible for getting the permanent residence, but they still need to go through the security, background, and medical checks. To put it simply, making the open work permit pilot permanent is indeed a welcoming step as it will provide stability and financial security to the spouses and common-law partners.