Canada has tightened the rules for which spouses and common-law partners of international students are eligible for open work permits.

Under the new measure, valid for applications received on or after March 19, the spouses or common-law partners are only eligible if the international student both holds a valid study permit and is studying in either:

• a master’s or doctoral degree program in a university or polytechnic institution, or;
• one of the following professional degree programs at a university:
  • doctor of dental surgery (DDS, DMD)
  • bachelor of law or juris doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
  • doctor of medicine (MD)
  • doctor of optometry (OD)
  • pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
  • doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM)
  • bachelor of science in nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc)
  • bachelor of education (B. Ed.)
  • bachelor of engineering (B. Eng., BE, BASc)

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Spouses and common-law Partners Must Provide Proof Of Their Relationship To International Students

When applying for the open work permit, the spouse or common-law partner of the international student must provide one of the following documents to prove the student’s enrolment in a degree-granting program of study:

That can be a:

• a valid letter of acceptance from the designated learning institution (DLI);
• a proof of enrolment letter from that school, or;
• transcripts from the student’s current program of study.

The spouse or common-law partner must also provide additional documents to show their proof of their relationship to the international student.

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Prior to the new measure coming into effect, spouses or common-law partners of international students were eligible for an open work permit when the student had a valid study permit, was eligible for a Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP), and was a full-time student at:

• a public post-secondary school, such as a college or university, or a CEGEP in Quebec;
• a private college-level school in Quebec, or;
• a Canadian private school that can legally award degrees under provincial law.

Spouses and common-law partners can apply online for these open work permits but due to a current technical issue for online applications, they must use the following instructions when applying:

• applicants outside Canada must answer “yes” when asked, “Are you a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child of a person who has or is applying for a work permit?”, while;
• applicants in Canada must answer “Yes” when asked: “Are you a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child of a person who holds a valid work permit or is applying for a work permit?”

Dependent children of international students are not eligible to apply for open work permits under this category.