When sponsoring your spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner for Canadian permanent residence, your partner may be eligible to obtain an open work permit (OWP).
The sponsored person can only apply for this OWP after you have submitted your application to sponsor them for Permanent Residence (PR). They must apply for the OWP from within Canada.
If your partner obtains an OWP, they will be legally authorized to work for most employers, in most industries in Canada.
Sponsor your family for Canadian immigration
For more information on the sponsorship process, read our previous articles on assessing your eligibility, and a step-by-step breakdown of the PR application procedure.
Who can apply to receive an OWP during the sponsorship process?
Both the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class (Inland) and Family Class (Outland) sponsorship applications give the sponsored person the ability to apply for an Open Work Permit (OWP) if they are in Canada.
To be eligible to receive an OWP, your loved one must be:
- In a genuine relationship with the sponsor;
- Included in an application for PR, and have received an Acknowledgment of Receipt (AOR) for their PR application from Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), confirming that IRCC has received and is processing the application; and
- Living in Canada with the sponsor.
Individuals who are being sponsored for PR cannot apply for an OWP under this policy if
- Their PR application has been refused, withdrawn, or returned; or
- They plan to apply for a work permit at a port of entry.
This process is different depending on whether the sponsored person already has valid temporary resident status in Canada or not:
| Spouse or partner’s temporary status | Procedure |
|---|---|
| The spouse or partner has valid temporary status (Work permit, study permit, or visitor visa/electronic travel authorization (eTA)) | Spouses or partners with valid temporary resident status can apply for an OWP through an IRCC secure account, once they receive an Acknowledgment of Receipt (AOR) from IRCC regarding their PR sponsorship application. In special circumstances, IRCC may allow the sponsored person to apply for a work permit without an AOR if: - Their temporary resident status is set to expire in two weeks or less; and - They have already submitted their application to be sponsored for PR. |
| Spouse does not currently have temporary status in Canada | If the spouse or partner being sponsored does not currently have temporary status, they must wait until they've received an approval in principle letter prior to applying for an OWP. In addition, the sponsored person cannot apply for an OWP under any other public policy or pilot program. |
If you have applied to sponsor your spouse or partner through the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class (Inland sponsorship) and have submitted an application for an OWP, the OWP application will typically be processed within four months.
If you have submitted your application for sponsorship and have received an AOR from IRCC, your spouse or partner may be eligible for faster processing of their visitor visa. As long as your loved one has submitted their application and received an AOR from IRCC, your spouse or partner can receive expedited processing on their visitor visa automatically.
Applications that require more information (for example, child custody documents) may take longer for the immigration department to process.
Once the sponsored person has gained temporary resident status, they may be eligible to apply for an OWP after having arrived in Canada.
How to apply for an OWP for your loved one
Once an application to sponsor your loved one for PR has been submitted, and your loved one is in Canada, they will need to sign in or create an IRCC secure account to apply for an OWP online (this is different from the PR portal account used to submit the application for PR initially).
Once signed into a secure account, your loved one will need to answer questions about their current situation and what kind of work permit they want to apply for, to receive a personalized document checklist. This checklist should have all the documents needed for the OWP application.
If you are using an immigration representative, they can submit a work permit application for your loved one through the Authorized Paid Representative Portal.
A note on filling out the “Details of intended work in Canada section”
IRCC advises that spouses and partners who apply for an OWP during the sponsorship process should answer the following questions in the “Details of intended work” section of the OWP application accordingly:
| Prompt | Required response for sponsored applicants |
|---|---|
| Box 1: What type of work permit are you applying for? | Select “Open Work Permit.” |
| Box 4: Job title and Brief description of duties | - Enter “SCLPC FC OWP” in the Job title box. - Enter “SCLPC FC applicant in Canada public policy” in the Brief description of duties |
After submitting your application
Your spouse will not be legally authorized to work in Canada until they have been issued their OWP—unless they are authorized in some other way.
While your spouse or partner is waiting for their open work permit to be processed, they must maintain legal status as a temporary resident in Canada.
They must wait to begin work until after they have been successfully issued the OWP by IRCC.
If your spouse or partner already has a Canadian work permit, they may continue working as long as they maintained their status by applying for an OWP before the expiry of their current work permit.
If their application for an OWP is successful, IRCC will issue a confirmation online, and the work permit by mail. Your spouse can begin working as soon as they have the OWP in-hand.
If their application for an OWP is refused, IRCC will return the application and refund the OWP-holder fee paid with the work permit application submission.
Sponsor your family for Canadian immigration