Family Members are Now Eligible for OWP
Happy New Year! Hope you had a great start to the year 2023. We will continue to provide valuable information related to Canadian immigration for this year. We hope you enjoy and support our blog.
Today we would like to share information about the Open Work Permit (“OWP”) for accompanying family members of temporary foreign workers. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that they will expand the eligibility for OWP to the spouses and working-age children of some Work Permit holders under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
(Click here for a related article on spousal OWPs.)
Expand OWP to Family Members at All Skill Levels
As a temporary measure for two years beginning in January 2023, IRCC has announced that they will expand eligibility to work in Canada to spouses and working-age children of temporary foreign workers at all skill levels.
Prior to this announcement, spouses could apply for OWP only if the principal applicant is in a skilled occupation. With this announcement, family members of foreign workers who are not in skilled occupations will also be able to apply for OWPs.
For more information, please refer to the link below.
3 Phases of Implementation
This two-year temporary program is expected to be implemented in three phases. In phase two, the OWP application eligibility will extend to family members of foreign workers in the Low-Wage category.
Phase 1: will enable family members of foreign workers in the High-Wage category to apply for an OWP.
Phase 2: aims to expand the measure to the family members of workers from the Low-Wage category, following consultations.
Phase 3: aims to expand the measure to family members of agricultural workers, following consultations.
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As noted above, this change is expected to make the OWP available to families of foreign workers at all skill levels.
At the same time, it will make it easier for Canadian employers to find the workers they need, and IRCC will continue to implement programs to address Canada’s labour shortages.
If you need our assistance or advice in applying for your OWP, please feel free to send your inquiry from here.
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