Family-Sponsored Permanent Residence Applicants Eligible for Earlier Work Permits

Foreign nationals in Canada who are being sponsored for permanent residence by their Canadian citizen or permanent resident spouse or common law partner are now eligible to apply for a work permit immediately upon the submission of their permanent residence application. This new policy, introduced as a one-year pilot, takes effect today. 

Previously, spouses and common-law partners of Canadians could not apply for a work permit until they received a Citizenship and Immigration Canada “approval in principle.” This typically meant that family-sponsored permanent residence applicants would have to wait up to 16 months before they could begin working. 

To obtain a work permit, those with a pending permanent residence application can submit a work permit application by mail to CIC’s Vegreville case processing center. Applicants who have already received an approval in principle can apply for a work permit online, as they could under prior policy. New permanent residence applicants will be able to submit a work permit application with their primary application. 

CIC is initially focusing on issuing work permits to individuals who currently have pending permanent residence applications. For those submitting permanent residence applications after December 22, CIC estimates that the work permits will be processed within four weeks of receipt. 

What This Means for Foreign Nationals 

Providing work permits to permanent residence applicants earlier in the process should alleviate some of the hardships for families in Canada in which one member is awaiting permanent residence status. It may also make it easier for Canadian employers to retain skilled foreign permanent residence employees. 

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected]

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