Canada: Work-Permit Eligibility for Family Members of Temporary Workers Forthcoming

The government will be implementing the measure in three phases:

• Phase 1 will enable family members of foreign workers entering Canada through the high-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program to apply for an open work permit in Canada. Open work permits allow foreign nationals to work independently or for any employer in Canada.
• Phase 2 aims to expand the benefit to the family members of workers from the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. This would include families of workers in the health care, trades, and hospitality industries, among others.
• Phase 3 will include consultations with agricultural partners and stakeholders to assess the operational feasibility of expanding the benefit to family members of agricultural workers.

Allowing additional family members of foreign workers to work while in Canada should make the country a more desirable destination for foreign nationals seeking to relocate with their families, while providing employers a wider pool of workers to address labor shortages. According to the government, the measure will grant 200,000 foreign workers’ family members the right to work in Canada.

The fast pace of Canada’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery has made it difficult for employers to find the workers they need. As a result, and especially in 2022, the government has prioritized and encouraged addressing labor shortages and talent attraction through immigration as a central part of Canada’s economic recovery. In the past two months alone, there have been improvements to the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program; an increase in the validity of work and residence authorization under Provincial Nominee Programs; a new francophone immigration action plan in Nova Scotia; extension of invitations to apply under the Parents and Grandparents Program; and work authorization improvements for student-permit holders, among other initiatives. 

These initiatives show the government’s determination to continue trying to attract foreign nationals, while it deals with a significant backlog of visa applications that has created longer than normal visa processing times.

Immigration continues to play a vital role in addressing Canada’s labor shortages and the government will likely continue to implement policies aimed at attracting foreign nationals to help employers with their staffing needs. The recently-announced Immigration Levels Plan for 2023-2025 is evidence of the government’s ongoing commitment to encourage immigration into Canada to fill critical labor market shortages.

Fragomen will report on relevant details as the government implements all phases of the family work permit program.