Immigration Blog about US & Canadian Immigration matters.

Open Work Permit

Does your spouse work or study in Canada and you want to accompany them while traveling and living in Canada? Does the distance and time of study or work period in Canada create a barrier in your relationship? Everyone has the right to be with their family and spend quality time no matter what the situation or circumstances are. This blog will discuss what an Open Work Permit is, who qualifies for one and what the conditions and requirements are for you to be able to obtain the Open Work Permit and reunite with your family members in Canada. This permit has categories to allow people belonging to temporary permits in Canada to bring their spouses for a particular period of time if they meet the requirements.

What is Open Work Permit?

Open Work Permit is a work permit that does not restrict the employee to work for one specific employer or do one job in particular. Open work permit is exactly like the post graduate work permit that international students qualify for once they graduate from a Canadian institution. Depending on the time that the student studied in Canada, Post Graduate Work Permit allows the student to stay in Canada. For example, if an international student studied in Canada for the duration of 8 months he would qualify for a post graduate work permit with the duration of the same time as he spent in that institution to finish his studies. However, if you studied in a Canadian institution as an international student for 2 years, you will qualify for 3 years of Post-Graduate Work Permit. PGWP does not restrict you to work for a specific employer or do a specific job. Exactly in a same way this spousal open work permit does not restrict you to work for one particular employer. The purpose of this permit is to unite families who have a spouse or common-law partner in Canada.