Working is essential in today’s time. The economic constraints make it a necessity for you to work. When you are staying in a foreign land, money doesn’t come cheap, so to make your ends meet, you and your spouse have to work or if you are a student and have no time to work then it falls on your spouse’s or common-law partner’s shoulder to earn the expenses. Canada allows spouse of an immigrant on temporary work visa or on student visa to work in Canada. So, what are the rules and regulations regarding work permit for spouse in Canada?
Immigrating to Canada on Work Visa- Explore getting Work Permit for Spouse in Canada !
Your spouse can get a work permit in Canada, but he/she will have to fulfill the eligibility criteria. These criteria are important as they are issued by the federal government of Canada.
The eligibility criteria for the work permit of your spouse vary, depending on your occupation. If you are a student then your spouse or common-law partner will have to suffice different eligibility criteria, but if you are going to Canada as a worker, then your spouse will need to satisfy different criteria.
Eligibility criteria for your spouse’s work permit when you are a student
If you are going to study in Canada and you need your spouse or common-law partner to get a job there, then he/she will have to acquire a work permit. To get his/her work permit, you must fall under any of these criteria:
- You will need to hold a valid student permit
- You should be a registered full-time student at a public post-secondary institution, such as a college or a university or collège d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) in Quebec.
- You should be a registered full-time student at a private post-secondary institution that operates under the same rules and regulation as a public institution and which receives a minimum of 50% of its financing from government grants. Presently, only private college-level educational institutions qualify for this.
- You should be a registered student of a Canadian private institution which is authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees.
Under this, your spouse’s work permit is valid as long as your student permit is valid. The spouses or common-law partner’s who are accompanying a foreign student can also apply for an open work permit, which allows your spouse or common-law partner to get a work permit even before he/she has a job offer.
Eligibility criteria for your spouse’s work permit when you are a worker on Temporary Work Visa
Your spouse or common-law partner who is accompanying you when you are going to Canada as a worker can also get their work permit. Here the process of getting a work permit for your spouse is similar to the one you have followed to get your work permit. You spouse has to find out whether he/she will need a work permit or not for the job they are going to apply. You can find more about this at the Canadian government’s official site.
Moreover, if your spouse has already got a job offer before leaving for Canada, then your spouse’s employer will have to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).