IRCC announced on April 14, 2021, temporary public policies that aims to transition foreign nationals already living and working in Canada to permanent residence.
To support these permanent resident public policies, the Temporary public policy to exempt certain applicants from work permit requirements has been issued to provide exemptions from certain requirements of the Immigration, Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) to facilitate the issuance of open work permits to eligible individuals in Canada. Eligible family members may also apply for an open work permit.
The new public policy took effect on June 6, 2022:
- allow the issuance of open work permits with a longer duration (until December 3, 2024) to avoid the need for renewals; and
- expand the eligibility criteria of the open work permit public policy to include eligible family members abroad.
To be eligible for the open work permit, the principal applicant must:
- have temporary resident status (including maintained status) or be able to restore their temporary resident status;
- if they hold a work permit, the permit must be valid for 4 months or less at the time they apply for a work permit under this public policy;
- have submitted their open work permit application online;
- at the time they applied for permanent residence, the foreign national must have held legal authorization to work or authorization to work under a public policy and has obtained a specific level of language ability on an IRCC approved language test;
- have received an email confirmation that IRCC received their permanent residence application under one of the following public policies below and that it is within any capped volume:
- Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in essential occupations.
- Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in essential occupations.
- Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution.
- Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada outside of Quebec, with recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution
- Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution who applied in excess of the application intake cap;
- Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, who used an alternative format to apply to the Temporary Pathway to Permanent Residence and whose applications were received in excess of the application intake cap. OR
- has received the letter from the Client Support Centre (CS) provided when an alternative application format (for example: paper copy, Braille or large print) was requested. The letter from the CSC is evidence that IRCC accepted their explanation and sent the required application package.
Please note that the permanent residence application must not have been withdrawn or refused at the time of work permit application submission.
If you have questions regarding the above article, you may contact Marjorie at [email protected]
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not a legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain, or formally seek advice from a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) in good standing of CICC. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RCIC’s.
