My partner is on a PGWP. Can I get a spousal open work permit?
Since January 21, 2025, a PGWP no longer opens a spousal permit on its own. What decides it now is your partner’s job and how long their permit has left. Here is how to check, and what to do if you do not qualify.
Possibly. Since January 21, 2025, a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) no longer qualifies a spouse by itself. Your partner must work in an eligible occupation, and their permit must have at least 16 months left when IRCC receives your application.
What changed in January 2025?
IRCC narrowed open work permits for spouses and common-law partners of foreign workers. From January 21, 2025, only select spouses qualify. What decides it is the job your partner does and how long their permit lasts, not the name of the permit they hold.
Which jobs qualify?
- Any TEER 0 or TEER 1 job: management and professional occupations.
- Select TEER 2 and TEER 3 jobs that IRCC lists by NOC code, including many technical, health and skilled trades occupations.
The job is judged by its NOC code. Check the code on your partner’s job offer or employment documents against IRCC’s list before you apply. A PGWP holder working in a TEER 4 or 5 job, such as many retail and food service roles, does not make you eligible under this rule.
How much time must be left on the permit?
Your partner’s work permit must be valid for at least 16 months after IRCC receives your application. A PGWP in its last year usually cannot meet this, so apply early in the permit, not late.
What else does IRCC check?
- Your partner holds a valid work permit, or one of the other authorizations IRCC lists, and lives or plans to live in Canada while working.
- Your relationship is genuine.
- If you are in Canada, you have valid status, are on maintained status, or are eligible to restore your status.
- Your partner is not still waiting for a decision on their own PGWP, and does not hold a spousal open work permit themselves.
What if my partner is a student, not a worker?
Spouses of some students qualify. The student needs a valid study permit and must be in a master’s program of 16 months or longer, a doctoral program, an eligible pilot program, or a listed professional degree at a university, such as law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, education or engineering. A college diploma or certificate program is not on the list.
What if we do not qualify?
- Your own permit: a PGWP if you graduated from an eligible program, or an employer-specific permit with an LMIA or an exemption.
- A study permit of your own.
- A visitor record, to stay with your partner lawfully. You cannot work on it.
- If either of you is the principal applicant for permanent residence, check whether a bridging open work permit is open to that person.
Applying from Brampton, Mississauga or Toronto
Our Brampton office works with families across the GTA, and our London office serves Southwestern Ontario. Spousal open work permit applications from inside Canada are filed online, so we can take your file wherever you live. Start with the spousal open work permit guide and the SOWP document checklist, check your dates in the permit expiry planner, or book a consultation.
Sources: IRCC and the Regulations: Open work permits for spouses of foreign workers: eligibility; Help your spouse or common-law partner work in Canada; IRCC fee list. General information only, not legal advice; IRCC makes all final decisions.
