01
Check the principal’s occupation
We confirm the NOC/TEER code or program level that decides your eligibility before filing.
New rule
Hold a work permit? Since 4 September 2026 you can take a course of six months or less without a study permit.
What it means →
Spousal open work permit
Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP) — if the rules still fit.
The spousal open work permit was narrowed significantly in January 2025. Many spouses who would have qualified a year earlier no longer do. Whether yours does now turns on your occupation, or your program of study.
RCIC-led
Brampton & London
Rules reviewed July 2026
TEER 0/1
Workers
Spouses of workers in higher-skilled occupations generally still qualify.
Graduate level
Students
Spouses of master's and doctoral students, plus select professional programs.
Open permit
What you get
Work for almost any employer, not tied to one job.
Matches yours
Validity
Generally issued to align with the principal applicant's permit.
Eligibility finder
Does your spouse’s situation still qualify?
Eligibility flows from the principal applicant, not from you. Choose their situation and the finder checks it against the rules in force since 21 January 2025.
137TEER 2 and 3 occupations still eligible
16 mominimum left on the worker’s permit
Searches all 516 NOC 2021 occupations. Go by the duties they actually perform, not the title on the offer letter.
Different route
You are being sponsored for PR from inside Canada
The Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class carries its own open work permit, and the subsection 25(1) public policy covers partners whose status has lapsed. See spousal sponsorship.
Unaffected
Their permit is under a free-trade agreement, or they are transitioning to PR
IRCC kept these measures outside the January 2025 changes. The occupation’s TEER is not the test; the agreement or PR stream is. Use the worker tab and pick that permit type.
Renewals
You already hold a spousal open work permit
Existing permits stay valid. A renewal from inside Canada is assessed under the same criteria as your current permit, for the same period as the principal’s authorisation.
Children
Dependent children
Since 21 January 2025, dependent children of foreign workers are no longer eligible for an open work permit under this measure. They may still qualify for a study permit or their own work permit.
Rules from IRCC: family members of foreign workers (page updated 12 June 2026) and family members of international students. General information, not legal advice — an officer decides each case on its facts.
Have an RCIC confirm it
New — 4 September 2026
You can study for six months without a study permit.
What the measure allows
While your work permit is valid you can take a program of six months or less without a study permit. No application, no fee; the permit itself is the proof. Study-related conditions on the permit stop applying, and no CAQ is needed in Quebec. It runs to 31 December 2027.
Useful while you wait — with one catch
A spousal open work permit qualifies, and a co-op placement needs no second permit. The catch is Express Entry: study full time under this policy and that work will not count toward Canadian Experience Class eligibility or Canadian work experience points under the CRS. Read the full breakdown →
What to know
How it works in practice.
It follows the principal applicant
Your eligibility, and your permit’s validity, are tied to your spouse’s status and occupation or program.
Relationship evidence matters
Marriage or common-law status must be properly evidenced, exactly as in a sponsorship file.
Timing with the principal
Applying together, or immediately after, avoids gaps that cost working months.
Children are treated separately
Dependent children generally follow different rules and may need study permits instead.
Existing permits stay valid
Permits already issued are not cancelled by the rule change, but renewal is assessed afresh.
Alternatives exist
If you no longer qualify, an employer-specific permit or another route may still be available.
How we help
How we help.
02
Evidence the relationship
Marriage or common-law proof assembled to the standard IRCC expects.
03
Time it with the main permit
We align filings so the household is not left with a gap in work authorization.
04
Find an alternative if needed
If the rules now exclude you, we look at employer-specific and other options.
Eligibility review
Does your spouse still qualify?
Send us the principal applicant's occupation or program and a licensed RCIC will confirm eligibility under the current rules.
- Whether the 2025 changes affect you.
- The exact occupation or program level that decides it.
- How long the permit would be valid.
- What to do if you no longer qualify.
Check your eligibility
Reviewed by a licensed RCIC, usually the same business day.
Thanks — we’ll be in touch
A licensed RCIC will review your details and reach out, usually the same business day.
Message us on WhatsApp
Good to know
Questions, answered.
The questions we hear most on this topic, answered by our consultants. The full list is in the Help Centre.
Can my spouse get an open work permit while I work in Canada on a work permit?
Since 21 January 2025, only if you work in a TEER 0 or 1 occupation, or in one of the select TEER 2 or 3 occupations IRCC lists for sectors with labour shortages, and your work permit still has at least 16 months left when your spouse applies. Spouses of workers on free-trade-agreement permits and of workers transitioning to permanent residence are covered by separate measures that the 2025 changes did not touch. Our spousal open work permit page has a finder that checks any NOC code against the current list.
Which TEER 2 and 3 occupations still qualify for a spousal open work permit?
IRCC publishes a fixed list: 105 TEER 2 codes and 32 TEER 3 codes across natural and applied sciences, construction, health care, natural resources, education, sports and the military. Licensed practical nurses, early childhood educators, most construction trades, transport truck drivers and nurse aides are on it; retail, food service and most administrative roles are not. If the code is not on the list, the spouse is not eligible under this measure, whatever the salary.
Can the spouse of an international student get an open work permit?
Only if the student is in a master’s degree of 16 months or longer, a doctoral programme, or one of the professional degrees IRCC lists (medicine, dentistry, law, pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine, nursing, education and engineering) at a university. Spouses of students in college diplomas, certificates, shorter master’s programmes and most bachelor’s degrees are no longer eligible.
How long is a spousal open work permit valid?
Normally for the same period as the principal applicant’s work permit or study permit, and never longer than their passport. That is why the 16-month rule matters: a spouse applying against a permit with little time left would receive a permit that is barely usable, so IRCC now requires the time to be there at the outset.
Can I get a work permit without a job offer?
Sometimes. An open work permit is not tied to one employer. The usual routes are a spousal open work permit, a bridging open work permit while permanent residence is being decided, a Post-Graduation Work Permit after Canadian study, and International Experience Canada for eligible young people from partner countries.
More questions on this topic are answered in the Help Centre.
SOWP review
Can your spouse get an open work permit?
Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.
- Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant — never a bot, never a salesperson
- A written shortlist of the programs you realistically qualify for
- Consultations are fee-based; you get the fee and available times by reply
CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.