Canada has unveiled a number of new measures as part of its goal to make it simpler for permanent residents to bring their families to the nation, including a new open work permit for spousal and family class applicants.
The new policies also aim to address the labour shortages Canada has been experiencing since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, on Friday, announced faster temporary resident visa (TRV) processing and more considerate application measures so that families can be together sooner while they wait for their permanent residence to be finalised.
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Some of the important measures announced
People will now have access to faster temporary resident visa (TRV) processing times for spousal applicants
There will be new and dedicated processing tools for spousal TRV applicants
There will be a new open work permit for spousal and family class applicants
There will be open work permit extensions for open work permit holders expiring between August 1 and the end of 2023
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a statement, “Going forward, most of these applications will be processed within 30 days, and applicants will benefit from processing measures specific to their circumstances as spouses and dependents. Many applications have already been processed using these new tools. Within this cohort of applicants, we have seen an approval rate of 93 per cent.”
Canada has made open work permits available for spousal applicants and their dependent children who reside with their sponsor in Canada and have temporary resident status.
Spouses, partners and dependants are now able to apply for and receive an open work permit as soon as they submit a complete permanent residence application under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class (SPCLC) or other family class programs.
Fraser also announced that spousal applicants, along with other open work permit holders, whose open work permits expire between August 1 and the end of 2023, will be able to extend their work permits for an additional 18 months. A similar option was recently offered to many with expiring post-graduation work permits.
Canada has been steadily improving client services and processing applications faster. In 2022, IRCC finalized more than 5.2 million applications across our multiple lines of business, resulting in millions of people getting decisions on their cases.
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Since July 2022, new spousal sponsorship applicants can expect their applications to be processed within the service standard of 12 months (for 80 per cent of cases, for non-Quebec applications).
Foreign nationals may be granted open work permits in a variety of circumstances, but not all will be qualified for an extension under this expedited processing mechanism. The extension will only be offered to the permanent residence applicants awaiting a decision on their permanent residence application and their spouses, family class-sponsored spouses with valid temporary resident status and their dependent children, spouses and common-law partners of most work permit holders and their dependent children, and spouses and common-law partners of study permit holders
In 2022, Canada issued more than 1,075,000 work permits and work permit extensions.
