In Canada, under certain conditions, the spouse or common-law partner of an international student is qualified for receiving an open work permit (OWP).
Eligible students include those enrolled in:
- Doctoral programs
- Master’s programs (minimum 16 months)
- Certain professional degrees, such as:
- Dentistry (DDS, DMD)
- Law (LLB, JD, BCL)
- Medicine (MD)
- Optometry (OD)
- Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
- Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
- Nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc, BN)
- Education (BEd)
- Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc)
Other requirements include medical and criminal records that are satisfactory in Canada, provided by the spouses of international students.
It is important to keep in mind that open work permits for spouses of international students do not last longer than the length of the student’s study permit. Likewise, if the student is in their last term of studies an open work permit cannot be issued nor extended effectively.
Work Permit Extension
Exceptionally, if the following conditions apply to a international student, their spouse may be able to extend their open work permit as long as:
- The student has a valid study permit
- The student is present in Canada, or will be physically present in Canada while studying
- The student is enrolled full-time in a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)-eligible program at a DLI
- The student is not in the final term of their program of study
Who can get an open work permit as the spouse of an international student? | CIC News
