The new open work permit has been introduced mainly for international student graduates and essential workers which is valid to apply until December 31, 2022. In addition, applicants for the temporary residence to permanent resident routes are also eligible to welcome their family members to apply for an open work permit.

The new open work permit was opened July 26, mainly for the TR to PR applicants in Canada. This application grants you to keep working while your application for permanent residence is under approval. This will only be possible if you do not receive the outcome of the application prior to the expiry of your present status.

Candidates can also add their family members to the work permit. The family member must be physically present in Canada and comply with the work permit eligibility criteria.

Eligibility for family members

The first thing that applicants need to name their family members as immediate family members on the permanent resident application. As per the government of Canada, the immediate family members are common-law partners, spouses, and dependent children.

Children aged 18 years or more can also be added to the new work permit. The younger kids are also eligible to obtain the study permit or study without a permit if both their parents are Canadian citizens.

The immediate family members are also required to submit the relevant supporting documents while the applicant is applying. For example, based on the situation, you might require to present birth certificates, marriage certificates, or Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union only if you are presently in a common-law relationship. Besides this, the immediate family member is also required to present the photocopy of the general immigration form, IMM 0008, in which the principal applicant listed you as a family member.

If the immigration officer still has doubts regarding the genuineness of the relationship (among the family members and the applicant), they might ask you to submit additional information or documents. This is because the immigration officer wants to confirm their relationship and check that it is not just for immigration purposes.