The Government of Canada has announced an extension of work permits to family members of temporary foreign workers.
This will expand the eligibility for work permits to family members accompanying the principal applicant to Canada. The aim is to help address labour shortages by assisting employers in finding the workers they need.
This will expand the eligibility for work permits to family members accompanying the principal applicant to Canada. The aim is to help address labour shortages by assisting employers in finding the workers they need.
Starting in January 2023, through a temporary 2-year measure, Canada will expand eligibility to work in Canada to spouses and working-age children through a phased approach for workers at all skill levels.
The temporary measure will be implemented in 3 phases to ensure its successful implementation:
- Phase 1 will enable family members of workers coming to Canada through the high-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program or the International Mobility Program to apply for an open work permit.
- Phase 2 aims to expand the measure to the family members of workers from the low-wage stream of the TFW Program, following consultations.
- Phase 3 will include consultation with agricultural partners and stakeholders to assess operational feasibility for expanding the measure to family members of agricultural workers.
There will be no changes to the TFW Program, these changes will only apply to spouses and working-age children of temporary foreign workers.
The full release can be found here.
