Canada recently renewed its commitment to keeping families together, a central goal of the country’s current immigration system. Reuniting and keeping families together.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has implemented new procedures to expedite family reunions, ensuring that dependants and spouses who would not otherwise be eligible to travel to Canada now have a road to rejoin with their families.
Additional measures were announced by the former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser on the 26th of May, and include:
- Expedited processing times for temporary resident visas (TRV) for spousal applicants, with the introduction of new, dedicated tools specifically designed to process spousal TRV applications;
- The provision of a new open work permit scheme for both spousal and family class applicants; and
- Expanding the eligibility of Open Work Permits (OWPs) to spouses and family members of permanent residents, Canadian citizens, temporary workers, and students (currently in Canada).
Expedited processing times and new tools
These new processing tools and methods are intended to improve efficiency, particularly in non-complex applications. These procedures have already had positive results, with a 98% approval rate for spousal TRV applicants (including both spouses and dependents). Much of this efficiency can be attributed to IRCC’s recent use of new analytics in application processing, which can employ a multi-factor analysis of applications to assist immigration officers in determining whether an applicant is likely to be qualified for Permanent Residence (PR). Officers can then place this application in a category where it is more likely to be granted (based on the applicant’s eligibility), considerably reducing processing times.
New Open Work Permit for spousal and family class applicants
OWPs were made available for a limited time to spouses of individuals participating in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and International Mobility Program (IMP) on January 30th of this year. This effort will be carried out until 2025. The IRCC thinks that giving work permits to these workers’ spouses, dependents, and common-law partners may ease some of their stress by enhancing their financial security and encouraging family unity and inclusion into their communities.
Working-age children 16 and older of the major applicants of all skill levels are also included in the project. According to IRCC’s estimations, this program will enable over 200,000 families of foreign workers to enter the Canadian workforce, thereby assisting in reducing the national labor shortage and bolstering the economy.
Open Work Permit for Outland Applicants
IRCC also released an improved family sponsorship guideline for outland sponsorships on May 26th.
Spouses, partners, and dependents of permanent residents, Canadian citizens, temporary employees, and students (now in Canada) are now possibly eligible for an OWP under the revised rules. Spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners, and dependent children over the age of 18 are considered family members. Previously, OWPs were exclusively available to applicants through inland sponsorship or to individuals already residing in Canada with a TRV. However, the amended measure allows applications from outside of Canada, also known as outland sponsorship applications, to be considered making these individuals eligible for OWPs.
Under this new approach, IRCC plans to process all spousal sponsorship applications within a 12-month timeframe. Family members who have a valid temporary resident status, who have maintained their status or who are eligible for and have applied to restore their status, and who share a residential address in Canada with their sponsor at the time of their OWP application may be eligible for a work permit.
Officers can give OWPs to foreign nationals who meet one of two sets of qualifications, according to IRCC public policy.
In one instance, the foreign national could be a principal applicant who has applied for permanent residence under the spouse or common law partner category in Canada, or as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner under the family class category whose application has been accepted by IRCC.
Such applicants should:
- Have also filed a work permit application for a maximum period of two years;
- Should be the subject of a sponsorship application submitted by their Canadian citizen or permanent resident spouse, common law or conjugal partner;
- Share a residential address with their sponsor in Canada at the time of application; and
- Possess valid temporary resident status in Canada or be eligible for and have applied for restoration of status.
In another instance, the foreign national could be a dependent child included as a family member in the application for permanent residence. They should have:
- Submitted a work permit application for a maximum of two years;
- Share the same residential address as the principal applicant and their sponsor in Canada at the time of application; and
- Maintain a valid temporary resident status in Canada or be eligible for and have applied for restoration of status.
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