Canada expands access to special open work permits

Foreign workers currently or soon to be resident in British Columbia (BC) who work for one of two selected companies can facilitate work permits for their spouses or common-law partners — regardless of remuneration or seniority within the company.

Which employers qualify?

The two companies are Lululemon Athletica and Microsoft Vancouver.

From 23/03/2026, eligible spouses and common-law partners of all foreign workers at these two companies (designated by the federal government as “Significant Investment Projects”) are eligible for open work permits. This means the spouse or common-law partner is free to work for almost any employer across most industries throughout Canada.

This new policy applies to applications received from this date onwards, including applications for spouses of employees in high-skilled occupations (TEER category TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3) and spouses of employees in low-skilled occupations (TEER 4 or 5).

Foreign workers do not need to wait until they officially start their role before applying for an open work permit for their spouse or partner, provided they hold interim approval for a position at one of the two companies, supported by a letter of introduction.

Prior to this change, only spouses of high-skilled workers (TEER 0, 1, or selected TEER 2 or 3 workers) were eligible for an open work permit.

Eligibility requirements

To qualify their spouse for an open work permit, the foreign worker must: be authorised to work in Canada under a valid work permit or interim approval (supported by a letter of introduction) under an active Significant Investment Project agreement; be working or planning to work in a high-skilled (TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3) or low-skilled occupation (TEER 4 or 5); physically reside in Canada while working, or if on interim approval only, plan to physically reside in Canada; and be in a genuine spousal or common-law relationship with the applicant.

Under these rules, foreign workers are not required to hold at least 16 months of work authorisation in Canada at the time their spouse’s open work permit application is received. Most other foreign workers must satisfy this requirement for their spouse or partner to qualify for an open work permit.

If applicants are in Canada when they apply, they must have valid temporary resident status (including maintained status) or be eligible for restoration of temporary resident status and eligible to apply for a work permit from within Canada.

Spouses of foreign workers employed on significant investment projects may extend their open work permit, provided they continue to meet all eligibility criteria.

How to apply

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recommends in officer instructions that foreign workers obtain guidance from their employer on how to apply for a Spousal Open Work Permit (SOWP).

Spouses of qualifying foreign workers under these rules are instructed to submit a standard work permit application to IRCC. To distinguish applications under this policy, applicants must enter the following code into the “Job Title” field when completing the online application: “SIPSPOUSEBC”.

IRCC officers are trained to pay special attention to two factors when assessing applications: evidence of a genuine relationship if the applicant is a spouse or common-law partner (which may include a marriage certificate or Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union [IMM 5409]); and proof that the principal foreign worker holds or has been approved for a work permit under the Significant Investment Project — Provincial Agreement category (evidenced by a copy of the provincial letter issued to the principal foreign worker identifying the significant investment project by name, together with a copy of their work permit or letter of introduction).

Canada tightens spousal open work permits

The new spousal open work permit measure for workers on significant investment projects comes after Canada tightened spousal open work permit rules across the board.

As part of broader measures announced in September 2024, IRCC amended eligibility criteria for open work permits for family members of international students and foreign workers, effective 21/01/2025.

Before January 2025, spouses of most foreign workers could obtain an open work permit regardless of their partner’s occupation or skill level.

Under the new rules, spousal open work permits are restricted to spouses of high-skilled foreign workers in TEER 0 or 1 occupations, or selected TEER 2 or 3 occupations in labour-shortage sectors or aligned with government priorities.

Spouses of international students also face new restrictions. Their partner must now be enrolled in a master’s programme of at least 16 months, a doctoral programme, or certain professional degrees for the spouse to be eligible. Most undergraduate and college diploma programmes no longer qualify spouses.

The government introduced these restrictions to reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada and address housing pressures. This policy is part of Ottawa’s goal to reduce Canada’s temporary resident population from 6.5% in 2026 to 5% of the total population by 2027.