Family members of foreign nationals authorized to work in high-skilled occupations (TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3) [R205(c)(ii) – C41 and C46]– Canadian interest – International Mobility Program

In these instructions, “officer” refers to employees of both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.

The instructions on this page should be reviewed in conjunction with

• Open work permit – General processing and issuance
• Conditions and validity period on work permits

The Minister has designated the following categories of work for genuine family members of principal foreign nationals employed in high-skilled occupations as necessary for public policy reasons related to the competitiveness of Canada’s academic institutions, or economy, under subparagraph 205(c)(ii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).

In these instructions, family member is defined as per paragraph R1(3) as

• the spouse or common-law partner of the principal foreign national
• the dependent children of the spouse or the principal foreign national
• dependent children of the dependent children (grandchild of principal foreign national or spouse)

High-skilled occupations are considered to be in the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category 0,1, 2 or 3.

On this page

• Eligibility
• Documentary evidence
• Principal foreign national
• Genuine relationship
• Work permit processing in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)

Eligibility

To be a dependent family member, the applicant for an open work permit must be in a genuine relationship with a principal foreign national. For the dependent family member to be eligible under administrative code C41 or C46, the principal foreign national must meet all of the following:

• be authorized to work in Canada by reason of
  • a valid work permit (employer-specific or open under a non-spousal category), other than a work permit issued under R206 exemption from an LMIA.
  • the authority of section R186, except paragraph R186(v or w) to work without a permit
• be authorized to work in Canada for a period of at least 6 months after the family member’s open work permit application is received
• be employed in a high-skilled occupation (TEER 0, 1,2 or 3 or before November 16 in National Occupational Classification (NOC) 0, A or B)
• be physically residing or plan to physically reside in Canada while employed

Officers can assess the skill level of the principal foreign national using the National Occupational Classification matrix. The version of the NOC to use (that is, 2016 or 2021) is determined by the date that the dependent family member submitted their work permit application. If the open work permit application was submitted prior to November 16, 2022, then the principal foreign national’s occupation level is assessed under NOC 2016. If the open work permit was submitted on or after November 16, 2022, then the principal foreign national’s occupation category is assessed under NOC 2021.

Documentary evidence

With the application for an open work permit, the dependent family member should be providing the following:

• evidence of relationship (for example, marriage certificate, Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (IMM 5409), birth certificate, adoption papers)
• evidence that their principal foreign national is authorized to work in Canada (for example, work permit or visitor record indicating work under section R186)
• evidence of the principal foreign national’s authority to work in Canada for 6 months after the date of the family member’s work permit submission
• evidence that the occupation of the principal foreign national is in TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 (or if the open work permit application was received before November 16, 2022, in NOC skill type or level 0, A or B)

If the principal foreign national is an open work permit holder or is authorized to work without a permit under section R186 [except paragraph R186(v or w)], the occupation skill level cannot be determined solely by means of the work permit. Occupation skill level of the principal applicant is required to ensure that the correct administrative coding and eligibility is used.

Therefore, the family member applicant must also provide the following:

• a letter from the principal foreign national’s current employer confirming employment and their occupation, with a description of duties or a copy of their employment offer or contract and
• evidence that the principal foreign national is employed in a TEER category 0,1, 2 or 3 occupation at the time of the family member’s work permit application until a decision on the application is rendered

If officers have any concerns as to the genuineness of the proof of employment provided, they may wish to undertake an assessment to ensure this material information is genuine and does not reflect a direct misrepresentation of facts in order to appear eligible for the permit.

Principal foreign national

The principal foreign national is the first foreign national parent in the family unit who obtained a work permit or was deemed authorized to work under the provisions of section R186 other than under paragraph R186(v or w).

In assessing eligibility for an open work permit, the principal foreign national continues to remain the principal parent in the family unit.

The principal foreign national cannot obtain an open work permit under the administrative codes C41, C42, C46, C47, C48 or C49 based on the dependent family member’s open work permit and occupational level.

For example, if the principal foreign national is the holder of a work permit issued based on a LMIA and the dependent spouse obtains an open work permit under LMIA exemption code C47 as the spouse of a low-skilled worker, the principal foreign national cannot quit their job under the LMIA-based work permit and obtain a work permit in the high-skilled spousal category (code C41) on the basis of their spouse’s C47 open work permit and employment in a TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation.

Genuine relationship

As per section R4, a foreign national shall not be considered a spouse or a common-law partner of a person if the marriage or common-law partnership

• was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act
• is not genuine

If officers have concerns as to the genuineness of the relationship, they may request further documentation or information to confirm that the relationship between the dependent spouse or common-law partner and the principal foreign national is genuine and is not a relationship of convenience.

Work permit processing in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)

Mandatory association to the principal foreign national: The family member must be associated with the principal foreign national in GCMS. Association should be completed on the Client screen and not just within the application.

This is required to ensure the ability to revoke a family member work permit under public policy considerations.

Under the Application screen, officers should enter the following information in the specified fields: