Spouses or common-law partners of study permit holders – [R205(c)(ii) – C42] – Canadian interest – International Mobility Program (IMP)
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
Important: Only spouses or common-law partners of study permit holders are eligible for an open work permit. Their dependent children are not eligible to apply for an open work permit under this category (C42).
Note: On July 03, Bachelor of Nursing (BN) was added to the professional degree programs eligibility list for applications submitted on or after April 30, 2024. As well, Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc) has been separated from Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN) for additional clarification.
In these instructions, “officer” refers to employees of both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The instructions on this page should be reviewed in conjunction with the following:
On April 30, 2024, the Minister designated the work performed by the following spouses or common-law partners of full-time students as necessary under subparagraph 205(c)(ii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR):
- spouses or common-law partners of full-time students in graduate programs (master’s and doctorate)
- spouses or common-law partners of full-time students participating in one of the eligible pilot programs administered by a province or territory
- spouses or common-law partners of full-time students in professional degree programs in a university (for example, medicine, dentistry, law)
- spouses or common-law partners who hold a valid open work permit under the C42 category and who are extending their work permit as spouses or common-law partners of full-time students in a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) eligible program of study at a PGWP-eligible designated learning institution (DLI).
This International Mobility Program (IMP) work permit category is intended for spouses and common-law partners who are not, themselves, already study permit holders actively engaged in full-time studies. The reasons for allowing spouses to enter Canada and work is to increase the competitiveness of Canada’s academic institutions or economy.
In these instructions, “spouse” refers to either common-law partner or married spouse situations.
On this page
Eligibility
To be a dependent spouse or common-law partner, the applicant for an open work permit must be in a genuine relationship with a principal foreign national.
Applications were submitted before March 19, 2024
All applications received before March 19, 2024, shall be processed following established rules and procedures that were in place before that date.
For the applicant to be eligible under administrative code C42, the principal foreign national must meet all of the following requirements:
- hold a valid study permit or be provisionally approved for a study permit (if applying as a family group outside of Canada)
- be studying on a full-time basis or have proof of enrolment in full-time courses at a DLI
- be accepted by or enrolled in a post-graduation work permit-eligible study program and institution
- be physically residing or provide proof that they plan to physically reside in Canada while studying
Applicants (spouses and common-law partners) who are in Canada at the time of submission must
- have a valid temporary resident status or be eligible for restoration of status as a temporary resident
- be eligible to apply for a work permit from within Canada (section R199 or an active public policy)
Applications submitted between March 19, 2024 and April 29, 2024
For the applicant to be eligible under administrative code C42, the principal foreign national must meet all of the following requirements:
- hold a valid study permit or be provisionally approved for a study permit (if applying as a family group outside of Canada)
- be studying on a full-time basis or have proof of enrolment in full-time courses in a graduate program (master’s and doctorate) at a university or polytechnic institution, or a professional degree-granting program in a university (for example, medicine, dentistry, law)
- be physically residing in Canada while studying or provide proof that they plan to physically reside in Canada while studying
For the purposes of assessing eligibility, the following definitions apply:
Graduate programs are defined as master’s and doctorate degrees granted by universities or polytechnic institutions.
Professional degree programs are those identified under the following:
- Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD)
- Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
- Doctor of Medicine (MD)
- Doctor of Optometry (OD)
- Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc)
- Bachelor of Education (BEd)
- Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc) only
Applicants who are in Canada at the time of submission must
- have valid temporary resident status or be eligible for restoration of status as a temporary resident
- be eligible to apply for a work permit from within Canada (section R199 or an active public policy)
Applications submitted on or after April 30, 2024
For the applicant to be eligible under administrative code C42, the principal foreign national must meet all of the following requirements:
- hold a valid study permit or be provisionally approved for a study permit (if applying as a family group outside of Canada)
- be physically residing in Canada while studying or provide proof that they plan to physically reside in Canada while studying
- be one of the following:
- participating in one of the eligible pilot programs administered by a province or territory
- studying on a full-time basis or have proof of enrolment in full-time courses in a graduate program (master’s and doctorate)
- studying on a full-time basis or have proof of enrolment in full-time courses in a professional degree-granting program in a university (for example, medicine, dentistry, law)
Note: Officers should routinely refer to the list of eligible pilot programs administered by a province or territory. Changes to eligible pilot programs will only be reflected on that list, as it’s more flexible to adjust.
For the purposes of assessing eligibility, the following definitions apply:
Graduate programs are defined as master’s and doctorate degrees.
Professional degree programs are those identified under the following:
- Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD)
- Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
- Doctor of Medicine (MD)
- Doctor of Optometry (OD)
- Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN)
- Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc)
- Bachelor of Nursing (BN)
- Bachelor of Education (BEd)
- Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc) only
Applicants who are in Canada at the time of submission must
- have valid temporary resident status or be eligible for restoration of status as a temporary resident
- be eligible to apply for a work permit from within Canada (section R199 or an active public policy)
If the applicant is extending their open work permit on or after March 19, 2024
Applicants extending their open work permit are eligible for an open work permit under this stream. In such cases, the principal applicant must meet the requirements that were in place before March 19, 2024.
Documentary evidence
Officers should be satisfied that the principal foreign national continues to comply with the study permit conditions including those under section R220.1. Should officers have any concerns, they may wish to request additional information from the applicant to ensure that the eligibility requirements of the work permit category (administrative code C42) are met, or they may wish to undertake an assessment to ensure the material documents provided in the spousal open work permit application are bona fide.
Officers should consult the student compliance portal in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) to ensure the principal foreign national is actively engaged in their program of study, or review guidance in Assessing study permit conditions, Document examination and seizure and ENF 2 manual on misrepresentation (PDF) and follow the rules of procedural fairness.
Applications submitted before March 19, 2024
With the application for a spousal open work permit, officers should be satisfied that they have the following documentation to make an assessment:
- proof that the applicant is the genuine spouse or common-law partner of a valid study permit holder (for example, marriage certificate or Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union [IMM 5409]), or other proof of relationship
- proof that the principal foreign national is attending a DLI
- proof that the principal foreign national is actively engaged in full-time studies in a post-graduation work permit-eligible study program and institution, such as
- a Canadian public post-secondary institution, such as a
- college
- trade or technical school
- university
- CEGEP in Quebec
- a private post-secondary institution in Quebec that operates under the same rules and regulations as a public post-secondary institution in Quebec
- a private or public secondary or post-secondary institution in Quebec offering qualifying programs of 900 hours or longer leading to a diploma of vocational studies (DVS) or an attestation of vocational specialization (AVS)
- a Canadian private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees (for example, a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or doctorate), but only if the study permit holder is enrolled in a study program leading to a degree as authorized by the province, which may not include all study programs offered by the private institution
- a Canadian public post-secondary institution, such as a
If the principal foreign national is enrolled in a private post-secondary program/institution other than those listed above, the spouse or common-law partner is not eligible for a spousal open work permit.
Applications submitted between March 19, 2024 and April 29, 2024
With the application for a spousal open work permit, officers should be satisfied that they have the following documentation to make an assessment:
- proof that the applicant is the genuine spouse or common-law partner of a valid study permit holder (for example, marriage certificate or Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union – IMM 5409), or other proof of relationship
- for spouses or common-law partners of students who are in a graduate or professional degree granting program of study, proof of the international student’s enrolment in a degree-granting program of study, such as one of the following:
- an acceptance letter from a DLI
- proof of enrolment letter from DLI
- transcripts from current program
If the applicant is extending their C42 open work permit
Applicants applying for an extension in this work permit category must provide documentary evidence to support the extension they were required to submit for their initial application.
Applications submitted on or after April 30, 2024
With the application for a spousal open work permit, officers should be satisfied that they have the following documentation to make an assessment:
- proof that the applicant is the genuine spouse or common-law partner of a valid study permit holder (for example, marriage certificate or Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union [IMM 5409]), or other proof of relationship
- for spouses of students who are in a graduate or professional degree granting program of study, proof of the international student’s enrolment in a degree-granting program of study, such as
- an acceptance letter from a DLI
- proof of enrolment letter from DLI
- transcripts from current program
- for spouses or common-law partners of students who are participating in one of the eligible pilot programs administered by a province or territory, proof of the international student’s enrolment in the program, such as a letter from the province or territory
If the applicant is extending their C42 open work permit
Applicants applying for an extension in this work permit category must provide documentary evidence to support the extension they were required to submit for their initial application.
Application assessment
Officers must be satisfied that all eligibility requirements are met at the time of decision on the family member work permit application.
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.
If officers have any concerns as to the genuineness of the documents provided, they may wish to undertake an assessment to ensure this material information is genuine and does not reflect a direct misrepresentation of facts to appear eligible for the permit.
Principal foreign nationals
The principal foreign national is the first foreign national of the couple who obtained a study or work permit or was deemed authorized to work under the provisions of section R186, other than under paragraphs R186 (v) or (w).
In assessing eligibility for a spousal open work permit, the principal foreign national continues to remain the principal in the couple.
The principal foreign national cannot obtain a spousal open work permit under the work permit categories provided under the administrative codes C41, C42, C47 or C49 based on the dependent spouse’s spousal open work permit and Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category.
For example, if the principal foreign national is a study permit holder and the dependent spouse obtains an open work permit under labour market impact assessment (LMIA) exemption code C42 for spouses of study permit holders, the study permit holder cannot quit schooling and obtain a work permit in the C41 spousal category on the basis of their spouse’s C42 open work permit and employment.
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 either
- was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), or
- is not genuine
If officers have concerns as to the genuineness of the relationship, to be procedurally fair, they should 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. Procedural fairness means giving the applicant the opportunity to respond to the concerns of the officer prior to any decision.
If the officer believes that the applicant has misrepresented themselves, the officer should follow the instructions for proceeding with a determination.
Final decision
Approval
The work permit will be issued under the authority of subparagraph R205(c)(ii).
In GCMS under the “Application” screen, officers should enter the information below in the specified fields.
| Field | Selection or input |
|---|---|
| Case type | 20 |
| Province of destination |
Unknown |
| Exemption code |
Spouses or common-law partners of a full-time student: C42 |
| Employer |
Open |
| Intended occupation | Open |
| Special program codes | SPGradC4 SPPolC42 SPProC42
Note: Officers will need to manually enter the applicable code for applications submitted by representatives, as this is not triggered in the authorized paid representative portal.
|
| National Occupational Classification (NOC) |
99999 [Do not use other synthetic NOC codes.] |
| Duration |
The open work permit may be issued for a period that ends no later than the validity of the principal foreign national’s study permit or the applicant’s passport expiry, whichever comes first. If the principal foreign national is authorized to study without a permit under section R189 at the time the spouse’s work permit application is submitted, the spousal application should be placed on hold until the principal foreign national’s study permit extension application is assessed. |
| Conditions |
Officers should ensure that instructions provided in Medical conditions to be imposed for open employers but occupation-restricted work permits are followed. |
|
User remarks (Mandatory) |
The following remark must be added to all open work permits: Authorized to work as per applicable labour laws. |
| Fees |
$155 work permit processing fee $100 open work permit holder fee |
| Biometrics |
Work permit applicants are required to provide their biometric information and pay the biometric fee ($85). The regular biometric exemptions apply (for example, under 14 or 1 in 10 rule). |
Refusals
If an officer is not satisfied that all the requirements of section R200, including the assessment under subparagraph R205(c)(ii), are met, they must record their reasons and outline the rationale underlying the decision as well as the facts and elements considered. They must also provide an explanation for the decision in a case note.
Refusal reasons should clearly indicate which criteria or what requirement of section R200 was not met and explain how the conclusion was reached. For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision-making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.
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