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ARTICLE · 23 JANUARY 2025

Changes Restricting Open Work Permits For Family Members Of Temporary Foreign Workers And International Students

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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced changes to open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of work permit and study permit holders. The changes remove OWP.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Bill MacGregor
Bill MacGregor
Ross Baumann
Ross Baumann
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced changes to open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of work permit and study permit holders. The changes remove OWP eligibility for some family members and impose stricter restrictions on OWP eligibility for others.

These changes are part of the broader suite of changes implemented by IRCC over the past twelve months to reduce temporary residents in Canada. As part of a broader announcement in September 2024, IRCC gave notice that changes would be implemented to the eligibility criteria for open work permits for family members of Work and Study Permit Holders (Gowling WLG: Canada takes further measures that will restrict international students and work permit options).

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