Temporary Pathway applicants now eligible for Open Work Permit

Beginning July 26, 2021, As mentioned by Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of IRCC, all candidates who applied for the recently opened pathway to permanent residence will now be eligible for an open work permit while they are waiting for the results of their application.

For a candidate to qualify for the new pathway, one must be legally working in Canada, target candidates are health care workers, international students who graduated from a Canadian institution,s and other designated essential occupations on May 6, 2021.

There are existing programs that helped candidates extend their work permits whose status is set to expire. Due to the pandemic, temporary measures took place that helped other candidates receive their new permits. However, there are those who hold an expiring work permit but do not qualify for existing measures. With this, Canadian immigration has been working to help these applicants and ensure that they won’t lose their temporary status and work permits.
For these applicants to qualify for the one-time open work permit, they must:
• have successfully submitted an application under one of the new permanent residence pathway’s streams
• held a valid work permit or were authorized to work without a work permit, at the time their permanent residence application was submitted
• hold a valid work permit that is set to expire within the next 4 months
• have temporary resident status, maintained status, or are eligible to restore their status at the time their open work permit application is submitted
• are in Canada at the time their open work permit application is submitted
• were employed in any occupation at the time their permanent residence application was submitted
• meet the language requirements of the stream under which they applied at the time their permanent residence application was submitted