During a recent announcement addressing reforms to Canada’s temporary resident initiatives, Immigration Minister Marc Miller revealed numerous substantial changes to the qualifying requirements for Spousal Open Work Permits (SOWPs). Minister Miller said on September 18 that the agency would impose further restrictions on spouses of students enrolled in specific professional programs, doctorate and master’s programs, and pilot programs to restrict their eligibility for the SOWP. It includes restricting master’s degree students’ wives’ eligibility for work permits to “only those whose curriculum is at least 16 months.”
These modifications come after the IRCC said earlier in the year that SOWPs would only be available to spouses of students enrolled in particular master’s or doctorate programs at designated learning institutions (DLIs) in Canada, with limited exception for highly sought-after undergraduate degrees.
The IRCC’s choice to include master’s and doctorate students in the study permit quota 2025 has further influenced this situation. According to the agency, these students will receive 12% of the 437,000 academic permits allotted for 2025. However, PhD and master’s degree holders are not subject to the 2024 study permit cap. The minister stated that for the following three years, 50,000 fewer SOWPs would be available to the spouses of international students. However, he did not indicate the additional modifications that the department would implement.
Effect on Temporary Foreign Workers
Aside from the foreign student program, SOWPs are also changing. The IRCC says it intends to restrict those eligible for a work permit to spouses of highly qualified professionals. These include academics, scientists, engineers, C-suite executives, attorneys, technicians, and spouses of employees in fields with significant labor shortages. Over the following three years, these modifications should lead to the issuance of 100,000 fewer SOWPs.
Guide to applying for a SOWP
There have yet to be formal ministry instructions on when the tightened SOWP limits would take effect. However, as of April 30 earlier this year, wives of international students became eligible to apply for an SOWP if their sponsor is an international student enrolled in a master’s or doctorate program or any of the professional degree programs listed below:
- Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS or DMD)
- Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, and BCL)
- Medical doctor (MD)
- Optometrist Doctor (OD)
- BPharm, BS, BSc, and Ph.D. in pharmacy
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN, and BNSc)
- Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)
- Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng., BE, and BASc)
