December 2, 2022, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, and Tourism Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance Randy Bosano announced:
Starting from January 2023, through a two-year temporary policy, Canada will gradually expand work visa qualifications to work visa holders family members (spouse/cohabitation partner, children of appropriate age) of work visa holders of all skill levels.
Before this new policy, the spouse was eligible for a work visa only if the main applicant was engaged in a high-skilled profession. The purpose of this temporary measure
Q?
Through the temporary new policy, Canada hopes to lower the threshold for spouses' work visas, and allows more families to reunite in Canada, improve the physical and mental health and financial stability of overseas workers, and allow them to better integrate into the Canadian working environment and local communities.
Expanding the application qualification for a work visa to family members who accompany the main applicant to Canada will help help employers find the workers they need and further address the labor shortage problem .
Q The temporary policy takes effect?
This temporary policy lasts for 2 years and will be implemented in January 2023.
This temporary policy is implemented in three stages:
The implementation of this policy is divided into three stages, and will gradually expand the application conditions for working in Canada to the spouses of workers of all skill levels and children who reach working age. For example, family members of workers engaged in healthcare, technicians, and hospitality industries will also qualify.
Specific as follows
01 Phase 1: Family members of temporary foreign workers who come to Canada through high-paying category projects of Temporary Foreign Workers Project (TFWP) or International Mobility Project (IMP) are allowed to apply for open work visas.
02 Phase 2: Family members of temporary foreign workers who come to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) low-wage category program are allowed to apply for open work visas.
03 Phase III: Consult with agricultural partners and stakeholders to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the measure to family members of agricultural workers.
The Canadian government said immigration will continue to play an important role in addressing Canada's labor shortage. The Canadian government will also continue to implement policies to help employers find employees who meet various skill levels.
