On April 14, 2021, a new program was announced to aid the temporary residents in obtaining Canada’s Permanent Residency. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) named this program as TR to PR pathway program and began accepting applications under this program from May 6, 2021.
As per IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada), the applicants of TR to PR pathway program are now allowed to apply for an Open Work Permit. The open work permits issued under this program will be valid till December 2022.
This decision was made by the government to oblige those who continued to work during COVID-19 crisis. IRCC was also aware of the fact that renewal of temporary resident status would have been challenging for the applicants with LMIA based work permits.
Therefore, certain regulations will be waived as part of this policy to speed up the issue of open work permits. It will act as a bridging work permit for the applicants, while they await results for their PR applications under TR to PR pathway program.
Eligible applicants may apply online or through paper-based applications. An applicant cannot apply for a work permit at port of entry.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible under this policy, applicant must:
- Have applied permanent residency application under one of the TR To PR policies (Workers in essential occupations (health and non-health), French-speaking workers in essential occupations (health and non-health), Recent international graduates from a Canadian post-secondary institution, French speaking international graduates from a Canadian institution).
- Be legally authorized to work with a valid work permit, or an authorization to work without work permit.
- Be residing in Canada at the time of Open Work Permit Application.
- Have met language requirements for TR To PR pathway while applying permanent residency application.
- Be lawfully eligible to maintain or restore their status as workers in Canada.
- Be employed at the time of applying permanent residency application.
- Apply up to 4 months before current work permit expires.
Please note that the eligible family members (Common-law partner/Spouse/Dependent child over the age of 18 years) of the TR to PR applicants can also apply for an open work permit any time under this program.
The TR to PR program will expire on November 5, 2021, or when the maximum number of applications have been received. So far, the two categories which have reached their maximum capacities are international graduates and essential workers.
Candidates can still apply in the following quotas according to their eligibility:
- French-speaking International Graduates (no cap)
- French-speaking Health Care Workers (no cap)
- French-speaking Essential non-health workers (no cap)
If you need help, Contact Can X Immigration for services like Express Entry, Family Sponsorship, Provincial Nomination, Business Class, Humanitarian & Compassionate Grounds, Citizenship, PR Card Renewal, LMIA, Work Permit, Live-In-Caregiver, Postgraduate Work Permit, Study Visa, Study Permit Extension, Visitor Visa, or Super Visa.
