HR glossary · Hiring and contracts

Open work permit

An open work permit lets a foreign national work for almost any Canadian employer without a job offer or LMIA. Spouse eligibility narrowed in 2025.

Also called: OWP, spousal open work permit, open work permit for vulnerable workers

What open work permit means

An open work permit is a permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that is not tied to one employer. The holder can work for most employers in Canada and can change employers at any time while the permit is valid.

For you as an employer, hiring someone with a valid open work permit is simpler than hiring someone who needs an employer-specific permit. You do not need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), and you do not pay the International Mobility Program employer compliance fee.

Open work permits are only given to people in certain situations. Common ones are recent graduates with a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), some spouses or common-law partners of foreign workers and students, and workers who have left an abusive job. The rules for spouses changed on 21 January 2025.

How it works

Check the permit before the person starts work, just as you would any permit. Look at the expiry date and any conditions printed on it. Some open permits still carry limits on certain types of work or places. Note the expiry date, because the person's Social Insurance Number (if it starts with 9) expires with it.

Spouses of foreign workers: since 21 January 2025, a spouse or common-law partner can get an open work permit only if the foreign worker is in a TEER 0 or 1 job, or in selected TEER 2 or 3 jobs in sectors such as health care, construction and education. The worker must also have at least 16 months left on their permit when the spouse applies. Dependent children of workers no longer qualify. Permits issued before that date stay valid until they expire.

Spouses of students: since 21 January 2025, a student's spouse or common-law partner qualifies only if the student is in a master's program of 16 months or longer, a doctoral program, certain professional degree programs, or another eligible program. The spouse's permit usually ends when the student's study permit does.

Vulnerable workers: a worker on an employer-specific permit who is facing abuse, or is at risk of it, can apply for an open work permit for vulnerable workers. It is usually issued for about a year and is meant to give the person time to find a new job and get another permit.

A common mistake is assuming an open permit lasts as long as the person needs. It ends on the date printed on it, and some kinds, like the PGWP, generally cannot be extended. Track the date and talk with the employee early if they want to stay on.

Is it the same in every province?

Open work permits are issued by IRCC and the same rules apply across Canada. Once the person works for you, the employment standards of your province or territory apply in the usual way.

Example: Hiring the spouse of a foreign worker

Kwame runs a 15-person accounting office in Saskatoon. His top applicant for a bookkeeper job holds an open work permit as the spouse of a foreign worker employed in Saskatoon.

Kwame checks the permit's expiry date and conditions, confirms the person can start, and notes the expiry date in his records. He does not need an LMIA or an employer compliance fee, because the permit is open. Six months before it expires, he plans to check in with the employee about renewal.

Employee records in the Staffkin HR Suite

Staffkin HR Suite employee records keep profiles and documents in one place, so you can store a copy of each work permit with its expiry date.

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Questions about open work permit

Do I need an LMIA to hire someone with an open work permit?

No. An open work permit holder can work for most employers without an LMIA or a job offer.

Can spouses of temporary foreign workers still get open work permits?

Only in some cases. Since 21 January 2025, the worker must be in a TEER 0 or 1 job or a selected TEER 2 or 3 job, and must have at least 16 months left on their permit.

Can an open work permit holder change jobs?

Yes. They can change employers at any time while the permit is valid, as long as they follow any conditions printed on it.

Do I pay the employer compliance fee for an open work permit holder?

No. The International Mobility Program employer compliance fee does not apply when the worker already has an open work permit.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.