Family members of most temporary foreign workers in British Columbia will be able to work for any employer in British Columbia.
Previously, only spouses and common-law partners of temporary foreign workers employed in a managerial, professional or skilled trades job have been eligible to obtain an open work permit in B.C. Thanks to the pilot project launched between Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and British Columbia, however, spouses, common-law partners and working age dependents of most temporary foreign workers will be eligible to receive open work permits. This includes the family members of workers in low-skilled occupations
“More than a million jobs will open up in B.C. by 2020 and we will need foreign workers to help meet the skills shortages our businesses are already beginning to face,” said British Columbia Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Pat Bell.
The pilot project has begun on August 15, 2011 and will continue until February 15, 2013. It is expected that up to 1,800 open work permits will be available under the pilot project.
To qualify, applicants must meet the following criteria:
– Be a spouse, common – law partner, or a working-age dependent child (18 to 22 years of age) of certain TFWs who have been issued a valid work permit of at least six months’ duration in B.C.; and
– Meet all admissibility criteria to enter Canada as a temporary resident.
Family members of live-in caregivers, seasonal agricultural workers, and International Experience Class youth program workers are not eligible under this pilot project.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
