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Opt-in for Valid Open Work Permit Holders

Lyn50

Full Member
Mar 3, 2023
40
1
Hi can someone advice please
If your work permit extension is refused but you current permit is still valid till November can you continue working till permit expiry date?
 
Jun 3, 2020
293
180
India
Category........
PNP
I was revisiting this page - I am one of the luckier ppl whose spouse received an opt-in mail and was sucessfully able to receive the extended permit.

For those who are trying to apply under this policy and submit a webform for reconsideration, have a look again at : https://immigrationnewscanada.ca/spousal-open-work-permit-extension-opt-in-is-now-open/ and see if you want to refer to this information in your re-consideration LOE notes. This is because the official information on opt-in is not available on the canada.ca (IRCC) site. I looked everywhere but couldnt find it.

While the details of the special policy is missing, the opt-in information and instructions are still there on IRCC site: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/open-work-permit-holders.html

Its important to refer to these links in your LOE - I will highly recommend those whose applications were rejected to call IRCC at 8:00 AM and explain your problem and ask them to FLAG your case for reconsideration. Prior to doing this, make sure you have submitted a new webform with all your case details, LOE, references to these links and make it abundantly clear that you qualify for this policy and due to some technical issues (gckey linking etc) did not receive the opt-in mail.

No harm in trying. BTW - I am a guy who got a PGWP for 1 year and managed to get it again for 3 years after a reconsideration request. So it works, but be patient.

Once you submit it, considering your WP is expiring in Dec 2023, it also makes sense to apply for a visitor record/temporary resident visa just in case, but you can that in December 2nd week to make sure your status is maintained in Canada.

Long note - Hope it helps.
 

LartLM

Star Member
Dec 8, 2021
68
15
did you also experience 18 month extension rejection
I was revisiting this page - I am one of the luckier ppl whose spouse received an opt-in mail and was sucessfully able to receive the extended permit.

For those who are trying to apply under this policy and submit a webform for reconsideration, have a look again at : https://immigrationnewscanada.ca/spousal-open-work-permit-extension-opt-in-is-now-open/ and see if you want to refer to this information in your re-consideration LOE notes. This is because the official information on opt-in is not available on the canada.ca (IRCC) site. I looked everywhere but couldnt find it.

While the details of the special policy is missing, the opt-in information and instructions are still there on IRCC site: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/open-work-permit-holders.html

Its important to refer to these links in your LOE - I will highly recommend those whose applications were rejected to call IRCC at 8:00 AM and explain your problem and ask them to FLAG your case for reconsideration. Prior to doing this, make sure you have submitted a new webform with all your case details, LOE, references to these links and make it abundantly clear that you qualify for this policy and due to some technical issues (gckey linking etc) did not receive the opt-in mail.

No harm in trying. BTW - I am a guy who got a PGWP for 1 year and managed to get it again for 3 years after a reconsideration request. So it works, but be patient.

Once you submit it, considering your WP is expiring in Dec 2023, it also makes sense to apply for a visitor record/temporary resident visa just in case, but you can that in December 2nd week to make sure your status is maintained in Canada.

Long note - Hope it helps.
in your case how long did it take for your reconsideration?
 

andrews17

Hero Member
Jan 25, 2021
870
240
Canada
Category........
PNP
So something weird happened today

1. I'm on PGWP, got the opt-in email in April but didn't submit it because my passport was expiring soon.
2. My wife on SOWP got the opt-in email June. She submitted the application but got her new work permit with the same expiration date as the old one (Sept 2023). We assumed this was because my PGWP was still expiring in September and I had not submitted yet my extension application.
3. I renewed my passport and we sent the application to extend both our PGWP and SOWP on July (we paid $255 each).
4. Today, my wife got an update on her application (the opt-in one) saying her work permit was extended until March 2025.

No idea why did this happen. It's great that she got the extension, but I guess that means they could have approved it earlier and save us $255. I'm also intrigued on what's going to happen when they process her extension application, the one sent in July, if her work permit was already extended. Should I send a webform?
So after all this happened, we sent a webform to withdraw her SOWP extension application. This was back in July. Yesterday, we received correspondence letter for both my PGWP and her SOWP extension applications. Shortly, we received a denial for her SOWP. This was very confusing as she already had a new work permit extended until March 2025.

While we were trying to figure out what was going on, we received ANOTHER correspondence letter and then a letter saying "disregard the denial letter sent earlier, your application has been withdrawn". So I guess whoever was processing the application read the webform after denying the work permit and then fixed everything.

I'm glad everything worked out fine (although we were freaking out for like 5 minutes before the withdrawal email). Now I'm wondering if there will be a refund for the $255 we paid. Not gonna fight for it, but wouldn't harm if they did.
 
Last edited:

approvalplease

Star Member
Jun 20, 2023
196
22
I was revisiting this page - I am one of the luckier ppl whose spouse received an opt-in mail and was sucessfully able to receive the extended permit.

For those who are trying to apply under this policy and submit a webform for reconsideration, have a look again at : https://immigrationnewscanada.ca/spousal-open-work-permit-extension-opt-in-is-now-open/ and see if you want to refer to this information in your re-consideration LOE notes. This is because the official information on opt-in is not available on the canada.ca (IRCC) site. I looked everywhere but couldnt find it.

While the details of the special policy is missing, the opt-in information and instructions are still there on IRCC site: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/permit/open-work-permit-holders.html

Its important to refer to these links in your LOE - I will highly recommend those whose applications were rejected to call IRCC at 8:00 AM and explain your problem and ask them to FLAG your case for reconsideration. Prior to doing this, make sure you have submitted a new webform with all your case details, LOE, references to these links and make it abundantly clear that you qualify for this policy and due to some technical issues (gckey linking etc) did not receive the opt-in mail.

No harm in trying. BTW - I am a guy who got a PGWP for 1 year and managed to get it again for 3 years after a reconsideration request. So it works, but be patient.

Once you submit it, considering your WP is expiring in Dec 2023, it also makes sense to apply for a visitor record/temporary resident visa just in case, but you can that in December 2nd week to make sure your status is maintained in Canada.

Long note - Hope it helps.
do you know anyone who was approved through the regular process?
 

intelligent_k

Newbie
Jun 23, 2023
8
1
Hello everyone, I can't find any relevant info elsewhere. Has anybody tried to extent their WP based on spouse's "opt-in" OWP? I'm confused if it's still spousal owp, or not really?
 

andrews17

Hero Member
Jan 25, 2021
870
240
Canada
Category........
PNP
Hello everyone, I can't find any relevant info elsewhere. Has anybody tried to extent their WP based on spouse's "opt-in" OWP? I'm confused if it's still spousal owp, or not really?
This process was closed in 2023, there's no option to "opt-in" to extend your WP anymore.