Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement Family Exceptions: holds a valid Canadian work permit

[mafghan]

Hi,

Under Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement Family Exceptions, it is stated that:

Refugee claimants may qualify under this category of exceptions if they have a family member who:

• holds a valid Canadian work permit

My question: If someone has a family member (refugee claimant in Canada) who has a valid Canadian work permit but whose refugee claim is still under process (only received: Acknowledgement of Claim and did not receive Brown Paper, in other words: his refugee claim is not yet referred to IRB), does he quality on the basis of holding a work permit only?

The reason why I am confused: In the past, Work Permit was generally issued after eligibility interview / brown paper but recently refugee claimants have started getting work permits prior to eligibility interview / Brown paper. I am wondering if the rule of "holds a valid Canadian work permit" only applies to Economic migrants with work permit and doesn't apply to Refugee Claimants with work permits.

Please share your thoughts and experience