Operational Bulletin 485-A – September 19, 2013
Bridging Open Work Permits for Certain Federal Economic Class Applicants
Summary
Effective December 15, 2012, qualifying foreign nationals currently in
Canada who have submitted an application for permanent residence (PR) under
the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class
(CEC), the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) or the Federal Skilled Trades
Program (FSTP) and who meet program eligibility requirements, may be
considered for a bridging work permit (WP) if their current WP will soon
expire.
Issue
Foreign nationals, in Canada, who have received a positive eligibility
decision under one of these Economic Class programs and whose work permits
are due to expire, may require facilitation to enable them to maintain
their status and when a final decision on their PR application is imminent.
Background
Qualifying foreign nationals who have submitted an application for PR and
are awaiting a final decision may find themselves in situations where the
validity of their current temporary WP is set to expire.
The applicant is then required to have their current employer apply for new
labour market opinion (LMO) or find a new employer willing to go through
the lengthy LMO application process with Employment and Social Development
Canada (formerly Human Resources and Skills Development Canada) before
hiring them. Alternatives are that the applicant could apply to remain in
Canada as a visitor, without authorization to work, or they must leave
Canada at the expiry of their work permit.
Conversely, applicants who apply under in-Canada PR classes (Live-in
Caregiver class, Spouses or Common-law Partners in Canada class, Protected
Persons, etc.) become eligible for open WPs once it has been determined
that their application meets the requirements for the Class. Furthermore,
they do not require an LMO or job offer from an employer in support of the
open WP.
An open WP, which allows a foreign national to work for any employer in
Canada, will provide these applicants with better flexibility to integrate
and navigate the Canadian labour market given that they have already been
found eligible for PR in an economic program and are currently working in
the Canadian labour market.
Bridging Work Permits – Eligibility Parameters
To be eligible for a bridging WP, the following parameters must be met:
· The foreign national is currently in Canada;
· They have valid status on a WP that is due to expire within 4 months;
· They are the principal applicant on an application for permanent
residence under the FSWP, the CEC, the PNP or the FSTP;
· They have received a positive eligibility assessment on their PR
application under one of the Economic Class programs above; and
· They have made application for an open WP.
Please note the following foreign nationals do not qualify for a bridging
work permit on their own:
· Foreign nationals in Canada under section 186 of the Immigration and
Refugee Protection Regulations (work permit exempt) situations.
· Foreign nationals who have let their status expire and must apply for
restoration in order to return to temporary resident status.
· Foreign nationals whose work permits are valid for longer than four
months and/or already have a new LMO that can be used as the basis for new
work permit application
· Foreign nationals applying for a bridging work permit at the port of
entry.
Determining if a Positive Eligibility Decision has been made
For the purposes of determining if a positive eligibility assessment has
been made, the processor will review if the Eligibility Assessment value is
set to “Passed” in Global Case Management System (GCMS). If this decision
has not been entered yet, for the purposes of this Operational Bulletin, a
“positive eligibility assessment” will also be considered made when it is
confirmed in GCMS that:
FSWP:
the “Ministerial Instructions” status has been set to “Met” or a
positive Final Determination of Eligibility letter/ e-mail has been
sent.
PNP:
the “Eligibility EC-QC/PNP” status has been set to “Passed” or the
Acknowledgment of Receipt letter/e-mail has been sent by the
Centralized Intake Office (CIO).
CEC:
the “Eligibility CEC” decision has been set to Passed or the
Acknowledgement of Receipt letter/e-mail has been sent from CIO.
Note: We already received this hence we qualified for BWOP.
FSTP:
the Acknowledgement of Receipt letter/e-mail has been sent from CIO.
Bridging Work Permit Issuance
Applicants must submit an Application to Change Conditions, Extend my Stay
or Remain in Canada as a Worker [IMM 5710], indicating that they are
applying for an Open Work Permit.
WP applications received after the effective date that make no mention of
requesting an “open” WP should be processed based on the services being
requested. For example, if the applicant has submitted a WP application
with an LMO, the processing office is to issue the WP, restricted to the
employer outlined on the LMO, assuming normal entitlements.
Where it is clear that complex or contentious issues/concerns exist on the
application for PR, the WP application should be referred to a local office
for additional review. Once satisfied that any complex/contentious issues
have been resolved, the local office can issue the WP following these same
instructions.
The WP is to be valid for the duration of one year from the date of
issuance. Subsequent requests from applicants to extend their stay on an
open WP will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Upon receipt of the application, the processing office will confirm that:
· the PR applications under one of the classes (CEC, PNP, FSWP) has
been found eligible;
· the applicant is currently in Canada; and
· the applicant currently holds a valid WP that will expire within the
next 4 months and there are no other issues of concern.
The open WP will be issued under authority of R205(a) and will be coded as
follows:
· Validation Exemption Code: C-10
· NOC: 9999000
· Intended Occupation: Open
· Case Type: 27 – Under examination
If a medical examination has not been previously conducted in relation to
their current status in Canada, or in relation to the application for
permanent residence, or its result has expired, the office must impose the
following conditions:
· Not authorized to work in childcare, primary/secondary school
teachings, health service field occupations;
· Not authorized to work in agricultural occupations.
In all cases, the officer must input visible remarks on the WP, “APR
Pending”. This remark, in addition to the Case Type code will ensure
eligibility for continued health care coverage by the province or
territory.
