Spouses of students will not be able to work in Canada! Government announced new decision

Canada Work Visa: In Canada, visa rules are continuously being tightened or permits are being cut. After imposing limits on study permits and post-graduation work permits, the Government of Canada is now cracking down on ‘Spousal Open Work Permits’ (SOWPs). Canada to cut SOWPs by more than 100,000 over the next 3 years. The loss will be borne by the spouses of those Indian students who were currently thinking of working in Canada.
Actually, SOWP in Canada is a work permit which is given to the spouse of a student studying in Canada, so that they can live and work in the country legally. According to the CIC report, Immigration Minister Mark Miller said that we are going to impose even higher limits on the SOWP eligibility criteria for spouses of students studying in doctoral, some master’s programs, select professional programs and some pilot programs.

What rules is Canada going to introduce on SOWP?

The opportunity to work in Canada under SOWP will be given only to spouses of students whose master’s program is of at least 16 months duration. The government had also announced changes regarding SOWP earlier this year.

The Government of Canada had said that SOWP will be given only to the spouses of those students who are studying certain master’s or doctoral programs in ‘Designated Learning Institutions’ (DLIs). Spouses of students pursuing high-demand undergraduate degrees may also be eligible for SOWP benefits.

There will be a limit on master and doctoral students in Canada in 2025

The situation is further complicated by Canada’s decision to include master’s and doctoral students in its study permit limit for 2025. According to the Immigration Department, 12% of the 4,37,000 study permits available for 2025 are reserved for these students. However, master’s and PhD students are not subject to the limits imposed on study permits in 2024. But this year there has been a decline in admissions in Canada.