Apply for a work permit while hoding a study permit

[hellovn]

Hello

I am an international student and I am holding a study permit and an off-campus work permit.

My wife is studying ESL here and she also has an study permit here.

My question is:

If she applies for a work-permit now based on my off-campus work permit now, and she will become a full-time student in this September. Can she work 20 hours a week with her work permit while she is a full-time student in this September ?

Thanks

[Oronno]

Hi

Since you are in study permit, your wife is entitled to have an open work permit without hour restriction. She need to apply for it in canadian port of entry. But if she does the same as you, get off campus work permit against her own study permit she will have total working hours restrictions.

By the way, could you please share your experience of getting an off campus work permit? how is the process and timeline?

Lets help each other and thats the purpose of a forum.

Cheers.

[kyu010170]

Hello,

If your wife is already in Canada and she wants to apply for an open work permit based on your study permit, she does not have to go back to a port of entry to apply. She can do it by mail or online.  I suggest she applies online because it is way faster than mail.

Now, when she herself becomes a full time student, Oronno is right that her hours will be limited to 20 per week.  I just do not know if her 20 hours is limited to in-campus or off-campus job because to get an off-campus work permit, a student must already have been in good standing as a student for 6 out of the last 12 mos. Please check whether previously being in ESL program qualifies her for off-campus work permit. Being a full time student will qualify her for in-campus permit limited to 20 hours, as you may already know.

[hellovn]

Hi Orono

>>By the way, could you please share your experience of getting an off campus work permit? how is the process and timeline?

It is very fast to apply for an off-campus work permit now. You only need to apply online with copy documents. The time should be less than 2 weeks.

[madraida]

It's better if the wife applies for an open work permit as spouse of an international student.

As an ESL student, she cannot apply for an off-campus work permit. The eligibility criteria for the OCWP excludes students who are here just for an ESL program (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-offcampus-who.asp).

[Leon]

Just an idea.. If your wife applies for an open spouse work permit and limits her ESL studies to courses shorter than 6 months, she will not need a study permit and can work as much as she wants.

Courses shorter than 6 months are not considered studying, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-who.asp under Exceptions.