Spouse Work Permit with BC PNP WP support letter

[canadaimmihelp]

Hi all,

I'm a new member but have found this forum to be so amazing! Thanks to all the contributing members!
I've some questions with regards to applying for work permit after getting nominated for BC PNP. I've searched this website and others for answers but haven't found anything useful. Could you please help me out with my questions. My situation -
My spouse has a closed WP which was obtained through his company (ICT), I've an open WP which I got as the spouse of a closed WP holder. Both our work permits expire in March 2019. I recently got nominated through BC PNP through the company I work for. Now we are planning to apply for work permit extensions using the work permit support letter that I got as part of the BC PNP nomination. In my nomination certificate, under "Restrictions on employment", it says "NO". My questions -

1. Am I eligible for a closed WP or an open WP when I apply for new work permit using BC PNP WP Support letter?
2. Is my spouse eligible to obtain an open WP along with my WP?
3. If my spouse is eligible to obtain an open WP, would the open WP invalidate his existing closed WP OR would he be able to keep both Work permits?
4. My spouse's name is not on the PNP nomination certificate. Should his name be on the certificate in order for him to be eligible for an open WP?
5. We are heading outside of Canada soon and plan to be back in Canada in a few weeks. Can we obtain new work permits at Port of Entry when we come back using the PNP WP support letter ?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[canadaimmihelp]

Hi all, would appreciate any help you can offer me. Have been going over many threads related to PNP but can't really find any concrete answers

 

[Ryder]

Hi all, would appreciate any help you can offer me. Have been going over many threads related to PNP but can't really find any concrete answers

Hi, has your partner applied for PR through BCPNP or is that option only available to you? I actually went through a similar situation myself. I will briefly describe the process my partner and I have gone through:

1. Moved to Vancouver with my partner in June 2015 (She had 2 year OPEN work permit valid for 2 years)

2. At a later date, we went to the Peace Arch border, where I applied for and recieved an OPEN work permit for the same duration of my partners visa.

3. Through the company I work for in BC, I was able to get BC PNP Nomination in Feb 2017.

4. As both of our visas were due to expire in June 2017, after receiving my BC PNP certificate, we went to the border with our paperwork stating I had a nomination for PNP and were planning to apply for PR and extended our work visas for another 2 years. HOWEVER, whilst my partner was given an OPEN work visa, mine was a CLOSED visa, restricted to my job role and employer.

5. I applied to CIC for permanent residency in August 2017, with my partner included on my application as my dependant. We are just at the final stage of review and are expecting our PR any day now.

To answer your questions:

Firstly, if you want a concrete answer, I recommend a consultation with the immigration consultant that we used. I think it cost approx $175 for an hour but they were amazing and worth it. They are based in Vancouver (not sure where you are currently working), and are called Bell Alliance and are based on West Broadway, Vancouver. They will tell you everything you need to know.

1. Am I eligible for a closed WP or an open WP when I apply for new work permit using BC PNP WP Support letter?

If you apply for your Permanent Residency soon, you will be eligible for a closed WP which is specific to your employer and job title. I went to the Peace Arch border 2 weeks before mine expired and got mine and my partner was given a 2 year OPEN WP at the same time.

2. Is my spouse eligible to obtain an open WP along with my WP?

This is a tricky one, because technically your open WP is dependant on your partners CLOSED WP. I am not sure the rules around him changing from a closed WP to an OPEN one. But, I believe that once you apply for PR through CIC, with him as your dependant, then your WP supersedes his. Again, It is hard to know for sure and this is where professional advice really puts your mind at rest.

3. If my spouse is eligible to obtain an open WP, would the open WP invalidate his existing closed WP OR would he be able to keep both Work permits?

He would only be able to have one permit at one time. I imagine his open WP, were he to get one, would replace is closed WP. Or he may need to stay on his closed permit until it expires, and then replace it with an OPEN WP.

4. My spouse's name is not on the PNP nomination certificate. Should his name be on the certificate in order for him to be eligible for an open WP?

No his name won't be on there. In fact, I don't recall having to provide any information to BC PNP regarding my partner when I applied. Only when applying to CIC for PR, did I have to provide my partners details. I had to provide proof of common law partnership etc. It was pretty easy really.

5. We are heading outside of Canada soon and plan to be back in Canada in a few weeks. Can we obtain new work permits at Port of Entry when we come back using the PNP WP support letter ?

Yes, but just ensure that your employer has paid their employer compliance fee (approx $255) and you have all of the documents including proof of common law or marriage

Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[padedeji]

Hi, has your partner applied for PR through BCPNP or is that option only available to you? I actually went through a similar situation myself. I will briefly describe the process my partner and I have gone through:

1. Moved to Vancouver with my partner in June 2015 (She had 2 year OPEN work permit valid for 2 years)

2. At a later date, we went to the Peace Arch border, where I applied for and recieved an OPEN work permit for the same duration of my partners visa.

3. Through the company I work for in BC, I was able to get BC PNP Nomination in Feb 2017.

4. As both of our visas were due to expire in June 2017, after receiving my BC PNP certificate, we went to the border with our paperwork stating I had a nomination for PNP and were planning to apply for PR and extended our work visas for another 2 years. HOWEVER, whilst my partner was given an OPEN work visa, mine was a CLOSED visa, restricted to my job role and employer.

5. I applied to CIC for permanent residency in August 2017, with my partner included on my application as my dependant. We are just at the final stage of review and are expecting our PR any day now.

To answer your questions:

Firstly, if you want a concrete answer, I recommend a consultation with the immigration consultant that we used. I think it cost approx $175 for an hour but they were amazing and worth it. They are based in Vancouver (not sure where you are currently working), and are called Bell Alliance and are based on West Broadway, Vancouver. They will tell you everything you need to know.

1. Am I eligible for a closed WP or an open WP when I apply for new work permit using BC PNP WP Support letter?

If you apply for your Permanent Residency soon, you will be eligible for a closed WP which is specific to your employer and job title. I went to the Peace Arch border 2 weeks before mine expired and got mine and my partner was given a 2 year OPEN WP at the same time.

2. Is my spouse eligible to obtain an open WP along with my WP?

This is a tricky one, because technically your open WP is dependant on your partners CLOSED WP. I am not sure the rules around him changing from a closed WP to an OPEN one. But, I believe that once you apply for PR through CIC, with him as your dependant, then your WP supersedes his. Again, It is hard to know for sure and this is where professional advice really puts your mind at rest.

3. If my spouse is eligible to obtain an open WP, would the open WP invalidate his existing closed WP OR would he be able to keep both Work permits?

He would only be able to have one permit at one time. I imagine his open WP, were he to get one, would replace is closed WP. Or he may need to stay on his closed permit until it expires, and then replace it with an OPEN WP.

4. My spouse's name is not on the PNP nomination certificate. Should his name be on the certificate in order for him to be eligible for an open WP?

No his name won't be on there. In fact, I don't recall having to provide any information to BC PNP regarding my partner when I applied. Only when applying to CIC for PR, did I have to provide my partners details. I had to provide proof of common law partnership etc. It was pretty easy really.

5. We are heading outside of Canada soon and plan to be back in Canada in a few weeks. Can we obtain new work permits at Port of Entry when we come back using the PNP WP support letter ?

Yes, but just ensure that your employer has paid their employer compliance fee (approx $255) and you have all of the documents including proof of common law or marriage

Hope this helps somewhat.

Hi,

I'm on the same boat. I have valid work permit both don't have valid visa. Can I go to Peace Arch Border too to get BOWP?

 

[canadaimmihelp]

@Ryder : Thank you so much for the detailed reply! That really helped. Also my apologies for replying late. I took your advice and consulted with an attorney and you were right, it was totally worth it. We recently went to the Peace Arch border with PNP work permit support letter, PNP nomination certificate, offer letter, original work permit, resume, job description, copy of employer compliance fee receipt and employment number and they gave me a closed work permit and my spouse an open work permit.

As per attorney's suggestion and based on multiple threads in this forum - my spouse will get to keep both work permits (closed WP he had earlier and the open WP we got now) for now. He can continue to use the closed WP till it expires but can start using the open WP if he chooses to. He cannot, however, work for 2 different employers using the 2 work permits at the same time. When we asked the officer at the Peace Arch border who processed our work permits, he did mention that "the open work permit does invalidate the closed work permit and in any case, why would you need a closed work permit when you already have an open wp". So that was not quite what we were expecting him to say but like I mentioned above, it is probably ok to hold both work permits and continue using the older wp.

Also, to anyone looking to drive to peace arch to flag pole, I'm sharing information below in case it helps. We drove up to the US border with our passports and mentioned that we were there to flag pole to get work permits. They immediately knew what that meant and the officer at the border called another officer and told him that he should expect couple of folks who were there to flagpole. The officer then gave us an orange form and asked us to drive ahead and park under the bridge about 100 mts from the border crossing. We were greeted by another officer there who asked us to park our vehicle and directed us into a building. The place was almost empty and we were asked to go to one of the counters. An officer at the counter took the orange form and gave us a white form which said "Not seeking entry into the US, only flagpolling". The white form had our names and passport numbers. We were then asked to head back to the Canadian border and an officer came out to open the barricades that allowed us to go back to the Canadian side. Everyone was super nice and the process took about 10 mins.
Over on the Canadian side, we handed both the orange and the white forms and mentioned that we would like to get work permits. We were given another slip of paper (yellow colored I believe) & directed inside another building near the crossing which was almost empty as well. Inside, we were given a token number and asked to wait for our turn. About 45 mins later (they apparently have just the 1 officer processing work permits after 4 PM and have 3 officers processing WPs before 4 PM), we were called and asked to hand over all relavant documents. Another 45 mins later, we were asked to pay the fee (~ $510 for closed WP for myself, open WP for spouse and 2 biometrics which is mandatory now). This is when we knew that they would process our permits Another 30 mins later, the officer took our finger prints. Another 30 mins later, they gave us our new work permits We thanked the officer and left. The whole process on the Canadian side took about 2.5 hrs. While it was a lengthy wait, it was definitely worth it!
The officers were again polite and apart from the wait, the whole process was smooth. The officer did mention that while they process work permits, they do recommend that folks apply online. Hope this helps anyone who is looking to flag pole or in a similar situation to me. Happy to answer questions to the best of my knowledge.

 

[ayeecullen]

Hi @Ryder and @canadaimmihelp : Everyone's posts here are so helpful especially yours' two. I have just been a reader all these months to immigration forums but I have been inspired by you two to ask questions then share what happens to us for the benefit of those who might be in our same situation.

I am here with my wife & kids on tourist stay for 6months and we do have multiple entry visas. I now have an ITA for BC PNP SI-Skilled Worker Stream (for Tech Pilot Program) because of a job offer from a tech company.

My questions is once I get the PNP Nomination & work permit support letter along with my other pertinent documents (resume, diploma&transcript, passport, etc), will these be enough for the border officer at the Peace Arch to issue a work permit although this is my first work permit application?

Thank you in advance for your replies!

 

[saman.khoddam]

Hello dear friends,


My wife got the nomination from BC in category of Skill immigration-international post-graduate.

She has also Post-graduate Open Work Permit till 2021. My open work permit (as dependent of international Student) going to be expired on March 2020.

She is working part-time (retail).

we going to apply our PR for provincial nominees class (PNC) paper base in this week.

Since providing the AOR takes long time, I was wondering if we need to wait till receiving the AOR and then apply for my open work permit, or even better if I can apply now for my OWP base on her nomination and her open work permit.

Please give me your opinion. Any advice can be helpful.

Thank you all.

 

[mmbawany]

Hello guys! Sorry for hijacking your post.

I have a quick question and will appreciate if you could help

My situation is as follows
- NBPNP Nominee with work permit support letter (outside canada)
- applied for paper based PR for myself and for dependents.
Applied for closed work permit
-NOC C
Question: can my wife apply for open work permit to travel with me?

 

[sfh29]

Hello dear friends,


My wife got the nomination from BC in category of Skill immigration-international post-graduate.

She has also Post-graduate Open Work Permit till 2021. My open work permit (as dependent of international Student) going to be expired on March 2020.

She is working part-time (retail).

we going to apply our PR for provincial nominees class (PNC) paper base in this week.

Since providing the AOR takes long time, I was wondering if we need to wait till receiving the AOR and then apply for my open work permit, or even better if I can apply now for my OWP base on her nomination and her open work permit.

Please give me your opinion. Any advice can be helpful.

Thank you all.

Me too in the same boat. Did you apply?

 

[vandhanapuanirudh]

following

 

[Jassibrarr]

Hello guys! Sorry for hijacking your post.

I have a quick question and will appreciate if you could help

My situation is as follows
- NBPNP Nominee with work permit support letter (outside canada)
- applied for paper based PR for myself and for dependents.
Applied for closed work permit
-NOC C
Question: can my wife apply for open work permit to travel with me?

What was the outcome.did u applied??

 

[Jassibrarr]

Me too in the same boat. Did you apply?

What was t outcome .did u applied??

 

[sfh29]

What was t outcome .did u applied??

Yes applied without AOR
Got approval

 

[Jassibrarr]

Yes applied without AOR
Got approval

Hi i got mpnp approval but i dnt have any noc job like O,A,B .i am on pgwp. I applied for pr few days ago what u suggest i can apply my husband s open work permit based on my pnp approval

 

[sfh29]

Hi i got mpnp approval but i dnt have any noc job like O,A,B .i am on pgwp. I applied for pr few days ago what u suggest i can apply my husband s open work permit based on my pnp approval

Its a risk. We did it as we didn't had any option.
Attached a letter explaining our situation.
Luckily application was approved.