The Government of Canada offers two alternatives for those who are not permanent residents in Canada and want to travel and live for a while in the country with their partner and children.

The first but more difficult option is through a job offer. If one member of the couple finds a job type NOC 0, A, or B, in a Canadian company, they can obtain a work visa. Thus, the other member of the couple can apply for the Open Work Permit visa, which allows them to stay in the country for the duration of their partner’s employment contract.

But getting this type of job is not easy. To do this, you will need to have a professional degree, experience, and in most cases, secure the job before traveling to Canada. In case of getting it, you could only work for the company that hired you. However, the member of the couple traveling to Canada with the Open Work Permit could work for any company.

That’s why we recommend another much simpler and easier way to travel to Canada with your partner and children: through a Master’s or PhD program at a public college or university.

Keep reading to learn more or fill out our contact form to receive personalized and free advice from a Dingoos Guide.

Canada has one of the best education systems in the world, but it also offers many facilities for the relatives of those who decide to study there, as long as it is with a higher education program, that is, a Master’s or PhD program at the university or a public college.

This way, if you decide to enroll in a course of this category, you can travel to Canada through these higher education programs, and your partner can apply for the Open Work Permit and stay with you for a while in the country of the maple leaf. In addition, if you have dependent children, they can also accompany you.

And you may wonder… What is the Open Work Permit?

It is a visa that allows your partner to temporarily live in Canada while your study program lasts, and it also allows them to work full-time wherever they prefer. This last point is very helpful, especially because the cost of living in Canada is high, and an additional salary at home always helps when sharing expenses.

IMPORTANT!

For a member of the couple to be able to apply for the Open Work Permit, it is mandatory that the other member of the couple is enrolled in a higher education program, that is, it would not be enough to enroll in a language course or vocational training.

As mentioned earlier, to access the family visa in Canada, you will have to be enrolled in a higher education program offered by a public college or university. This program will allow you to work for 20 hours during the academic period and up to 40 hours during vacations.

On the other hand, your partner will have access to the Open Work Permit and therefore will be able to work 40 hours a week in whatever job they want and with the freedom to change jobs as many times as they want.

And finally, if you have children, they can enjoy one of the best educational systems in the world for free from ages 5 to 18.

If you want to travel to Canada with your partner and children, in addition to all the requirements that we have mentioned that are necessary to travel to the country through a higher education program, you will have to add a series of requirements to travel to Canada as a family (partner and children). These are:

• Demonstrate that you are married or, on the contrary, that you have lived together for at least one year. To do this, you can present documents of the rental or purchase of the place where you have lived or show samples of bank statements if you have a joint account.
• Demonstrate financial solvency by both parties, both the student ($10,000 CAN annually) and their partner and children ($4,000 CAN annually).
• If you have previous work experience, you will have more opportunities to obtain residency.
• Having higher education in your country of origin will also give you points when applying for residency.
• Have an updated passport and make sure it does not expire during the months you will be in Canada.
• In the case of wanting to travel with your children, you will need to show their birth certificate.
• Family medical insurance.
• Motivational letter. The spouse must justify in English the reason and plans for why they want to travel with their partner and children to Canada.

We can think of thousands of advantages that make moving to Canada with the whole family a great idea. For now, here are some of them, we invite you to discover the rest on your own.

• Linguistic immersion in two languages ​​for everyone, especially for the little ones.
• Moving is not easy, but it is if you have your loved ones nearby. So whenever you miss someone, you will have them with you, and if you miss someone else, Dingoos will be your new family.
• The cost of living in Canada is high, but wages are also high, so it will be good for you to have two incomes at home.
• Studying in Canada will boost your resume and that of your family, since, as we mentioned before, the country of maple syrup has one of the best educational systems in the world.
• Also, if you have children between 5 and 18 years old, they can attend school completely free of charge.
• When you finish your studies, you can apply for the Post Graduation Work Permit, the permit that will allow you to work for the same time you have been studying in the country.

Now that we have told you about all the benefits of having a family visa in Canada and that you already know all the requirements to obtain it, we will tell you step by step what you have to do to get yours.

At Dingoos, we are expert travelers and have been exploring different destinations for years to give you the best advice when it comes to obtaining your visas.

That’s why we’re going to give you some tips to help you get the Open Work Permit for your partner.

To do this, we recommend that the person who will study travel to the country first, so not only can they settle in and get used to the place, but it will also facilitate the arrival of their partner or family. Since if you all travel together to Canada, the immigration officer evaluating your application will have more reason to believe that you intend to stay in the country, thus increasing the chances of your application being rejected.

In this way, the member who travels later will have to present the passport of their partner already residing in Canada, as well as their study or work permits.

Finally, the children! In the case of traveling with them, it is ideal for them to first apply for a tourist visa and accompany it, with the accompanying documentation proving that they have a family member living in Canada.

If your child is over 18 but under 22, they will be considered a dependent child, as long as they are not married or in a common-law partnership.

If you are studying a higher program and have a Study Permit, your child will have no problem getting an Open Work Permit visa. However, the cost of the process will be about $150 CAD.

Unlike the rest of the country, in Quebec, the requirements of some private universities or colleges require a different financial solvency than those we have mentioned earlier. In this case, $11,000 CAD annually is required as evidence of the student’s solvency, $5,100 CAD annually from their partner, and if the child is under 18 years old, they will need to have at least $3,800 CAD per year.

In addition to these different solvency amounts, in Quebec, you will also be required to present the “Certificat d’acceptation du Québec” (CAQ).

And finally, they may need and ask you also to process your family visa biometric data.

Just as the color of your skin or hair is not relevant when making your application for both the Study Permit and the Open Work Permit, in Canada, there is absolutely no difference between an application for LGBT community members or not.

Canada is one of the most open countries in the world, so you will not be discriminated against at any time regardless of who you love or who you are.