Information for family members

A child under the age of 18 is considered to be a minor child in Manitoba. If your children are school aged and will be coming with you to Canada to study at the pre-school, primary or secondary school levels, then they should apply for a study permit before coming to Canada. You can add your dependent children’s study permit application to your initial study permit application and apply as a family group. Minor children applying from outside of Canada for a study permit don’t need to include a Letter of Acceptance with their application.

If your children are not school aged, then you can apply for a visitor visa or electronic travel authorization (eTA), if required, with your initial study permit application to allow them to enter Canada as visitors. At the port of entry to Canada, you should be requesting that a visitor record be issued for your school aged children.

If your school aged children are already in Canada, then they may study without a study permit as long as one parent is authorized to work or study in Canada. In this case, your school aged children must have valid visitor status during their stay in Canada to study at the pre-school, primary or secondary school levels.

Further information about studying in Canada as a minor is available on the Government of Canada’s Studying as a Minor page

TIP:Typically, your children’s status (either a study permit or a visitor record) should be valid for the same length of time as your study permit.

Effective January 21, 2025, IRCC updated the eligibility requirements for a spouse or common-law partner of an international student to obtain an open work permit under this category. To be eligible for an open work permit, the dependent spouse or common-law partner must be in a genuine relationship with a principal foreign national, in this case an international student. In addition, the international student must:

• Hold a valid study permit or be provisionally approved for a study permit (if applying as a family group outside of Canada)
• Be studying on a full-time basis or have proof of enrolment in full-time courses in one of the following programs:
  • studying in a master’s degree program of 16 months or longer
  • studying in a doctoral degree program
  • participating in an eligible program, or
  • studying in one of the following professional degree programs at a university:
    • Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD)
    • Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
    • Doctor of Medicine (MD)
    • Doctor of Optometry (OD)
    • Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
    • Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
    • Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN)
    • Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc)
    • Bachelor of Nursing (BN)
    • Bachelor of Education (BEd)
    • Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc)
• Be physically residing or plan to physically reside in Canada while studying

Spouses or common-law partners of international students studying in any undergraduate level program that’s not listed above, or that are studying in any diploma or certificate programs at the UM, are not eligible for an open work permit under this category. 

There are options for when and where a spouse or common-law partner of an international student can apply for an open work permit under this category, which include:

• Applying from outside of Canada when you apply for your initial study permit. This in scenario, you would be applying together as a family group in one application.
• Applying from outside of Canada after your initial study permit application has been approved. In this case, your spouse or common-law partner would be submitting their own separate application and would typically be coming to Canada after you have started your program.
• Applying from inside of Canada if your spouse or common-law partner enters Canada as a visitor and meets the requirements in R199 to apply for a work permit from inside Canada. In this scenario, your spouse or common-law partner would be submitting their own separate application and must have valid temporary resident status in Canada at the time of application.

Details about the eligibility for spouses and common-law partners of international students to apply for an open work permit can be found online.

TIPS:
Most of the time, your spouse or common-law partner’s open work permit will be valid for the same length of time as your study permit.

Your spouse or common-law partner does not need a job offer to apply for an open work permit under this category.

Your spouse or common-law partner can continue to use their work permit until the expiry date indicated on the permit, even if you complete your studies earlier than expected or take time away from your studies. Please see our information about understanding your enrollment status and taking time away from your studies before making any decisions to take time away from your studies so you understand all of the impacts from an immigration perspective.

If your spouse or common-law partner already has an open work permit and they are inside of Canada, you can apply to extend both your study permit and their open work permit in the same application if the following criteria are being met.

Effective January 21, 2025, only spouses and common-law partners of certain PGWP holders will be able to apply for an open work permit. Dependent children of foreign workers will no longer be eligible to apply for an open work permit. A detailed overview of the requirements for a spouse or common-law partner of a PGWP applicant/holder to be eligible to apply for an open work permit can be found on the Government of Canada’s Open Work Permit Eligibility for Spouses and Common-Law Partners page.

When you’re applying for your PGWP, you can add your spouse or common-law partner’s application for an open work permit to your own application if you (the principal applicant) meet the following criteria at the time of application:

• You have a valid PGWP, or your PGWP application has been approved;
• Your PGWP is valid for a period of 16 months or longer after the receipt date of your spouse or common law partner’s open work permit application;
• You have a job or job offer in one of the following occupations:
  • Any high-skilled occupations in TEER 0 or 1;
  • Select high-skilled occupations in TEER 2 or 3. You can verify which TEER 2 or 3 occupations would qualify by visiting the Government of Canada’s Eligible Occupations for Open Work Permits page;
• Be physically residing or plan to physically reside in in Canada while employed; and
• Be in a genuine relationship with the applicant as a spouse or common-law partner.

In addition, your spouse or common-law partner must have valid temporary resident status in Canada and be eligible to apply for a work permit from inside of Canada under R199 at the time of application.

If you can’t demonstrate that all of the above eligibility criteria are being met at the time you are submitting your PGWP application (for example, you don’t have a job or job offer that meets the criteria), then you can’t add your spouse of common-law partner’s application for an open work permit when you’re submitting your own PGWP application.

If your common-law partner or spouse has an open work permit that was issued under the previous rules (before January 21, 2025), it will remain valid until the expiry date marked on the permit. If they are in Canada, it can be extended if it was issued for a shorter duration than your PGWP validity period (for example, if their passport was expiring) and they are applying under the same criteria as their current work permit. More information about this extension process can be found on the Government of Canada’s Work Permit Extension for Family Members page (Note: you must answer 3 questions according to your personal situation before you can get the instructions).

TIPS:
Most of the time, your spouse or common-law partner’s open work permit will be valid for the same length of time as your PGWP.

Your spouse or common-law partner does not need a job offer to apply for an open work permit under this category. Only you, the principal applicant, would need a job or job offer that meets the criteria at the time of application.