The officers would need to ensure that the duration of the work permit is equivalent to the duration of the offer of employment. In some cases, the offer of employment might be for a ‘permanent duration’. In this scenario, they would need to issue the work permit for a maximum of two years. In addition, they would need to deal with any obvious potential medical, criminal or security concerns prior to issuing the work permit.
For the officers to issue the work permit, it is not necessary that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) should have received the foreign national’s application for permanent residence. This is applicable unless the nomination has expired. If the applicant has an expired nomination, the officers would need to secure a copy of the acknowledgement letter confirming that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) received a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) permanent residence application. The applicants would need to attach this with their applications. In addition, the officers would need to verify the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) application in the Global Case Management System (GCMS). This would enable them to ensure that:
- The province has not withdrawn the nomination and,
- The file contains no adverse information
Officers would need to issue open work permits to spouses or common-law partners of work permit holders with nominations for permanent residence from a province. These work permits must be valid for the duration of the work permit of the provincial nominee principal applicant. This is regardless of the skill level of the principal applicant’s occupation.
Some provinces might not have nominee agreements e.g. Quebec and Nunavut. In this scenario, the officers would need to apply the legislative authority for the exemption as specified in paragraph 205 (a).
Source: Citizenship and Immigration