Operational Bulletin 337-A – February 15, 2013

Changes to the Pilot Program for Spouses/Common-law Partners and Working-Age Dependent Children of Select Temporary Foreign Workers Destined to British Columbia  

Summary

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides information concerning the British Columbia (BC) Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) pilot project. It provides details on the changes that came into effect from February 15, 2013.

Purpose

The purpose of this OB is to provide details on the British Columbia (BC) Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) pilot project. This project is under the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) annex of the Canada-British Columbia Immigration Agreement. This agreement provides various mechanisms to the province of British Columbia (BC).

The province of British Columbia (BC) can use these mechanisms to facilitate the entry of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs). These Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) would enable the province of British Columbia (BC) to meet its:

• Labour market objectives and,
• Economic priorities

Background

The authorities launched a pilot project. This pilot project was under Article 7.1 of the TFW Annex to the Canada-British Columbia Immigration Agreement. This agreement facilitated the issuance of open Work Permits (WPs) to people related to most Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) employed in British Columbia (BC) including:

• Spouses
• Common-law partners and,
• Working age dependents (18 – 22 years of age)

The authorities launched this pilot project on August 15, 2011. The changes to this pilot project would come into force on February 15, 2013.

The Changes in the British Columbia Pilot Project

According to the changes in the British Columbia pilot project, the authorities would no longer accept initial work permit applications for:

• Spouses of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)
• Common-law partners of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)  and,
• Working age dependent children  of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) (18 – 22 years of age)

The authorities would not accept initial work permits for the above-mentioned individuals if they were working in occupations that require a lower level of formal training such as:

• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level C and,
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level D

This change would come into effect after February 15, 2013.

The Transitional Accommodations

The authorities would process applications received up to and including February 15, 2013 for:

• Spouses of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)
• Common-law partners of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs)  and,
• Working age dependent children  of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) (18 – 22 years of age)

However, they would only accept initial work permits for the above-mentioned individuals if they were working in occupations that require a lower level of formal training such as:

• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level C and,
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level D

Situations could arise where the above-mentioned individuals might apply for a work permit extension, if the authorities provided an extension to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) family member’s (principal applicant’s) work permit. However, this would only happen if the spouses, common-law partners and working age dependent children:

• Already had an open work permit under the original pilot project or,
• Had submitted their application under the pilot prior to February 15, 2013

This provision would be available until February 14, 2014.

However, this pilot project would continue accepting work permit applications for:

• Working age dependent children  of Skilled Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) (18 – 22 years of age)
• Skilled Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) would be working in occupations classified as:
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level 0
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level A or,
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level B

The deadline for applications for the British Columbia pilot project is February 14, 2014. Thereafter, the authorities would conduct a review of this pilot project.

Note:

• Provisions for spouses or common-law partners of skilled Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) is not a part of this pilot
• This is because this group has the authority to apply for Labour Market Opinion (LMO)-exempt open work permits
• They can apply for these work permits under the “Public Policy Relating to the Competitiveness of Canada’s Economy” (specified under C41, R205 (c) (ii)

The Pilot Parameters Post February 15, 2013

The Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this pilot project, applicants would need to meet the following criteria.

• The principal applicant must be currently employed in occupations classified as:
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level 0
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level A or,
• National Occupational Classification (NOC) Level B
• The applicant would need to be a dependent child of a principal applicant
• The principal Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) (the initial work permit holder) would need to have an employer-specific work permit (WP), which is valid for at least six months for an employer located in British Columbia (BC)
• Dependent  children would need to:
• Be of 18 – 22 years of age at the time of application and,
• Be eligible to work in British Columbia (BC)
• This is in accordance with the provisions stipulated in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, Division 1, Interpretation
• Dependents of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in British Columbia (BC) are currently not eligible for open work permits (WPs) under this pilot
• This would be applicable in cases where the principal applicant has a work permit (WP) issued under the International Experience Canada Program

The Open Work Permit (WP) Issuance or Extensions

• The authorities could issue a non job-specific open or an open or restricted work permit (WP) to the eligible applicant accompanying a Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) principal applicant, as mentioned above
• However, officers would only do this once they receive a work permit (WP) application without requiring an LMO from Service Canada
• Officers could issue restricted visas based on medical examination requirements, if applicable
• Officers must not issue an applicant’s work permit (WP) before they issue a work permit (WP) to the principal applicant
• An applicant could apply for an open work permit (WP) at the same time as the principal applicant or subsequently (at a mission, port of entry or inland)
• Officers could request applicants for proof that the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) principal applicant continues to be in good standing with the employer
• Such proof could include items like:
• A letter from the employer or,
• A recent pay stub
• Officers could request for this evidence in case the applicant applies at a significantly later date after the issuance of the Temporary Foreign Worker’s (TFW’s) work permit (WP)
• The applicant would also need to meet all the other admissibility requirements before officers issue them a work permit (WP) under this pilot
• Officers would need to perform the necessary verifications as per existing procedures
• This would ensure that officers are satisfied that the relationship is bona fide
• Officers would need to ensure that any work permits (WPs) issued under this pilot are valid for the duration of the same period as the work permit (WP) of the principal Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW)
• Situations could emerge where officers need to extend the principal applicant’s work permit (WP)
• In this situation, officers could extend the work permit (WP) of the dependent in a similar way, upon receiving the application for extension
• However, officers would need to ensure that any work permits (WPs) extended under this pilot are valid for the duration of the same period as the work permit (WP) of the principal Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW)
• Thus, they would need to ensure that they do not extend the work permit (WP) of the dependent beyond the duration of the principal applicant’s work permit (WP)
• Officers would need to take the extension decision during the operating period of this pilot project

System Instructions

• Officers would need to enter the LMO exemption code as T13
• Special Program Code
• Officers would need to use the NEW Special Program Code “WDP” for Working Age Dependents of provincial Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) in the:
• Field Operations Support Systems (FOSS) or,
• Global Case Management System (GCMS) AND,
• Dependent’s initial work permit and,
• Dependent’s work permit extensions for this pilot
• By coding the relevant work permits with the Special Program Code of “WDP”, officers would be able to support an effective evaluation of the pilot – in accordance with the stipulated guidelines
• Officers would need to enter details of the principal applicant related to the dependent in the remarks section for cross reference purposes
• The details they would enter include the:
• Work permit number of the principal applicant directly related to the applicant in the format:
• “Dependent – X-Ref – (WP#) U9012345678”
• Officers would need to ensure that the applicant’s work permit carries the following details that:

• Where an employer has locations in more than one province, the employment should be with the British Columbia (BC) office of that employer

• The Province field specifies the province of British Columbia (BC) only and,
• The printed Conditions specify that this work permit is only valid for work performed in the province of British Columbia (BC)

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)