Does a spouse visa allow you to work in Canada?

Just applying for a spousal sponsorship does not automatically allow your spouse to work in Canada.

Whether the sponsored partner can work depends on the type of application and their status in Canada. Spousal sponsorship can be inland or outland, and understanding this difference helps answer the common question, “can spouse work in Canada while spousal sponsorship application is being processed?”

1. Inland spousal sponsorship

With inland sponsorship, the sponsored spouse is already inside Canada, often on a visitor record, a Canada student visa, or another work visa. Inland applicants may apply for an Open Work Permit. This work permit lets them work for any employer while waiting for their permanent residence to be processed. 

To qualify for the inland spousal open work permit, the sponsored spouse must:

• Being physically in Canada
• Maintaining valid temporary status
• Submitting a complete sponsorship + PR application (or already submitted one)
• No inadmissibility issues
• Spouse-sponsor must be a Canadian PR or citizen living in Canada

The spouse can only start working after IRCC approves their work permit. If you’d like to know what the typical waiting time for this approval is, check our FAQ on the processing time for a sponsored spouse’s work permit.

Before approval, they must continue to hold valid temporary status in Canada, such as visitor, student, or worker status. If that status expires while waiting, they can stay in Canada under maintained status, but they still cannot work until the new work permit is officially issued.

1. Outland spousal sponsorship

With outland sponsorship, the sponsored person is usually outside Canada. This stream does not include a work visa during processing, and the spouse can work only after becoming a permanent resident. The exception is when an outland applicant is physically inside Canada at the moment with valid temporary status such as a spouse visitor visa, study permit; in that case, they may also qualify for the same work permit used in inland applications. 

So if you were wondering “can i work on a spouse visa in Canada,” the short answer is that you can only work after becoming a permanent resident, unless you are applying through inland sponsorship and receive an approved Spousal Open Work Permit during processing.

If you need help with spouse sponsorship Canada, you can book a consultation with our Licensed immigration consultants. You can also check our Immigration Consultant Fees.