In most cases, your spouse or common-law partner must apply for a work permit for a specific job. The employer may have to get a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. An LMO allows a particular employer to hire someone for a specific job.
However, your spouse or common-law partner may be able to apply for an "open" work permit—allowing him or her to accept any job with any employer—if you meet one of these conditions:
- You are
- allowed to work in Canada for at least six months,
- doing work in Canada that meets a minimum skill level (usually work that requires at least a college diploma) and
- doing a job listed in Skill Level 0, A or B in the National Occupational Classification, or
- You are
- allowed to work in Canada and
- doing work in Canada that is on a list of eligible occupations in participating provinces.