Whether it is a common-law sponsorship application or a spousal sponsorship application, if the principal applicant is inside Canada, it is a good idea to apply for the accompanying open work permit.
The first and obvious benefit is that the principal applicant is allowed to work until the PR application is processed. In Canada spousal applications usually take about a year or more to process. However, if we submit the PR application along with the work permit application, the work permit comes after 4 months. Although 4 months is still not ideal, it is better than waiting a whole year before being able to work.
Another benefit is that if you have a work permit, you are eligible for health insurance just like local Canadians. Such insurance can be expensive for foreign individuals. However with a work permit, you may get premium health insurance from your provincial authority.
A work permit also gives you a status in Canada until the spousal sponsorship application is approved. Whether you are a student, worker, or visitor, as soon as you apply for this open work permit along with your sponsorship application, you will go on “implied status”. Explaining what implied status is requires its own article but for now it basically means that you have a valid status in Canada until the work permit comes. This way you don’t have to worry about your status until the application comes.
The only reason you might not want apply for one is if you already have an open work permit and it is valid for at least 1 year.
Based on the reasons above, and accounting for the fact that the government fee for it is only $255 CAD, we suggest that you almost always apply for one when applying for an in-canada common-law or spousal sponsorship application.
For more information call us at +1-778-682-4924, or messages us through our contact page.