Applications for the spouse

Work permit

If you have been hired for a skilled job (employment skill level corresponding to 0, A or B under the National Occupational Classification), your spouse can also submit an application for a work permit to the Canadian visa office that serves the country of his or her nationality or the country where  he or she lives and was legally admitted. If your spouse meets the conditions of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, a work permit may be issued. This work permit exempts you from obtaining a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) assessment and a Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ).

If you have been hired for a low-skilled job (employment skill level corresponding to C or D under the National Occupational Classification), your spouse can submit an application for a work permit to come work in Québec. However, unless your spouse can prove to the CIC the existence of another exemption from the LMO, he or she must follow standard procedure for the processing of applications. Your spouse must therefore find an employer who is ready to hire him or her. The employer must then obtain a positive or neutral LMO issued by Service Canada and the MICC. If necessary, your spouse must then obtain a CAQ and a work permit.

For more information on the steps to follow for the spouse of a low-skilled temporary foreign worker, consult the section Obtaining authorizations to work temporarily in Québec.

	USEFUL INFORMATION
	If you are a resident of the United States, Greenland or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and you are submitting an application for a work permit at a Canadian point of entry, your spouse may also submit an application at the point of entry or once you have arrived.

Part-time courses

If your spouse is planning to take part-time courses, he or she can submit an Application for a Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) for studies to the Service de l'accueil et de l'encaissement as well as an application for a study permit at the Canadian Visa Office.

To learn more Application for a Québec Acceptance Certificate for Temporary Work Application for a Québec Acceptance Certificate for Studies French language (Learning French in Québec)

Useful links

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada:
  • Application for a Work Permit
  • Application for a Study Permit
  • Canadian Visa Office
  • National Occupational Classification