Canada government has tightened the noose by altering its open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of international students and foreign workers. Effective January 21, 2025, only spouses of certain international students and foreign workers will be able to apply for a family OWP.

Canada has further tightened the noose by altering its open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of international students and foreign workers. Effective January 21, 2025, only spouses of certain international students and foreign workers will be able to apply for a family OWP

Canada Tightens OWP Rules: The Canada government has further tightened the noose by altering its open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of international students and foreign workers. Effective January 21, 2025, only spouses of certain international students and foreign workers will be able to apply for a family OWP, a move that will impact a large chunk of nearly 400,000 Indian students currently in Canada with study permits.A Canadian OWP authorises a foreigner to work in Canada in any job without restrictions. The holder of an OWP does not need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or confirmation of employment first. Once issued an OWP, the holder can apply and work in any job/occupation in Canada.

What are the new family OWPs for international students in Canada?

From January 21, 2025, family OWPs will be limited to spouses of international students enrolled in:

Master’s programs that are 16 months or longer
Doctoral programs, or
Select professional and eligible programs

In scenarios where students may need more time to complete their program or where family members received a shorter work permit than the principal applicant, family members (including spouses and dependent children) who are already in Canada can apply to renew their work permit as long as:

• They are applying under the same criteria as the current work permit, and

• The requested duration of the renewal matches that of the existing study or work permit of the principal applicant.

Family OWPs for foreign workers: Family OWPs will also be limited to spouses of foreign workers who are employed in:

• TEER (Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibility) 0 or 1 occupations, or

• Select TEER 2 or 3 occupations in sectors with labour shortages or linked to government priorities. These include occupations in the natural and applied sciences, construction, health care, natural resources, education, sports and military sectors.

In addition, the foreign worker must have at least 16 months remaining on their work permit when their spouse applies for the OWP. Dependent children of foreign workers will no longer be eligible.According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), all applications received before January 21, 2025, will be processed under the previous eligibility criteria. If the OWP was already approved and hasn’t expired, it stays valid.

Spouses of workers covered by free-trade agreements and those transitioning to permanent residence will not be impacted by these changes. Family members who will no longer qualify for a family OWP can apply for any type of work permit they are eligible for under Canada’s work permit programs.

Also Read | Canada was dream destination for Indian students. Something has changed.

New penalties for paid immigration representatives:

In a communique issued on January 17, 2025, IRCC has also introduced new rules to penalise paid representatives (authorised and unauthorised) who break the law when representing applicants and advising them on immigration or citizenship applications.

This includes fines of up to a maximum of $1.5 million for advising clients to misrepresent themselves. No definite date has yet been set for implementing these new rules.

Curbs announced in 2024:

In early 2024, IRCC announced a planned decrease in the number of temporary residents— from 6.5% of Canada’s total population down to 5% by 2026. Reforms were also announced for the International Student Program — tightening eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers, enforcing employer compliance more strictly, and making labour market impact assessments more rigorous to mitigate fraud, and more.

Also Read | Canada to set a cap on international students amid housing crisis, fix ’out of control’ system

IRCC’s announcements included:

• A further reduction in the intake cap on international student study permits for 2025 based on a 10% reduction from the 2024 target of 485,000 new study permits issued. For 2025, the number of study permits has been reduced to 437,000

• Updating the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program

• Limiting work permit eligibility to spouses of master’s degree students to only those whose program is at least 16 months in duration

• Limiting work permit eligibility to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations or sectors with labour shortages under Canada’s work permit programs (Temporary Foreign Workers Program [TFWP] and International Mobility Program [IMP]).

Canada Open Work Permit: What is it and how does it work for Indians?

Canada Open Work Permit: Effective January 21, Canada has introduced stricter eligibility criteria for family Open Work Permits (OWPs), limiting them to spouses of specific foreign workers and international students.

What is a Canada Open Work Permit?

A Canada Open Work Permit (OWP) is a type of work visa that allows foreign nationals to work for any employer in Canada without needing a specific job offer.

Unlike employer-specific work permits, OWPs are not tied to a single employer, allowing holders to change jobs or locations freely.

What do the new rules of Canada Open Work Permit say?

Under the new rules:

-Only the spouses of international students enrolled in master’s programmes lasting 16 months or more, doctoral programmes, or select professional and qualifying programmes will qualify for family OWPs.

UK govt proposes immigration fee hike – Will Indian job seekers be impacted?

A photo of a British flag.

The government of the United Kingdom (UK) has announced proposals to hike certain immigration fees, including the cost to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS), among others. This move could affect Indians aspiring to work in the UK.

The cost of a Certificate of Sponsorship is a fee that employers pay for sponsoring foreign nationals under the Skilled Worker Route.

According to the proposals, this fee is expected to more than double from £239 to £525.

The proposals are now awaiting approval by the UK Parliament, among other legal processes that will have to take place before the proposals come into effect.

In the proposals, no definitive date has been mentioned by which the fee hike will be implemented.

“The proposed fee hikes, which also include increased costs for naturalisation and electronic travel authorisations, are yet to receive parliamentary approval,” the UK government said in a statement.

India to set up new health tech assessment centres to help policymakers use resources optimally

Health technology refers to diagnostics, devices, drugs including their formulations and delivery systems, vaccines, procedures, novel therapeutics, and health programmes and systems. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: The Union government plans to set up additional resource centres across India to evaluate the science, finance, social and ethical issues of new health technologies such as medicines and devices and disseminate evidence of their suitability and cost-effectiveness to help policymakers frame decisions for the healthcare sector.

These new Health Technology Assessment Resource (HTAR) centres will also conduct training sessions, workshops and online courses for those working in state and central government health programmes.

The plan by the Department of Health Research (DHR) under the ministry of health and family welfare assumes significance given the changing nature of health technologies and associated concerns. The department intends to establish the new resource centres across India in FY26.

“The resource centres will be responsible for undertaking HTA studies, capacity building activities like workshops, training programmes and online courses,” the DHR said in a notice inviting expressions of interest from interested institutes. “These centres will also be conducting HTA sensitisation workshops for state/central government health programmes and facilitate adoption of HTA recommendations by state/central government programmes.”

Medical education regulator looks to tighten rules to hire faculty

The National Medical Commission’s (NMC) draft Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations (TEQ) 2024 suggest speciality-wise academic qualifications for faculty, minimum experience and the maximum age till which teachers can be granted extensions.

Appointments and promotion of faculty in various teaching specialities imparting graduate and postgraduate medical education at institutions falling within the purview of the NMC has to be in accordance with the minimum qualifications and experience prescribed to maintain a standard of teaching, said the draft, issued by B Srinivas, secretary, NMC.

Experts view the proposed regulations as a positive and necessary step for improving medical education, and enhancing the quality of medical teaching, especially in private medical colleges, where there has historically been significant variation in standards.

Experts view the proposed regulations as a positive and necessary step for improving medical education.

Thailand’s big move to tackle Pakistanis on forged e-visas: Rules tightened, applicants to be blacklisted if…

Thailand's big move to tackle Pakistanis on forged e-visas: Rules tightened, applicants to be blacklisted if...

Thailand has announced stringent measures against Pakistanis travelling on forged documents.

The Thai consulate in Pakistan has instructed applicants for e-visas to submit original documents, including genuine airline tickets and hotel bookings, stated a report by ARY News.

Any applicants or travel agents found submitting forged documents would be blacklisted, and strict measures will be implemented against violators, added the report, citing the Thai consulate’s latest statement.

The stringent measures against travellers from Pakistan comes after an incident in October 2024. Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) apprehended two individuals at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport for attempting to travel abroad with counterfeit visas, reported The Nation.

2 Pakistani individuals apprehended

Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) immigration team arrested two passengers including a woman, identified as Nazar Abbas and Umme Salma, who were found to have fake visas affixed to their passports.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/canada-to-launch-new-open-work-permit-rule-tomorrow-how-it-will-impact-indian-students-11737355002787.html

Canada’s new Open Work Permit comes into force: How it will impact Indian students

Canada government has tightened the noose by altering its open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of international students and foreign workers. Effective January 21, 2025, only spouses of certain international students and foreign workers will be able to apply for a family OWP.

What are the new family OWPs for international students in Canada?

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