Coming to Canada on a study permit? Your spouse may be eligible for PR before you are
A couple may be able to get Canadian permanent residence (PR) years sooner—by having one spouse work while the other studies.
If a foreign national comes to Canada on a study permit and enrolls in a qualifying study program, their spouse could begin working on a spousal open work permit (SOWP).
By the time the studying spouse has graduated, the non-studying spouse could be a much more competitive candidate for PR through Express Entry.
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In the case of a four-year program, in fact, the non-studying spouse may very well be in a position to receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for PR before the studying spouse has even graduated.
In the case of a two-year master’s program, of course, the non-studying spouse getting an ITA pre-graduation would be less likely—but in this case, the graduating spouse can get a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), and the non-studying spouse another spousal OWP. This provides the couple with work authorization in Canada for an additional three years, during which they may receive an invitation, and brings them about two years closer to getting PR than had the non-studying spouse remained abroad.
Let’s look at a fictional example of this in action.
Bilan and Maranja
Bilan and his wife Maranja live in Belarus, and wish to immigrate to Canada.
Bilan applies for and is issued a study permit for a two-year master’s program at a Canadian university.
Miranja accompanies her husband to Canada on an SOWP, which she’s issued for the duration of Bilan’s study program. She gets a job working as an industrial designer (NOC 22211) for a Canadian employer.
While Bilan is studying, Maranja is building eligibility for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) pathway to PR, which requires a year of Canadian work experience, in addition to gaining points for Canadian work experience under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)—the scoring model for permanent residence candidates under Express Entry.
After gaining a year's worth of Canadian work experience, Marajna takes an official immigration language exam, receives an Educational Credential assessment (ECA) for her foreign degree, and then creates a profile in the Express Entry pool, listing Bilan as her accompanying spouse—all while he is still studying.
After Bilan graduates, he gets a three-year PGWP and begins working as a software developer (NOC 21232).
Maranja then applies for a new SOWP (now as the spouse of a foreign worker) before her existing SOWP expires; she benefits from maintained status, and she’s able to continue working while her application is being processed.
Maranja’s application is successful, and she receives an SOWP, issued through to the same expiry date as Bilan’s three-year PGWP.
After Maranja has accrued her third year of Canadian work experience (raising her CRS score), she receives an ITA through a CEC draw. She submits her application for PR, including Bilan as an accompanying spouse, only one year after Bilan has graduated—far sooner than it would have taken Bilan to qualify for an ITA himself.
At this point, Bilan and Maranja still have two years left of work authorization—so they’re likely to receive PR before their status expires, given that Express Entry applications are typically processed within six months.
But if that were not the case—for example, if Maranja had had a lower CRS and it had taken another 20 months to receive the ITA—then after receiving her AOR, Maranja could apply for a bridging open work permit (BOWP), which can be issued for up to two years, to provide her work authorization while her PR application is being processed. Bilan could then apply for an SOWP on the basis of Maranja’s BOWP.
While it only took Maranja three years of in-Canada work to qualify for a CEC ITA, the maximum validity period of her work authorization could have extended much longer. As we can see from the above scenario, Bilan’s pursuit of a two-year master’s program could provide Maranja with a total of five years of Canadian work authorization (across two different SOWPs), which could further be extended to a total of seven years using a BOWP.
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CRS score breakdown for both candidates
Let’s examine the CRS scores of both candidates to illustrate why Maranja’s CRS score, having started working on an SOWP while Bilan was still studying, made her
- Eligible for PR before Bilan; and
- A better principal applicant.
At age 28, Miranja has a two-year diploma and a four-year bachelor’s degree, along with three years of Canadian work experience and one year of foreign work experience. She excels in English, with a score of 11 under the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB).
| Factors determining CRS score | Qualifications | Points accrued |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 28 years of age | 100 |
| Education | 2 educational credentials | 119 |
| Language proficiency | CLB 11 | 128 |
| Canadian work experience | 3 years | 56 |
| Spouse: Education | Master’s degree | 10 |
| Spouse: Language | CLB 7 | 12 |
| Spouse: Canadian work experience | 1 year | 5 |
| Skill transferability: Education (language + post-secondary degree) | CLB 11 + 2 educational credentials | 50 |
| Skill transferability: Education (Canadian work experience + post-secondary degree) | 3 years Canadian experience + 2 educational credentials | 50 |
| Total score | 530 | |
As of the time of writing, Maranja’s CRS score of 530 would have made the cut to receive an ITA for PR in the last four CEC draws, which saw cut-off scores ranging from 509–520.
At age 33, Bilan has a four-year bachelor’s degree and a two-year master’s degree, along with one year of Canadian work experience and six years of foreign work experience. He has high intermediate English, testing at a CLB 7.
| Factors determining CRS score | Qualifications | Points accrued |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 33 years of age | 80 |
| Education | Master’s degree | 126 |
| Language proficiency | CLB 7 | 64 |
| Canadian work experience | 1 year | 35 |
| Spouse: Education | 2 educational credentials | 9 |
| Spouse: Language | CLB 11 | 20 |
| Spouse: Canadian work experience | 3 years | 8 |
| Skill transferability: Education (language + Education) | CLB 7 + master’s degree | 25 |
| Skill transferability: Education (Canadian work experience + post-secondary degree) | 1 year Canadian experience + master’s degree | 25 |
| Skill transferability: Foreign work experience (language + foreign work experience) | 3+ years foreign experience + CLB 7 | 25 |
| Skill transferability: Foreign work experience (Canadian + foreign work experience) | 3+ years foreign experience + 1 year Canadian | 25 |
| Additional factors: Post secondary education in Canada | Master’s degree | 30 |
| Total score | 472 | |
As of the time of writing, Bilan’s CRS score of 472 falls quite short of recent CEC cut-off scores. He is 37 points short of even meeting the lowest threshold, seen on January 21, 2026 (509).
Because Maranja began gaining Canadian work experience on an SOWP while Bilan was still studying, she not only became eligible for the CEC far before him but also was able to gain more Canadian work experience points (56:35).
SOWP-eligible study programs
For the spouse of an international student to be eligible for an SOWP, the studying spouse must be enrolled in a qualifying study program, which includes the following:
- Doctoral degree program;
- Master’s degree program of 16 months or longer; or
- An eligible professional program:
- Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD).
- Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL).
- Doctor of Medicine (MD).
- Doctor of Optometry (OD).
- Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm).
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM).
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN).
- Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc).
- Bachelor of Nursing (BN).
- Bachelor of Education (BEd).
- Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc).
IRCC has also designated the following programs as eligible:
Additional eligible programs
- Supervised Practice Experience Partnership – Ontario
- Nurse Re-Entry (Red River College Polytechnic) – Manitoba
- Internationally Educated Midwives Bridging Program (The University of British Columbia) – British Columbia
- Canadian Pharmacy Practice Program (CP3) (The University of British Columbia)
- Post-Degree Diploma: Nursing Practice in Canada (Langara College) – British Columbia
- Le projet de reconnaissance des compétences d’infirmières et d’infirmiers recrutés à l’international – Quebec
- Projet de reconnaissance des compétences d’inhalothérapeutes formés à l’étranger – Quebec
- Projet de recrutement et reconnaissance des compétences de technologistes médicaux formés à l’étranger – Quebec
- Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot (FMCSP) – Outside Quebec
You can visit our article featuring additional details and expanded eligibility criteria here.
Considerations
1) Spouses of foreign workers can get an SOWP only if they fall under select scenarios and meet certain conditions (e.g., work permit validity).
Looking specifically at Bilan and Maranja’s case: When Bilan obtains his PGWP, he needs to get a job that falls under TEER 0 or 1, or an in-demand TEER 2 or 3 occupation, in order for Maranja to be eligible for an SOWP.
2) After graduation: If the non-studying spouse cannot obtain an SOWP on account of the international graduate not gaining employment in a qualifying occupation, they may pursue other options for work authorization, such as obtaining a closed work permit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
3) The spouse who plans to study should check that their study program is PGWP-eligible before applying for a study permit if they wish to get one after graduating—this includes length requirements, full-time status requirements, proof of language skills, and field of study requirements (if applicable).
Of note is that those who graduate from a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree program are not required to meet field of study requirements.
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