Canada expands access to work permits for spouses of Quebec healthcare workers

Spouses and common-law partners of certain foreign-trained healthcare workers in Quebec have expanded access to open work permits, effective May 25, 2026.

Under the updated instructions, eligible spouses no longer need the principal worker's work permit to be valid for at least 16 months—a recent stipulation Canada’s immigration department added to spousal open work permit (SOWP) eligibility at the start of 2025.

Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation

The exemption applies only to spouses of foreign-trained healthcare professionals in Quebec who work in one of three occupations and who were admitted into a specific Quebec recognition or recruitment project.

Per standard spousal open work permit rules for foreign workers, the principal foreign worker must still be authorized to work at the time that their spouse/ partner applies for their open work permit.

This information was published on May 29, 2026 by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as an update to its program delivery instructions.

Who qualifies for the exemption?

To qualify, the principal foreign national must work in one of the following occupations as described by Canada's National Occupation Classification (NOC) system:

• Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (NOC 31301);
• Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists, and cardiopulmonary technologists (NOC 32103); or
• Medical laboratory technologists (NOC 32120).

The principal worker must also have been admitted into one of three Quebec projects that recruit and recognize the credentials of foreign-trained healthcare professionals:

• Projet de reconnaissance des compétences d'infirmières et d'infirmiers recrutés à l'international;
• Projet de reconnaissance des compétences d'inhalothérapeutes formés à l'étranger; or
• Projet de recrutement et reconnaissance des compétences de technologistes médicaux formés à l'étranger.

These projects are run jointly by Quebec's Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI), Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), and Ministry of Higher Education (MES).

How to apply

Eligible spouses apply through the standard C41 spousal open work permit application. No separate or special application is required.

However, applicants must take two additional steps to access the exemption.

First, applicants must enter the code "CONJOINTSANTQC" in both the job title box and the brief description of duties box on their application form. Without this code, IRCC may process the application under the standard rules, which include the 16-month requirement.

Second, applicants must provide the principal worker's Quebec selection letter. This letter must be signed by all three Quebec ministries — MIFI, MSSS, and MES — and must confirm the principal worker's admission into one of the three eligible projects.

All other standard C41 eligibility requirements still apply.

Standard rules for spouses of foreign workers

IRCC introduced new restrictions for spousal open work permits on January 21, 2025. Under these rules, the principal foreign national must be authorized to work in Canada for at least 16 months after the date IRCC receives the spouse's open work permit application.

That 16-month requirement still applies to all other spouses/partners of foreign workers applying for an SOWP.

Current standard rules also require that SOWPs are limited to spouses of foreign nationals who work in high-skilled occupations at TEER 0 or 1, or in select occupations at TEER 2 or 3, under IRCC's International Mobility Program (IMP).

Other measures for workers in Quebec

The May 25 exemption is the latest in a series of federal measures that support Quebec's efforts to retain foreign-trained healthcare workers.

In March 2026, the federal government announced a temporary measure to help skilled workers in Quebec stay employed while the province reviews their eligibility for a Quebec Selection Certificate.

Under that measure, eligible workers can get an employer-specific work permit for up to 12 more months under the IMP. The measure is available only to workers who received an invitation from Quebec to submit a Demande de Sélection Permanente (DSP).

Recent changes to spousal open work permit access

The broader context for this exemption is IRCC's tightening of spousal open work permit access that began in early 2025.

Before January 21, 2025, spouses of most foreign workers in high-skilled occupations could qualify for an open work permit without a minimum validity requirement on the principal worker's permit.

The January 2025 changes introduced the 16-month rule and narrowed the list of eligible occupations to TEER 0 and 1, plus a select list of TEER 2 and 3 occupations. These changes reduced the number of foreign workers whose spouses could access open work permits in Canada.

The Quebec healthcare exemption does not reverse that broader shift. It creates a limited carve-out for a specific group of workers in a province facing acute healthcare staffing needs.

Schedule a Free Work Permit Consultation