Comprehensive reference for international students at UBC.
Work permits for spouses and partners
Accompanying spouses or common-law partners of study permit holders can apply for work permits that last as long as the study permits of their student partners, if the student is studying full-time at the time of application.
Most partners come as visitors and apply for a work permit by mail once they are in Canada.
US citizen partners and spouses can apply at the border crossing or consulate before coming to Canada. No job offer is required to apply. The application fee is $150.
Applying for a spouse/partner work permit in Canada
The permit will be issued for the length of the study permit of the student partner or spouse and can be extended with the study permit or work permit of the student (online).
When you extend your study permit using the online application system MyCIC, you can apply to extend the documents of all of your dependants at the same time, including work permits for partners and spouses. There will be a fee for each document requested.
If your partner or spouse will be applying for a work permit, but you are not applying for a document, the spouse or partner will use the paper application form, and should include the following with their application:
- a copy of the student’s work or study permit
- a copy of the partner/spouse’s permit
- a letter of enrolment with the application
- a copy of the official UBC transcript
- proof of funds
- a copy of your marriage certificate or declaration of common-law union
Note: If spouses or partners who have work permits choose to apply for study permits later, their work permits will remain valid but they may not be allowed to extend them.
TIP
You may download the I. House tutorials for general instructions (388 KB PDF), or step-by-step instructions on completing an Online MyCIC Application (2.72 MB PDF) or a Paper Application (536 KB PDF) for a spouse work permit.
