Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP)
The bridging open work permit (BOWP) is a way to keep a worker in Canada working while his or her application for permanent residence is being processed.
If your existing work permit is due to expire (within four months) and you applied for an in-Canada immigration visa under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class (FST), Canadian Experience Class (CEC) or one of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), you may be eligible to apply for a BOWP.
If you are approved, the BOWP will allow you to work in Canada until a decision is made on your permanent residence application.
To Be Eligible for Bridging Work Permit
To be eligible, you must be a foreign individual lawfully residing in Canada who has filed, or will shortly file, an application for permanent residence under one of these programs may continue to work until a decision is made on his or her application for permanent residency.
This is beneficial for the federal government, Canadian communities, organizations, and job seekers alike since otherwise applicants and their dependents (spouse and children) would have to leave Canada temporarily, remain on visitor status in Canada or find a company that was willing to go through the procedure of applying for an LMIA.
The Invest in Bridging Open Work Permit, which allows its holder to work for any firm in Canada, is preferable since it gives applicants more flexibility to mix and manage the Canadian job market after they’ve already been found qualified for permanent residency.
To be eligible for a bridging open work permit, the following parameters must be met:
- The foreign national is currently in Canada
- He or she has valid status on a work permit that is due to expire within four months
- He or she is the principal applicant on an application for permanent residence under the FSWP, the CEC, the PNP, or the FSTP
- He or she received a positive eligibility assessment on his or her application, and He or she has made an application for an open work permit.
Bridging Open Work Permit and Express Entry
When an applicant for a federal economic immigration program that is managed through the Express Entry system submits an electronic application for permanent residence, he or she receives an Acknowledgment of Receipt letter. Following the completion of the e-APR, this letter was automatically generated in the MyCIC account (e-APR).
Applicants who are eligible to apply for a BOWP may submit their applications in response to the Acknowledgment of Receipt letter as soon as they receive it, rather than waiting for the IRCC’s second Acknowledgment of Receipt notice (which will not be sent until after all initial medical examinations have been completed).
Bridging Open Work Permit Processing Time
However, until the completeness check is completed at the Immigration Canada office, an application for a BOWP will not be processed. BOWP applications received before the completion checks will be kept pending processing until they are ready to proceed. If an e-APR is discovered to be insufficient, the applicant will no longer be eligible to apply for a BOWP.
Bridging Open Work Permit Conditions
The conditions of the BOWP are similar to those of a standard open work permit. The main difference is that the holder of a BOWP must maintain his or her status as a temporary resident in Canada, which means that he or she must:
- The holder of a valid BOWP may work in any occupation, for any employer in Canada (with some exceptions), and does not require an LMIA.
- Bridging Open Work Permit holders are also eligible to apply for Social Insurance Number (SIN).
- Intend to leave Canada when the BOWP expires
- Have a valid temporary resident status (for example, a valid study permit or work permit) at the time of applying for the BOWP, unless they are eligible to restore their status
- Not have been determined to be inadmissible to Canada
- Meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations
- Meet the eligibility requirements of the program under which they applied for permanent residence
- Not have had a previous application for permanent residence refused
If you are approved, the BOWP will allow you to work in Canada until a decision is made on your permanent residence application. There are conditions that you must meet, which include maintaining your temporary resident status, and not being inadmissible to Canada. You will also need to have a valid study or work permit when you apply for the BOWP. If your application for permanent residence is refused, your BOWP will no longer be valid.
Spouse or Common-law Partner and Dependents
Certain conditions are required to be met by the holder of a bridging open work permit in order for his or her spouse to also be eligible for an open work permit:
- In all cases, the bridging work permit must be valid for longer than six months.
- For spouses of FSW applicants, the bridging work permit holder must be performing work that is at a level that falls within National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Levels 0, A, or B.
- For spouses of PNP applicants, the spouse is eligible for an open work permit for the duration of the work permit held by the principal PNP applicant, irrespective of the skill level of the principal PNP applicant’s occupation.
- For spouses of FST applicants, the bridging work permit holder must be performing work that is within one of the qualifying occupations in NOC Skill Level B.
- There are no set preconditions for spouses of CEC applicants to be met by the principal CEC applicant.
Dependent children of an applicant in any of these economic classes must obtain an LMIA or have an LMIA exemption based on their specific situation in order to apply for a work permit.
Provincial Nominee Program and Provincial Nominee Programs
When issuing a bridging open work permit to an applicant for permanent residence under a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the employment location on the work permit is restricted to the nominating province. Therefore, the province of destination must be selected and then the city of destination value should be selected to show the province/territory.
The city of destination field should not be used to identify the city in which the applicant will actually work. Only those applicants who have been nominated by a Canadian province or territory and who meet all other requirements are eligible for this option.
When issuing a bridging open work permit to an applicant for permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), the employment location on the work permit is restricted to the province of destination. Therefore, the province of destination must be selected and then the city of destination value should be selected to show the province/territory.
FSW, FST, CEC
There are no restrictions to employment location for a bridging open work permit issued to applicants for the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class or Canadian Experience Class.
Open work permit
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19:28 16 Sep 23
vikas bhaji is a very good person. he helps others .🌹👍
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00:17 29 Aug 23
Vikas sir has provided the right guidance and with all support and patience thank you for the support
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23:59 17 Aug 23
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05:53 19 Jul 23
Total visa immigration is one of the best immigration consultants in Surrey.Service are good Even after one uk refusals, Mr.Vikas sir helped me to get my work permit. I m so happy to get my work permit with in one month.
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05:51 19 Jul 23
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20:30 22 Jun 23
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18:21 21 Jun 23
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18:17 21 Jun 23
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03:46 21 Jun 23
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02:04 31 May 23
I Would highly recommend Total Visa Immigration Services if you need a professional and fast service.Whenever you have a query, Mr Vikas will get back to you as fast as he can and gives you a detailed explanation and will be precise to the point. It is worth every penny to choose this advisor. I finally got my husband’s Open Work Visa and heartily thanks to Mr Vikas who was fast and professional in processing my application. So if you are looking for an immigration advisor for processing your visa application choose this.
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16:47 25 May 23
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23:49 09 May 23
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19:52 27 Apr 23
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03:28 22 Apr 23
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03:28 22 Apr 23
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21:36 21 Apr 23
Thanks for helping me with my Spousal Sponsorship Application.
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18:50 19 Apr 23
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23:23 18 Apr 23
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22:09 18 Apr 23
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01:29 18 Apr 23
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03:29 17 Apr 23
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13:02 08 Apr 23
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04:11 04 Apr 23
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04:37 26 Mar 23
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15:05 25 Mar 23
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05:39 25 Mar 23
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05:07 25 Mar 23
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15:45 24 Mar 23
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05:31 24 Mar 23
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02:25 14 Mar 23
I am a current client and I have already recommended this company to others! The staff members are very efficient and thorough. The main reason I chose this company is that when I called Vikas before I even started the immigration process, he gave me his time and never asked for any money. I was touched. He truly wants to help you! Thanks for my parents visa.
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03:44 29 Jan 23
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14:25 09 Jan 23
We have applied open work permit of canada through Mr Vikas and he submitted all the required documents very perfectly.we received the spouse work visa within 5weeks.we are thankfully of Mr Vikas for the same. Also recommend to choose Mr vikas for Applying the Spous visa or work permit who ever is required. Thanks Mr vikas
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20:01 03 Jan 23
This was great experience with Total Visa Immigration. I received my spouse visa in 1 month& 8 days. Mr.Vikas is very experienced person. And give proper guidance to their clients.
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00:46 15 Dec 22
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21:48 12 Dec 22
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14:35 09 Dec 22
I am super happy and you proved it once again Vikas✌🏻.I would recommend Total Visa Immigration to everyone.3 years ago,I applied for my husband’s visa from them and his visa got approved within one week.Thanks Vikas for putting ur soul to this case of my daughters.Finally they gonna be here in Canada with us.You did it Vikas👍🏻Excellent job.
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17:24 30 Nov 22
Awesome work done by total visa immigration….a lots of thanks to Vikas sir…he is superb in his work…i will recommend to everyone dis total visa immigration…u guys can trust them ……
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18:00 01 Nov 22
Very nice and good service…very humble and cooperative team ….lucky to have such visa consult ….thank yu so much for your service
Sandeep Garg
17:26 31 Oct 22
They helped me with flag poling. Very positive experience. Thank you Vikas
Milly Sharma
17:27 25 Sep 22
Hi, I come to know about this consultation service from my frien. He got his spouse visa in COVID break which is tuff task as everything was running slow and I had very good experience with this. I got my spouse open work permit visa in 1 month 6 days.Thank you for your support Vikas Sir.
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12:27 25 Sep 22
I had an amazing experience with Total Visa Immigration ServicesThis is the Best place for study and permanent visa immigration.A Special Thanks to Mr.Vikas and his team provide me best infomration
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19:18 02 Sep 22
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05:05 30 Aug 22
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06:40 25 Aug 22
I highly recommend Total Visa immigration because they consult you in right direction at very reasonable cost. Also, Vikas Randev is very helpful consultant and answered all our questions.
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00:12 25 Aug 22
Thank youTotal Visa Immigration for your excellent service. Thank you to Mr.Vikas sir who are so helpful and loyal about their service. They always answered all our questions and concern at all hours without getting annoyed 😊. They are really a blessing to us, that’s why I highly recommend Total Visa Immmigration to my friends and family who is looking for a great migration agent because of them i achieve my visa..
ashmita pandey
16:31 22 Aug 22
Thanks to vikesh and his team, my PR application got approved so fast!!!They have the best consultants and I would love to recommend them to anyone who needs an immigration consultant without a second doubt!It was a great decision to go with them for such an important application.
Vanita Sapre
17:39 18 Aug 22
Vikas and his team were very professional & provided enough information to take care of our immigration enquiries. I will highly recommend him to family and friends.
Mandeep choudhary
01:13 17 Aug 22
I do not write reviews but I made it a point to write this one. Because after checking about 30 plus immigration consultants, Total visa immigration services is the most affordable and cheapest consultant in town, with no compromise on services. Extremely satisfied with the professionalism, expertise, efficiency, speed and thoroughness at which my file was managed.
oshan korathota
03:42 12 Aug 22
Mr Vikash at Total immigration is truly genuine immigration consultant whom did my visitor visa conversion to work permit by one day… His valuable ideas and experience helped me get passed my application within half an hour time.. thank you sir… He was behind me all the time when I came from Edmonton to Vancouver to get this done ..like to recomen him for anyone for immigration purposes..
yatiyana arachchige sanjeewa
01:23 12 Aug 22
Silent Service. Keep it up
Paresh Ahir
07:03 08 Aug 22
Superb experience!! I would like to thank Total Visa Immigration Services, especially to Vikas Randev Ji to work out my very difficult and complex case from work permit to a happy ending of getting PR. All of us three family member are now Canadian PR holders. I am very grateful for all the hard work he did on my extremely difficult file. Well to be honest, I loved the human side of Vikas JI that he helped me out. There is no word that we can express how much satisfied we are with their services and how high we rate them heartily. Calling him from India on odd/even time, he has always answered my calls and my messages respectively without bothering Canada time, in Night or weekend. I strongly & gratefully recommend Total Visa immigration Services to all because they are not only helpful & professional but also their work is very detailed and they give their everything for client`s success. Just give them time and have patience, rest is their job to take care your case. Once again we thank Vikas Ji & we are blessed from God that our case was dealt by them. Else, we know we won`t be PR achiever. Thank you Sir Ji, See you soon in Canada. -:) -:)
KAMALJIT NAR
19:29 04 Aug 22
Best choice for immigration purpose, it was an absolute pleasant experience.
Harry Grewal
23:02 02 Aug 22
Best experience 😊 , i got my parents visa with in 15 days , Thanks ,vikas is such a nice agent ,
Mehak Sharma
18:39 29 Jun 22
Provide Excellent Service
Punita Sharma
19:42 16 Jun 22
I wish I can give more than 5 stars to Mr. Vikas Sharma and his team. He works patiently and perfectly. We got his assistance from our work permit to Permanent Resident. And further bringing our son from India. And again getting Super Visa of my in laws approved in very short period of time. I highly recommend Total Visa Immigration for any type of Guidance and help.He always listens queries patiently and have answers and solutions to every question.I thank you for your due diligence. Wish you all the best for your bright future.
Sherpartap Dhillon
23:20 07 Jun 22
excellent service, very friendly and helpful staff.
Nri Jatt
23:18 07 Jun 22
I processed my PR application via VikasHe is a honest person and has great experience with IRCC. So i would suggest everyone to contact him for immigration purposes.
Gursewak Singh
23:16 07 Jun 22
I processed my PR application through Vikas and he has excellent experience about his profession and can help you with your immigration processes .
Vinay Sharma
20:12 07 Jun 22
I GOT My BC Pnp Approval Within 30 Days….Wonderful experience with Total Visa Immigration.I recommend him to all my Family and Friends….God Bless Him. ….
Baljot “Bal” Bhachu
19:42 01 Jun 22
Good experience with total visa immigration
Aakash Chaudhary
17:58 20 May 22
Best consultant! Highly recommended, He helped me figure out my Canada visa issue and got me approved in only 3 weeks.
Amrit Brar
00:58 20 May 22
I am very Thankful for your services.Regards Amritpal Brar
Gurkirat sidhu
13:27 10 May 22
Really helped with my immigration process, good service
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