The short answer
IEC is individual. Your permit doesn’t give your partner or children status in Canada automatically. Each partner needs their own route: their own IEC or another permit. Family members of some foreign workers may be able to apply for an open work permit, only after you’re approved as an IEC participant (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec/eligibility/family-members.html).
We advise on immigration status and strategy, not job placement. We don’t sell jobs, job offers or LMIAs, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Official requirements (Government of Canada)
Source: Government of Canada (IRCC). Official Government of Canada, Provincial and/or Territorial Requirements change; each item is dated and linked when verified.
- Family members can’t come with you under IEC; each can apply to work, visit or study on their own, assessed separately
- A spouse or common-law partner may be eligible for an open work permit in some situations. Under the high-skilled route (when the principal is not on an eligible economic permanent-residence pathway), eligibility depends on the principal’s occupation level and on the principal’s work permit remaining valid for at least 16 months after IRCC receives the spouse’s application; IRCC’s apply page names IEC open-permit holders when it describes the proof of occupation needed (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/eligibility.html) (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/exemption-codes/public-policy-competitiveness-economy/spouses-common-law-authorized-work-high-skilled-occupations.html) (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/apply.html). A separate economic-PR route may apply if the principal has applied for permanent residence through an eligible economic program or pilot: the principal must hold a valid work permit (or approval) that was issued or approved because of that permanent residence application, and that permit must remain valid in Canada for at least 6 months after IRCC receives the family member’s open work permit application. Applying for permanent residence alone is not enough (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/eligibility.html)
- Under the high-skilled / non-eligible-PR pathway branch, dependent children are no longer eligible for an open work permit under this measure as of January 21, 2025 (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/eligibility.html); they can apply to work, visit or study on their own. Eligible economic-PR branches may still include dependent children as family members for an open work permit, subject to IRCC’s Official Government of Canada, Provincial and/or Territorial Requirements (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/special-instructions/spouses-dependent-children/eligibility.html). This does not mean every IEC family qualifies (as of October 14, 2026, IRCC: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec/eligibility/family-members.html)
- A common-law partner is someone who has lived with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Someone in a conjugal relationship with you for at least one year who can’t live with you because of persecution or penal control is also treated as a common-law partner (IRPR, s. 1: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/page-1.html)
What this means for your strategy
Practitioner analysis, signed by both RCICs: Sean G. McKinsley and Kimberly J. White. Not an Official Government of Canada, Provincial and/or Territorial Requirement. Couples often have different ages, histories or offers. Usually the plan should be built around the partner with the stronger long-term profile, not just whoever gets an invitation first. Common-law timing can matter for both temporary and permanent options. If one of you is already in Canada, sequence the other’s application carefully.
Composite example
A composite drawn from common situations, not a real client.
A couple, one 29 with a past Working Holiday and one 34 with none. We’d compare who should go first, what status the other partner could hold, and whose profile leads on PR.
Related questions
One of us is 36. What if only one gets invited? We’re not married.
Read next: British IEC eligibility · Working Holiday · Young Professionals · IEC to permanent residence · UK hub
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Who you’ll speak with
Two RCICs, co-counsel.
- Sean G. McKinsley, RCIC, CICC R529731 — Founder, Canada Immigration and Visa Services; Co-Counsel with Kimberly J. White. Sean is a dual British and Canadian citizen. Profile
- Kimberly J. White, RCIC, CICC R712483 — Founder, Kimberly White Immigration Consultants; Co-Counsel with Sean G. McKinsley. Profile
Both are listed as active RCICs, entitled to practise, on the CICC public register (as of October 14, 2026, CICC public register: register.college-ic.ca) (as of October 14, 2026, CICC public register: register.college-ic.ca).
Next step
A consultation is a 30-minute video call, CAD $250 plus applicable GST; the video call is included, with no separate fee. Government fees and any later professional services are not included in the consultation fee. Booking is free: you pick a time, read the Initial Consultation Agreement and add your details, then review and accept. Sean G. McKinsley, RCIC, our senior practitioner, conducts your first video consultation. The fee is earned only after your RCIC has performed substantive review of the information you provide when booking (and any documents we later request through our secure client process), issue identification, program analysis and preparation for your video call; opening a file alone doesn’t earn it. We invoice completed services, and payment must be made online through Stripe before your video call. We email you the video link before your call. Please don’t send documents through the website; after you accept the agreement, we request your documents and questionnaire through our secure client process and review them before your call.
Book a consultation · Questions first? Email info@civs.ca, message Sean directly on WhatsApp at +1-587-891-6778, or use the contact page. Fees: flat-fee services.
— Official Government of Canada, Provincial and/or Territorial Requirements are summarized from Government of Canada sources and dated where they change. Practitioner analysis is our view, not an Official Government of Canada, Provincial and/or Territorial Requirement, and isn’t advice for your situation until we’ve reviewed it. We don’t sell, find or arrange jobs, and we can’t guarantee an invitation, a permit, entry to Canada, employment or permanent residence.
What clients said
Reviews from the Canada Immigration and Visa Services Google listing (opens in a new tab).
As a British national, I worked with Sean, Kimberly, and their team on my permanent residence application. They were professional, responsive, and clear throughout the process, and their guidance helped make everything much easier. I would highly recommend them to others from the UK or anywhere looking to move to Canada.
Reviews reflect individual experiences; results depend on each case and are not guaranteed.