Insuring the dependants of a work permit holder

A work permit holder’s spouse and children are insured on their own immigration status, and that status changed on 21 January 2025. Only spouses of workers in TEER 0 or 1 occupations, or in selected TEER 2 or 3 occupations, now get a family open work permit, and the worker needs at least 16 months left on their permit; dependent children no longer qualify, per Littler’s summary of IRCC’s announcement. Each province then tests each family member separately. The steps below sort out who is covered by what.

Before you start

Gather, for each family member: passport, current permit or visitor record with its expiry, and the relationship proof (marriage certificate, long-form birth certificate). For the worker: the permit, the job offer or employer letter showing the occupation’s NOC code and TEER level, and the permit expiry. Time needed: an hour to map statuses, then the provincial application and a private quote the same week.

Steps

1. Identify the worker’s TEER level from the NOC code on the job offer. All TEER 0 and 1 occupations support a spousal open work permit; TEER 2 and 3 only if on IRCC’s eligible list, which Gowling WLG describes as sectors with labour shortages or government priorities. Business, finance, administration, sales, service and manufacturing TEER 2 and 3 jobs are excluded.
2. Check the worker’s permit has at least 16 months remaining at the time the spouse applies. IRCC’s eligibility page sets the general conditions; the 16-month threshold is from the January 2025 rules.
3. Decide each child’s document. A minor coming to Canada with a permit-holding parent needs a study permit, per IRCC’s minor children page; a minor already in Canada with such a parent does not, though IRCC recommends one. Children over 18 apply for their own study or work permit or come as visitors.
4. Map each family member against the destination province’s rule using the table below.
5. Buy a private visitors-to-Canada plan before the flight for every family member who fails the provincial test or faces a wait. GMS and TuGo waive the illness waiting period only for policies bought before arrival; see the work permit page for the carrier table.
6. Apply to the provincial plan for everyone who qualifies, in the first week, with each person’s own documents.
7. Diarize each dependant’s permit or visitor record expiry. Provincial coverage tied to a document ends with it, and a spouse’s visitor record often expires before the worker’s permit.

How each province treats dependants

Two patterns recur. A spouse who no longer qualifies for an open work permit and comes on a visitor record is often outside the provincial plan entirely, not just waiting for it. And a child over the provincial age limit, or over 18 without their own permit, is a visitor.

Who needs private cover, and for how long?

Pregnancy is the clause to read. BC’s MSP page warns that “most private insurance companies do not cover pre-existing conditions, including pregnancy.” TuGo’s policy includes a maternity benefit to a stated limit; GMS does not cover pregnancy-related care. Apply for the provincial plan the day she lands.

If something goes wrong

The province refuses the spouse: ask which document failed. Ontario needs the worker’s full-time, six-month Ontario job shown on the permit or an employer letter; Manitoba needs the spouse’s own status valid six months. Fix the document or extend the status, and hold private cover meanwhile. A child’s study permit is refused: the child can usually enter as a visitor with the parent and attend school in some provinces without a permit, but check the province’s education rules and insure the child privately until status is settled. The worker’s permit is extended but the spouse’s record is not: the spouse’s provincial coverage can end at the old expiry date; apply to extend the record before it expires so maintained status applies.

SuperVisaDirect is operated by Super Visa Direct Insurance Services, an independent Ontario life and accident-and-sickness insurance agency licensed by FSRA (licence [FSRA-LICENCE]), serving Ontario residents. Get a quote listing each family member’s status and expiry date. Student families should read dependants of students.