If you’re a work permit holder who is currently in Canada and your immediate family members are trapped outside of Canada due to the COVID 19 travel restrictions imposed by the government, your immediate family members may be able to join you here in Canada.
The Canadian government, in an attempt to protect the health and safety of Canadians, has implemented strict travel restrictions on almost all persons, with the exception of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. All other persons, with few exceptions, are restricted in their ability to travel to Canada at the moment. This applies to persons who have valid temporary resident visas and valid electronic Travel Authorization.
Immediate family members
One of the exempted groups is immediate family members of work permit holders currently in Canada. This only applies where the immediate family members are eligible to accompany the work permit holder in Canada. Generally speaking, immediate family members means your spouse and on your dependent children.
Where the immediate family member of a work permit holder wants to travel to Canada, they must first get a written authorization from a Canadian immigration representative at the consular office in the country in which they are located. Their reason for wanting travel to Canada must be deemed to be “essential.” By virtue of you wanting to join your work permit holder spouse in Canada, that in and of itself qualifies as an essential purpose.
If you were wanting to come as a tourist for instance, you would not be issued this authorization and therefore not be able to travel to Canada. The other important thing is that you will need to advise the airline representatives that you have received an exemption and you are therefore able to travel to Canada. You will then need to present them with this authorization letter.
Health Test
Another critical thing to bear note is that the airline representatives will be administering a health test, to identify any symptoms of the Corona virus. Should they identify any symptoms, you would not be able to travel to Canada at the current moment. If no symptoms are evident, then you may be allowed to fly to Canada.
14 Day Quarantine
When you arrive in Canada, you will be subjected to a 14 day quarantine. And again, the purpose of this is to ensure that the safety and health of Canadians is protected. The critical thing to note is that if you are currently in Canada on a work permit and your immediate family members are trapped outside Canada, they may be able to join you in Canada despite all of the travel restrictions that are currently in place due to the Corona virus.
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