A70 Open Work Permit: Working While Your Inland PR Application Processes

As of August 11, 2026. Based on the restructured officer instructions Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada published on August 10, 2026.

If your permanent residence application is in progress inside Canada, there is a specific open work permit that becomes available once IRCC decides you are eligible for your PR class. It runs under section 207 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations with the administrative code A70, it is exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment, and it is unrestricted: no named employer, no occupation limit, no location condition.

IRCC rebuilt its officer instructions for this permit on August 10, 2026, splitting one dense page into an overview and four class-specific pages. Nothing about eligibility changed, but the restructure is a good moment to explain a permit that confuses almost everyone who encounters it, mostly because it is neither the spousal open work permit nor a regular employer permit.

What is the A70 open work permit?

Short answer: An unrestricted open work permit for people in Canada who have been determined eligible as members of certain in-Canada permanent residence classes. Four groups qualify under section R207: spouses and common-law partners in the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada (SCLPC) class, protected persons including Convention refugees and successful Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) applicants, people approved for humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) consideration, and the in-Canada family members of all of the above.

The word doing the work is "determined eligible." This permit is not triggered by filing a PR application; it is triggered by IRCC's first-stage decision on it. For spousal applicants that decision is approval in principle, the milestone where an officer confirms the relationship qualifies before the final admissibility checks.

One legal quirk worth knowing: under section R202, protected persons and H&C applicants who receive this permit do not become temporary residents merely by holding it. The permit authorizes work; it does not by itself confer status.

How is A70 different from the spousal open work permit?

Short answer: Timing and trigger. The spousal open work permit (SOWP) is available to inland spousal applicants early, while the sponsorship application is still being assessed. The A70 permit becomes available later, at approval in principle, and it is the mechanism that keeps you working from that milestone through to landing. Many spousal applicants hold a SOWP first and transition to, or renew into, the A70 stage without ever knowing the codes differ.

For the other classes there is no earlier equivalent: a successful PRRA applicant or an H&C-approved applicant reaches work authorization through A70, not through any spousal-style early permit.

If you are a spousal applicant deciding what to apply for today, our spousal open work permit guide covers the early-stage permit; this article covers what happens after the first-stage approval.

What must spousal applicants show?

Short answer: Three things at the time the work permit is decided: you are the spouse or common-law partner of your sponsor and live with them in Canada; your SCLPC application has been approved in principle; and you hold valid temporary resident status, are on maintained status, or are eligible for restoration. The application must be filed online through the IRCC Secure Account or the Authorized Paid Representative Portal, with paper reserved for the narrow accessibility exceptions in the regulations.

The status requirement carries an important safety valve. Under the public policy that facilitates the SCLPC class, the requirement to hold valid status can be waived, which is what allows out-of-status spouses inside Canada to remain in the inland process and still reach work authorization. If you are out of status, that waiver is the difference between this pathway and having no pathway, and it is worth professional eyes before you file anything.

Who qualifies under the other three classes?

Short answer: Protected persons under R207(c), meaning people with protected status under subsection A95(2) such as Convention refugees and successful PRRA applicants. H&C-approved applicants under R207(d), whether the exemption was granted on your request under A25(1), on the Minister's initiative under A25.1(1), or under a public policy under A25.2(1). And under R207(e), the in-Canada family members of anyone in the classes above, which is how a whole household reaches work authorization once the principal applicant clears eligibility.

The family-member provision is the least known of the four. A spouse or dependant of a protected person or H&C applicant, physically in Canada, can hold their own unrestricted open work permit while the family's PR application completes processing.

What changed on August 10?

Short answer: Structure, not substance. IRCC replaced the single instruction page, previously titled "Applicants in Canada: Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemption code A70," with an overview page and four class-specific pages, one each for the spousal class, protected persons, H&C applicants, and in-Canada family members. The department describes the change as extensive updates for navigation and clarity, using its standardized format, with updated language and links.

Restructures like this matter for one practical reason: officers now work from cleaner, class-specific checklists, which tends to make assessments more consistent. They also tell you where IRCC's attention is. This is the second major instruction rebuild in two months touching inland applicants, after the July updates to the humanitarian and compassionate pages.

When should you apply, and what can go wrong?

Short answer: Apply once you have the approval-in-principle or eligibility letter, not before. An A70 application filed ahead of the first-stage decision fails its core requirement. The common failure modes are applying too early, letting status lapse without being eligible for restoration in a class where the waiver does not apply, and assuming the permit itself grants status when, for protected persons and H&C applicants, it does not.

Timing the application well means watching your PR file for the eligibility decision. That letter is the trigger, and processing your work permit starts from when you apply, not from when you became eligible.

Go Far Global is a licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) firm in Toronto, and inland PR files with work authorization questions are core casework for us. If you are unsure whether your file has reached the trigger point, or your status has lapsed while waiting, book a consultation. For where your PR application sits in the queue, see our processing times pages.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is LMIA exemption code A70?

A70 is the International Mobility Program administrative code for open work permits issued under section R207 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to in-Canada permanent residence applicants who have been determined eligible in their class. It covers spouses and partners in the SCLPC class after approval in principle, protected persons including successful PRRA applicants, people granted humanitarian and compassionate relief, and their in-Canada family members. The permit is exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment and is unrestricted, meaning no employer, occupation, or location conditions. IRCC reorganized its officer instructions for A70 into class-specific pages on August 10, 2026.

Can I work while waiting for my inland PR application?

It depends on the stage and the class. Inland spousal applicants can seek a spousal open work permit while the application is still in first-stage processing, then move to the A70 permit at approval in principle. Protected persons, successful PRRA applicants, and H&C-approved applicants reach work authorization through A70 once determined eligible, and their in-Canada family members qualify alongside them. Before the trigger point, work authorization depends on whatever permit you already hold. The A70 permit then carries you from the eligibility decision to landing, and it is renewable through that window.

Does an open work permit under R207 give me status in Canada?

Not by itself, for two of the four classes. Section R202 states that applicants issued a work permit under R207(c), protected persons, or R207(d), H&C applicants, do not become temporary residents by reason only of the permit. The permit authorizes work while the PR application completes. Spousal-class applicants are differently placed, since their eligibility requires holding valid status, being on maintained status, or being eligible for restoration, with the status requirement waivable under the SCLPC public policy for out-of-status spouses. If your status situation is complicated, get advice before filing rather than after a refusal.

How do I apply for the A70 work permit?

Online, through your IRCC Secure Account or through the Authorized Paid Representative Portal if a licensed representative files for you. Paper applications are limited to the accessibility exceptions in sections R9.4 and R9.5, and applications cannot be made at a port of entry. Apply after your PR file has been determined eligible, since the officer decides the work permit against your class criteria at the time of decision. Spousal applicants should be living with their sponsor in Canada and hold, or be able to restore, temporary status unless the public policy waiver applies to them.

Sources

• Permanent resident (PR) applicants in Canada [R207, A70], IRCC program delivery instructions
• Spouse or common-law partner class (SCLPC) [R207(b), A70], IRCC program delivery instructions
• Program delivery update, August 10, 2026, IRCC
• Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, section 207, Justice Laws Website
• Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, section 202, Justice Laws Website