Newspunjab
21 May,2026
Big news has come out for those using spouse visas to go to Canada. The Canadian government has tightened the rules related to spouse visas and spouse open work permits (SOWP). Now it will be mandatory to pass the language test (IELTS) for spouse visas. Also, only spouses of highly skilled, master’s or PhD students will be considered eligible for open work permits. According to Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller, this decision has been taken to ban contract marriages, increase language proficiency and better integrate immigrants into Canadian society and the job market. This new rule will have the greatest impact on the youth of Punjab who tried to go to Canada through spouse visas despite their weak English.
