FAQ Work Permit

Yes, if you applied for a work permit extension before your work permit expired, you can keep working until a decision is made on your application. You must stay in Canada and meet the conditions of your original work permit. For instance, if you have an employer-specific work permit, you must still work for the employer named on that permit. IRCC does not provide confirmation that you have implied status in Canada. However, you should keep proof that you submitted the application before your work permit expired. This includes copies of the application, the fee receipt, and something that confirms the date it was sent and delivered.

You can leave Canada and come back. However, one of three things will happen when you return to Canada. You may be allowed to come back to Canada as a visitor, if Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not yet decided to extend your work permit. If this is the case, you cannot work until you get your work permit extension. The officer at the port of entry may ask you to prove you have enough money to support yourself in Canada. You may be allowed to come back to Canada as a worker, if the officer at the port of entry finds out that IRCC extended your work permit while you were away. You may be asked to apply for a new work permit at the port of entry. You must also meet all other applicable entry requirements.

Yes. You can stay in Canada, and may be able to keep working, under what’s called implied status. That means the law implies you are a temporary resident. The implied status lasts until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decides on your new permit application. However, you must respect the following requirements: If you applied for another work permit

• You must stay in Canada and meet the conditions of your original work permit. If you applied for a work permit extension before your work permit expired, you can keep working under the same conditions as your existing permit until IRCC decides on your application unless you have applied to extend your stay under another category.

If you applied for a different kind of permit

• You cannot do any of the activities allowed by the original work permit. For example, you may have come to Canada as a worker and then applied for a study permit. If so, you must stop working once your work permit expires. After that, you cannot work or study until you get a new permit.

For further information, contact us.