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Temporary residents in Canada must maintain valid immigration status and comply with the conditions of their stay. If your visitor status, work permit, or study permit is approaching expiry, you may need to apply for an extension or change your immigration conditions. If your status has already expired, you may be eligible for Restoration of Status.
At Nadeem Law Office, we assist visitors, workers, and international students with Restoration of Status, extensions, changes to immigration conditions, maintained status issues, and related temporary residence applications.
With our head office in Mississauga and branch offices in Cambridge and London, Ontario, we provide legal assistance to temporary residents seeking to maintain or restore their lawful status in Canada.
Foreign nationals who are temporarily in Canada are generally authorized to remain for a specified period and subject to particular conditions.
Temporary residents can include:
The document held by a person and their underlying immigration status are related but should not always be treated as the same thing. It is important to determine the actual date until which a person is authorized to remain in Canada.
For example, a visitor’s authorized period of stay is not necessarily determined by the expiry date printed on their Temporary Resident Visa.
If you want to remain in Canada beyond your currently authorized period, you should determine whether you are eligible to apply for an extension before your status expires.
Depending on your circumstances, this may involve:
IRCC generally recommends applying at least 30 days before the expiry of your current status or permit. However, the legal significance of applying before expiry is particularly important because an eligible application submitted before status expires may allow the applicant to maintain temporary resident status while IRCC makes a decision.
A temporary resident who submits an eligible application to extend their authorized stay before their existing status expires may be able to remain legally in Canada while the application is being processed.
This is commonly referred to as maintained status.
Maintained status can be particularly important for workers and students because, depending on the application submitted and applicable conditions, they may be authorized to continue certain activities while waiting for a decision.
However, maintained status does not mean that every applicant can continue working or studying in all circumstances.
The type of application submitted and the conditions of the previous permit must be considered carefully.
If a foreign worker applies to extend or change the conditions of their work permit before the existing work permit expires, they may be authorized to continue working while IRCC processes the application, provided the applicable requirements are satisfied.
Where a person holds an employer-specific work permit, they generally must continue working under the conditions of the existing permit while relying on maintained status.
For example, if the worker has applied for a work permit involving a different employer, the worker generally cannot simply begin working for the new employer while waiting for a decision unless separate authorization allowing that work has been obtained.
Similarly, if a worker applies to change their status from worker to visitor, they generally cannot continue working after the existing work permit expires merely because the visitor application is being processed.
A foreign worker who wants to continue working in Canada beyond the expiry of their existing work permit may need to apply for a work permit extension.
Eligibility depends on the type of work permit and the circumstances.
For an employer-specific work permit, the application may involve a new or existing LMIA, an LMIA-exempt offer of employment, or another basis for work authorization.
Open work permit holders must continue to qualify under an applicable open work permit category.
Not every work permit can simply be renewed because it is approaching expiry. The applicant must have a legal basis for obtaining the requested new work authorization.
A worker with an employer-specific work permit may need a new work permit if they want to change:
Submitting an application for a new work permit does not necessarily authorize the worker to immediately begin working under the proposed new conditions.
Where applicable, a worker may be able to request separate authorization to begin working for a new employer while the work permit application is being processed.
The worker should determine what authorization is required before beginning the new employment.
International students who need additional time to complete their studies may need to apply for a study permit extension.
The application should generally be submitted before the existing study permit expires.
Students must continue to satisfy the applicable requirements for studying in Canada, including requirements relating to their educational institution and immigration status.
If an eligible study permit extension application is submitted before expiry, a student may generally remain in Canada while IRCC processes the application and may be able to continue studying under the applicable maintained-status rules.
Visitors who want to remain in Canada beyond their authorized period can apply for a visitor record.
A visitor record can extend the period during which the person is authorized to remain in Canada as a visitor.
A visitor record is not a visa. It does not replace a Temporary Resident Visa or eTA that may be required for travel to Canada.
Workers and students who no longer intend or are no longer eligible to work or study may also, in appropriate circumstances, apply to change their status to visitor before their existing status expires.
Depending on the circumstances and applicable immigration rules, a temporary resident may seek to change their immigration category or conditions while in Canada.
Examples may include:
Being physically present in Canada does not automatically mean that a person is eligible to submit every type of work or study permit application from within Canada.
Eligibility must be determined under the rules applicable to the particular application.
Restoration of Status is a process that may allow certain visitors, workers, or students who have lost temporary resident status in Canada to apply to have that status restored.
Under section 182 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, an eligible visitor, worker, or student generally must apply for restoration within 90 days after losing temporary resident status.
Restoration is not automatic.
The applicant must satisfy the applicable requirements, including requirements concerning the circumstances in which status was lost and compliance with other immigration conditions.
The ordinary deadline for Restoration of Status is 90 days after the person loses temporary resident status.
This deadline is important.
A person should not assume that submitting an application at any time after their permit expires will restore their temporary resident status.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations establish specific eligibility requirements for restoration. Where more than 90 days have passed, the ordinary restoration provisions may no longer be available, subject to any applicable special measures or public policies.
For this reason, a person who discovers that their temporary resident status has expired should obtain advice promptly.
If a foreign worker’s work permit expires before an eligible extension application is submitted, the person may lose their temporary resident status and authorization to work.
Where eligible, the person may apply for:
A person applying for restoration as a worker generally must stop working after losing status.
Submitting a restoration application does not ordinarily give the applicant authorization to resume working while the application is being processed.
The person generally must wait until status has been restored and the required work authorization has been issued before resuming employment, unless a specific legal exception applies.
An international student who allows their study permit to expire without having submitted an eligible extension application may lose student status.
Where eligible, the student may apply to restore their status and obtain a new study permit.
A student applying for Restoration of Status generally cannot continue studying while waiting for restoration.
The student may remain in Canada while IRCC processes the restoration application, but there is no guarantee that restoration or the new study permit will be approved.
Additional restrictions can also apply where a student has failed to comply with study permit conditions.
A person who has lost temporary resident status may, in appropriate circumstances, seek Restoration of Status as a visitor.
This may be relevant where a former worker or student no longer qualifies for, or no longer requires, a work or study permit but wishes to remain temporarily in Canada as a visitor.
The application generally must be made within the applicable 90-day restoration period and must satisfy the requirements for restoration and visitor status.
Restoring status as a visitor does not provide authorization to work or study where a work or study permit is otherwise required.
Maintained status and Restoration of Status are different legal concepts.
Maintained status generally arises where an eligible temporary resident submits an application to extend their authorized stay before their current status expires.
Restoration becomes relevant after temporary resident status has already been lost.
This distinction can have important practical consequences.
A worker who qualifies for maintained status may, depending on the application and circumstances, be authorized to continue working under existing conditions. A worker applying for restoration after losing status generally must stop working until the required authorization is restored.
Similarly, a student on maintained status may be able to continue studying under applicable conditions, whereas a student who has lost status generally cannot continue studying while waiting for restoration.
Under the ordinary restoration rules, a temporary resident generally must submit a Restoration of Status application within 90 days after losing status.
If the ordinary restoration period has passed, the person may need to leave Canada and apply for the appropriate authorization from outside Canada, depending on the circumstances.
However, temporary public policies or special measures can sometimes create exceptions for specified groups.
For example, special measures can be introduced for people directly affected by particular emergencies or other circumstances.
Eligibility should therefore be assessed using the rules and public policies in effect at the relevant time rather than assuming that an exception applies.
Immigration status is assessed individually.
If a family is in Canada and more than one family member has lost temporary resident status, each person who requires restoration generally needs to address their own status.
For example, if a worker and accompanying family members have all lost status, restoring the principal applicant’s status does not automatically restore the status of the spouse or children.
Each family member’s immigration documents and expiry dates should therefore be reviewed separately.
Temporary residents can encounter status problems for many reasons, including:
The appropriate solution depends on exactly what occurred and the person’s current immigration circumstances.
A Restoration of Status application is not guaranteed to be approved.
IRCC may refuse an application where the applicant does not satisfy the legal requirements for restoration or for the requested temporary resident status or permit.
A refusal can have significant consequences because the applicant may no longer have a legal basis to remain in Canada.
If a restoration application is refused, the decision should be reviewed promptly to determine the available options. Depending on the circumstances, the applicant may need to leave Canada, submit another application where legally available, or consider whether there is a basis to challenge the decision.
In appropriate circumstances, a refusal involving Restoration of Status, an extension, or a change of conditions may be challenged through an Application for Leave and Judicial Review before the Federal Court of Canada.
Judicial review is not another immigration application. The Federal Court considers whether there is a legal basis to intervene in the administrative decision.
If judicial review is successful, the Court may set aside the refusal and return the matter for reconsideration. The Court does not ordinarily issue the requested immigration status or permit itself.
Strict deadlines apply to Federal Court proceedings. Whether judicial review or another immigration application is appropriate depends on the nature of the refusal, the evidence before the decision-maker, the applicant’s current status, and the particular legal issues involved.
Legal advice should therefore be obtained promptly following a refusal.
At Nadeem Law Office, we assist temporary residents with matters including:
We review the applicant’s immigration history, expiry dates, previous applications, current circumstances, and intended activities in Canada to determine what options may be available.
If your immigration status is approaching expiry, taking action before the expiry date can be particularly important. An eligible extension application submitted before status expires may preserve temporary resident status while the application is processed.
If your status has already expired, Restoration of Status may be available in certain circumstances, but the ordinary restoration period is generally limited to 90 days.
Workers and students should also understand that losing status can affect their authorization to work or study, even if a restoration application is subsequently submitted.
Nadeem Law Office assists visitors, workers, and students with Restoration of Status, extensions, changes of status, and related immigration matters through our offices in Mississauga, Cambridge and London, Ontario.
Contact Nadeem Law Office to schedule a consultation regarding your Restoration of Status, extension, or change of status matter.
info@nadeemlaw.com