My IEC work permit is expiring. Can I stay in Canada if I apply to extend my stay?

You can stay in Canada if you maintain your status as a temporary resident of Canada.

How to maintain your status

To maintain your status, before your work permit expires, you must apply

• to extend your current IEC participation
• for another type of work permit (not IEC)
• to extend your stay as a student or
• to extend your stay as a visitor

Applying for a new IEC participation?

You do not maintain your status in Canada if you apply for a new IEC participation. If you want to stay in Canada while you wait for a decision on your new IEC participation, you must apply to extend your stay as a visitor before your work permit expires. You must stop working while you wait.

Who doesn’t maintain their status

You don’t maintain your status if you

• apply to extend your IEC participation after your work permit expires
  • you must stop working on the day your work permit expires
• apply for a new IEC participation
• submitted your profile to an IEC pool and are waiting for an invitation to apply
• apply to extend your stay as a student or visitor after your work permit expires

Find out what to do if your work permit expired before you applied to extend it.

Who can work while waiting for a decision

If you applied to extend your stay in Canada as a worker, you’re authorized to keep working until we finalize your application. However, you can only keep working if

• you held a valid work permit when you applied
• you’ll work under the same conditions of your original work permit
  • for example, you’ll work for the same employer if you have an employer-specific work permit
• you stay in Canada

If you applied for a study permit or a visitor record, you’ll maintain your status as a temporary resident but you must stop working once your work permit expires.