Extending your work permit

How can I extend my stay as a worker?

You should apply as early as possible (at least 30 days) before your current work permit expires if you want to extend your stay as a worker in Canada.

For more information on extending your stay as a worker, visitor or student, see

• Extend or change the conditions on your work permit
• Extend or change your work permit – International Experience Canada
• How can I extend my stay as a visitor?
• How can I extend my stay as a student?

Steps your employer may need to take

Your employer may need to apply for a new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), which is a document from Employment and Social Development Canada that says the employer is allowed to hire you.

If you’re exempt from the LMIA process, your employer will need to pay the employer compliance fee and submit a new offer of employment through the Employer Portal.

For more information, see Extend a temporary worker’s permit.

Can I apply to extend a work permit from inside Canada?

Yes, if your work permit is still valid, you can apply to extend it from inside Canada.

Find out how to extend your work permit.

My work permit has expired. Can I apply for another one?

Yes, but you can only do this if your permit expired fewer than 90 days ago. You also need to restore your temporary status in Canada.

Since you need to apply to restore your status after it has expired, you can’t work while this application is in progress.

How to restore your status and get a work permit.

I work in Quebec. How can I extend my work permit?

If you’re an International Experience Canada participant, see Extend or change your work permit – International Experience Canada.

Step 1: Find out if you need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)

If you need an LMIA, your employer must follow these steps:

• Apply for an LMIA renewal from Employment and Social Development Canada. A positive LMIA allows your employer to hire you.
• Apply to Quebec’s provincial government for a Québec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) for your job.

For more information, see the page Immigrate and settle in Quebec – Temporary workers.

If your employer doesn’t need an LMIA to hire you, you’re also exempt from getting a CAQ. In most cases, your employer will need to submit a new offer of employment through the Employer Portal.

Some LMIA-exempt employers don’t need to submit an offer of employment or pay the employer compliance fee. Find out how to get a work permit for these jobs.

Step 2: Apply to extend your work permit

Before your work permit expires, apply to extend your work permit.

Include copies of your job offer letter or contract and:

• the new LMIA or CAQ, or
• the offer of employment number that your LMIA-exempt employer received after submitting your offer (if applicable)

Information for your spouse or common-law partner

Your spouse or common-law partner may be eligible to apply for an open work permit. Their work permit will have the same expiry date as your own.

I applied for a new work permit. Can I stay in Canada if my work permit expires?

Yes, you can stay in Canada until we make a decision on your new work permit application. This is called maintained status.

You may also be authorized to work until we make a decision on your application. However, you must respect the following requirements:

If you applied for another work permit

You must stay in Canada and work under the conditions of your original work permit.

If you applied to extend or change your work permit before it expired, you’re authorized to keep working under the same conditions as your original permit until we make a decision on your application.

If you applied for a study permit or visitor record

You must stop working on day the original work permit expires.

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.

Can I keep working if my permit expires? How do I prove this to my employer?

Yes, if you applied to extend or change your work permit before your work permit expired, you

• have maintained your status
• are authorized to work until we finalize your application

You must stay in Canada and continue working under the same conditions as your original work permit. For example, if you have an employer-specific work permit, you must still work for the employer named on that permit.

If your employer needs proof you can keep working, there are documents you can show them.

I have applied to extend my work permit. Can I travel outside Canada?

You can leave Canada and come back. However, one of three things will happen when you return to Canada.

1. You may be allowed to come back to Canada as a visitor, if we have 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.
2. You may be allowed to come back to Canada as a worker, if the officer at the port of entry finds out that we extended your work permit while you were away.
3. 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.

I’ve maintained my status, but my health insurance card, driver’s licence and other government ID documents have expired. How can I renew my ID documents?

You should apply to renew your government ID before your work or study permit expires.

If you applied online to extend or change your work permit, you can use your letter (WP-EXT except PGWP) as proof that you’re authorized to keep working.

What to do if you need to renew your government ID document

These services are provided by the province you live in. If you need to renew your government ID, you’ll have to apply to the government of the province or territory you live in. That government will decide how and when they renew the documents.

For more information, contact the appropriate government department or agency in the province or territory where you live, such as those responsible for health or transportation.

My work permit expired and I did not apply to extend it. Can I stay and keep working in Canada?

You can apply to restore your work permit in the first 90 days after it expires. If you do this, you can stay in Canada until you get further instructions, but you must stop working until you receive your restored work permit. There is no guarantee that your application will be approved.

Otherwise, you must leave Canada right away when your work permit expires. If you do not leave, you could be deported and will need permission from an immigration officer to come back.

Find out how to restore your work permit.

I want to extend my expiring work permit, but I don’t have a new LMIA or CAQ yet. What should I do?

You can apply without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or a Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) if your work permit expires within 2 weeks of the date that you apply.

You must include both

• proof of a valid job offer
• proof that the LMIA or CAQ request was made, by either
  • including a copy of the application sent to Service Canada or the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration
  • including a copy of the receipt confirmation number, if the request was made online
  • indicating, in the section Details of Intended Work in Canada of the work permit application,
    • the date the LMIA/CAQ request was sent,
    • the office it was sent to,
    • the employer’s name, and
    • the confirmation number for the submission, if available.

If you’re waiting for your CAQ

When you apply online, you’ll be asked to upload a copy of your CAQ. If you have a copy of the receipt confirmation number or a copy of the application, you can upload those documents instead.

When you get your LMIA or CAQ

You must send us proof that you’ve received the LMIA or CAQ within 60 days of the date your application was received. If not, your application could be refused.

I got a new passport after coming to Canada but I still have a valid work permit in my old one. What should I do?

Keep your old passport. If you plan to travel outside Canada, bring both your old and new passport with you. You’ll need your valid work permit when you come back.

The expiry date on your work permit is linked to the expiry on your passport. If you got a new passport because your old one was expiring, then your work permit will also expire at the same time. In this case, you need to apply to extend your work permit to keep working in Canada.

Can I extend my International Experience Canada work permit?

You can only extend your work permit in very specific situations. Find out if you can extend your work permit.

Can I apply to extend my Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program work permit?

No. The rules for the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) differ from those for other work permits. Under the SAWP, you may remain in Canada for a maximum of 8 months between January 1^st and December 15^th. You must leave Canada no later than December 15th. Your employer must request authorization from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to hire you each season. This is known as a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment. More information is available from ESDC and the Quebec’s Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion. Your employer may want to rehire you. Even so, you must go back to your home country before you can apply for another work permit.

My work permit expired, but I’ve maintained my status. Can I keep working under the same conditions of my initial work permit if my Social Insurance Number (SIN) is expired?

Yes. If you applied to extend your work permit before your initial work permit expired, you can keep working, even if your SIN is expired. This is allowed under the Employment Insurance Act and Regulations.

Renewing your SIN

When you get your new work permit, you can renew your SIN.

You can give your employer proof that you’ve applied to renew your SIN. Once you get a new expiry date for your SIN, you must give it to your employer within 3 days.

Can I change my status to visitor if I need more time to extend my study or work permit?

You can apply to change your status to visitor, but once your current study or work permit expires, you won’t be able to apply for a new study or work permit from within Canada. This means it won’t give you more time to extend your study or work permit.

Most visitors aren’t eligible to apply for a study or work permit from within Canada. If you change your status to visitor, you may have to leave Canada to apply for a new study or work permit.

Because of this, we strongly recommend you don’t change your status to visitor if you need more time to apply for your permit.

Make sure you know when your current permit expires and apply at least 30 days before it does.

• How to apply to extend your study permit or your work permit
• What to do if your current study permit has already expired

Why is my study or work permit only valid for part of my study program or job contract?

We’ll issue your study or work permit for a shorter validity period for one of these reasons:

• Your passport or travel document will expire before the end of your planned stay.
• You’re participating in International Experience Canada (IEC), and your health insurance coverage isn’t valid for long enough.

Your passport or travel document will expire

If you’re coming to Canada to study or work, you can’t stay past the expiry date of your passport or other travel document. We’ll only give you a permit that’s valid as long as your passport or travel document.

If you get a new passport or travel document while in Canada

You can apply to extend your study or work permit to get one for the time left on your study program or job contract.

You’re participating in IEC, and your health insurance coverage isn’t valid for long enough

If your health insurance coverage only covers part of your stay in Canada, we’ll issue you a permit that matches the length of your coverage.

Make sure your insurance is valid for your entire stay in Canada before you leave your home country.

If it isn’t, you won’t be allowed to extend your work permit, even if you extend your health insurance coverage.