Maintained Status Canada: Can You Keep Working? (2026)

Your work permit expires next month, processing times are long, and nobody can tell you whether you are allowed to show up at work on the day after the expiry date. This is one of the most common panics I see, and the answer turns on a single fact: whether IRCC received your extension application before your current permit expired. According to the IRCC Help Centre, if you applied to extend or change your work permit before it expired, you have maintained your status and are authorized to work until IRCC finalizes your application. If IRCC receives the application after the expiry date, the rule flips and you must stop working.

Can I keep working if my work permit expires while IRCC processes my extension?

Yes, provided IRCC received your application before your current permit expired. The IRCC Help Centre answers this directly: if you applied to extend or change your work permit before your work permit expired, you have maintained your status and are authorized to work until IRCC finalizes your application. Two conditions come attached. You must stay in Canada, and you must continue working under the same conditions as your original work permit. IRCC gives the obvious example on that same page: if you hold an employer-specific work permit, you must still work for the employer named on that permit. Maintained status does not upgrade your permit, it freezes your existing one in place while the file sits in the queue.

It also has an end date that catches people out. Under section 183(5) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, the extended period runs until the day a decision is made if the application is refused. In plain terms, a refusal ends your authorization to work that same day. Working after that point is unauthorized work, and canada.ca lists having "met the requirements for your stay (for example, you didn't work illegally)" as a condition of restoring your status later, so it also closes your fallback.

What exactly is maintained status?

Maintained status is the legal authorization to remain in Canada, and in many cases to keep working, after your permit expires but while IRCC decides your application. It applies automatically when the application was received in time, so there is nothing extra to request. The timing test is stricter than most people expect. Canada.ca's page on how to extend a work permit states that IRCC must receive your application before your work permit expires, and that if you apply online you must submit it before midnight Coordinated Universal Time on the day your work permit expires. UTC runs ahead of Toronto, so an evening submission in Toronto can land on the next calendar day inside IRCC's system. That is the trap that turns a valid extension into a restoration case.

Paper filings work differently. Canada.ca states that IRCC stamps paper applications the day they arrive at the case processing centre, and that if an application arrives after your work permit expires, IRCC counts back 7 days and uses that as the date received. So a paper package that lands a few days late may still be treated as on time. That is a narrow cushion, not a plan.

Does maintained status always let me work?

No, and this is where people get caught. It depends on what you applied for, not just when. According to the IRCC Help Centre, 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 for a study permit or a visitor record instead, IRCC states you must stop working on the day the original work permit expires. Canada.ca adds that you cannot start your studies until IRCC decides your study permit application, unless you are authorized to study without a study permit. A visitor record never restores your right to work, so getting one does not put you back on the payroll: for that you need a new work permit. Canada.ca also states plainly that temporary resident permit applicants do not benefit from maintained status.

Changing jobs is its own trap. Canada.ca states that you cannot start working with a new employer or in a new job until IRCC approves your application, unless you request and receive an authorization to work while IRCC processes it. That request exists, and most people never hear about it.

How do I prove maintained status to my employer?

If you applied online and you are eligible, IRCC sends a letter to your online account that serves as the proof. According to canada.ca, that letter, labelled WP-EXT except PGWP, can be printed or shown alongside your current work permit, and it is proof that you are authorized to keep working under the same conditions as your original work permit until IRCC processes your application. The letter lists an expiry date 365 days from the date IRCC received your application, which canada.ca says helps satisfy concerns from your employer and health insurance providers, and canada.ca confirms you can keep working past that date until your application is processed if the conditions are the same as on your original work permit.

Not everyone gets the letter. Canada.ca states you are not eligible for it if you applied for an extension after your work permit expired, or if you applied for your first work permit in Canada. If you applied on paper you will not receive it either, and in that case canada.ca says you can show a copy of your work permit application, proof that you paid your fees, or postal or courier tracking information.

Can I travel while my extension is being processed?

You can leave, but you may not be able to work when you come back. Canada.ca states that if your application is still being processed you may be allowed to re-enter Canada as a visitor, and that you cannot work until your work permit renewal has been approved. A two week trip home in the middle of processing can therefore cost you your job in practice, even though your application is still alive. If travel is unavoidable, plan for the possibility of unpaid time on your return.

What if my permit already expired before I applied?

You must stop working immediately, and your route back is restoration. According to canada.ca, if you lose your status you must stop working, and to stay in Canada and start working again you must apply to restore your status and get a new work permit. IRCC must receive that application no more than 90 days after your status expired, and if you apply online canada.ca says you must submit before midnight UTC within that window. You also must have met the requirements of your stay, including not having worked illegally, must have met the conditions on your expired permit, and must not be a temporary resident permit holder. Canada.ca warns there is no guarantee of approval and that a refusal means you have to leave Canada, and it states that you normally are not allowed to work until your status has been restored and the new permit is issued, so the restoration window is unpaid time.

Past the 90 days, canada.ca says you will need to leave Canada and reapply from outside if you want to work in Canada again. There is one exception worth knowing: canada.ca states that foreign workers applying for an open work permit with a letter of support from a participating province or territory are exempt from several conditions, including the requirement to apply within 90 days of losing status. If your permit has already expired and you are wondering what to do next, the clock matters more than anything else in the file.

What should I do right now?

Work backwards from the expiry date on your permit, not from your employer's timeline. Canada.ca states that the expiry date on your work permit is the date you must stop working in Canada, and that if your permit shows a later "must leave Canada by" date, your status expires on that later date. The later date governs your status, not your right to work, so do not read it as extra working time. Decide which application actually fits your plan, because filing the wrong one costs you the right to work even when it keeps you legal. Then file early enough that a document request or a payment failure does not push you past the deadline. If you are also running out of time on visitor status, the same 90 day restoration logic applies. And if the goal behind the extension is permanent residence, every month of authorized Canadian work experience you protect feeds directly into your Express Entry profile and Canadian Experience Class eligibility. Alisa Osipovich, RCIC-IRB R1055424, reviews your permit history and your timeline and tells you which application to file, and by when, before the gap opens.