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Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) Canada 2026: Eligibility & When to Apply
Current RCIC guidance on BOWP eligibility, PR-stage requirements, maintained status, restoration and when you can apply in 2026.
Table of Contents
Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP)
A Bridging Open Work Permit can let an eligible permanent residence principal applicant continue working in Canada while the PR application is processed. BOWP eligibility is stream-specific and depends on the applicant’s location, worker status, PR stage and any nomination restrictions. Reviewed August 12, 2026 by Usman Khalil, RCIC R709592. Official IRCC sources checked: September 21, 2026 (fee amounts re-verified against the IRCC fee list that day).
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What is a Bridging Open Work Permit?
A Bridging Open Work Permit is available only to principal applicants in specific permanent residence classes who meet the BOWP requirements for their stream. A valid current work permit is one route to eligibility, but IRCC also recognizes applicants who have an expired work permit and maintained status as a worker, or who are eligible to restore their status and obtain a work permit. The permanent residence application must also have reached the required stage for the specific PR class. Applicants building toward permanent residence on Canadian work experience can also read the Canadian Experience Class requirements.
Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for a BOWP, applicants must meet these conditions:
- Residence and worker-status pathway: You must live in Canada at the time you apply and meet one of these worker-status routes:
- Have valid temporary resident status and a valid work permit.
- Have an expired work permit but maintained status as a worker.
- Be eligible to restore status as a worker and obtain a work permit.
- Permanent Residency Application:
- Be the principal applicant in a BOWP-eligible permanent residence class. Common current categories include:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
- Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), if no employer restrictions apply
- Agri-Food Pilot (closed to new PR applications; BOWP rules can still apply to eligible pending files)
- Quebec Skilled Worker Class (QSWC)
- Meet the PR-stage requirement for your stream. Express Entry and Express Entry-linked PNP applicants must have submitted a complete PR application and passed the completeness check. Non-Express Entry PNP applicants must have passed the PR eligibility assessment. An acknowledgement of receipt is also required, but an AOR by itself should not be treated as proof that every BOWP requirement is met.
- Be the principal applicant in a BOWP-eligible permanent residence class. Common current categories include:
PNP decision-stage requirement: For both Express Entry-linked and non-Express Entry PNP BOWP applications, IRCC says you must be in Canada with valid temporary resident status when it makes the BOWP decision, or the application may be refused.
Temporary PNP AOR-proof measure through December 31, 2026: IRCC Operational Bulletin 699 allows eligible in-Canada PNP BOWP (A75) applicants to submit specified alternative proof of PR submission when no AOR has yet been issued. This does not waive the underlying BOWP completeness or eligibility assessment, nomination, status or admissibility requirements. If an AOR has already been issued when you apply, use the AOR. See our PNP work permit without an AOR guide and the official IRCC Operational Bulletin 699.
IRCC also maintains BOWP rules for certain legacy caregiver classes and Quebec investors. The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots opened in 2025 are not BOWP-eligible under the current IRCC BOWP instructions. See all Canadian work permit options in our work permit overview.
BOWP Fees
The total cost of a BOWP is $255 CAD, which includes a $155 processing fee and a $100 open work permit holder fee (IRCC fee list, ircc.canada.ca, page modified 2 July 2026, re-checked 21 September 2026).
Work Flexibility and Restrictions
BOWP holders typically have the flexibility to work for any employer in Canada. However, restrictions may apply:
- PNP Applicants: Employment is limited to the province of nomination.
- Quebec Applicants: Employment must remain within Quebec.
Validity of a BOWP
Do not assume every BOWP will be issued for a fixed 24-month period. The actual validity shown on the work permit depends on IRCC’s decision, the applicant’s passport validity and the circumstances of the file. If permanent residence is still pending when the BOWP is approaching expiry, eligibility for another work-permit application should be reassessed using the rules in force at that time.
Spouses and Dependents
A BOWP does not automatically give a spouse or child an open work permit. Family members have separate eligibility rules. For many economic-class permanent residence applicants, a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child may qualify for an open work permit when the family member is included in the PR application and the current IRCC family-member requirements are met. The principal applicant’s authorization to work, remaining permit validity and occupation can matter depending on the category. Minor children may instead need visitor or study status depending on their circumstances.
Applying for a Bridging Open Work Permit
How to apply
In most cases, BOWP applications are submitted online. Follow the current IRCC work-permit extension instructions, select an open work permit where required, and include the supporting documents for your permanent residence class.
When can you apply for a BOWP in 2026?
IRCC’s current standard BOWP instructions do not set a universal rule that every applicant must wait until the final 4 months of a work permit before applying. Timing instead depends on the permanent residence program, the stage of the PR application and the worker-status route that applies to you.
| Situation | Current BOWP significance |
|---|---|
| Valid temporary status + valid work permit | This is one accepted worker-status route. You must still meet the PR-stage and program-specific BOWP rules. |
| Work permit expired but maintained status as a worker | IRCC expressly recognizes maintained worker status as a possible BOWP route for the main current classes. |
| Eligible to restore worker status and obtain a work permit | IRCC also recognizes the restoration route. Losing the permit does not automatically make a person ineligible for a BOWP, but restoration rules and the PR-stage requirement still control. |
| Express Entry profile or ITA only | Not enough. IRCC states that submitting an Express Entry profile is not the same as applying for permanent residence. |
| Express Entry PR application submitted, completeness check passed and AOR issued | This satisfies the Express Entry PR-stage component, subject to the other BOWP eligibility requirements. |
Do not import the wrong 4-month rule. IRCC’s separate temporary-resident-to-permanent-resident open-work-permit policy says some valid-work-permit holders under that specific pathway can apply up to 4 months before expiry. That is a different public policy and should not be treated as the standard BOWP timing rule. See the current IRCC BOWP instructions and, for comparison, the separate TR-to-PR open-work-permit policy.
For eligible in-Canada PNP applicants covered by the temporary 2026 alternative-proof measure discussed above, the AOR-document issue is assessed under that measure; it does not create a general exception for other BOWP classes.
Document Checklist
Required documents may include:
- Acknowledgment of Receipt (AOR) letter where required; for an eligible in-Canada PNP BOWP application covered by Operational Bulletin 699 through December 31, 2026, specified alternative proof may be accepted when no AOR has yet been issued
- Provincial nomination certificate (if applicable)
- A Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) for applicants selected by Quebec (a CSQ, not a CAQ, is the Quebec document used at the permanent-residence stage)
- Completed application forms
- Proof of status in Canada
- Marriage certificate (if applicable)
- Valid passport copy
- Medical exam results (if requested)
- Proof of fee payment
Quebec Applicants
Quebec skilled worker applicants have separate BOWP criteria. They must live in Canada and intend to live in Quebec, be the principal applicant, hold a CSQ that was valid when they applied for permanent residence, have passed the PR completeness check, and meet one of IRCC’s worker-status routes: a valid work permit with valid temporary status, maintained status as a worker, or eligibility to restore status and obtain a work permit.
Processing Times
Processing times for a bridging open work permit vary and change with IRCC operating conditions. Check the current estimate with the official IRCC processing-times tool; it is an estimate, not a guarantee.
For how to read IRCC’s current estimates, see our Canada work permit processing time guide.
Official IRCC Sources
- Bridging open work permit for permanent residence applicants
- Applying for a work permit from inside Canada
- Guide 5553
- Operational Bulletin 699 — temporary in-Canada PNP AOR-proof measure
Official IRCC sources checked: September 21, 2026 (fee amounts re-verified against the IRCC fee list that day).
FAQs about the Bridging Open Work Permit
A BOWP is not a travel document. Depending on nationality and mode of travel, a valid temporary resident visa or eTA may be required to return, and re-entry is decided at the border. IRCC also warns that if your work permit expires while you are outside Canada, or you leave after it expires, you cannot work again until the new work permit is approved.
No, you must reside in Canada to apply for a BOWP.
A BOWP can be refused when the applicant does not meet the BOWP requirements for the specific PR stream. Issues to check include whether the applicant is the principal PR applicant, whether the PR file has reached the required stage, whether the worker meets the valid-status, maintained-status or restoration route, and for PNP applicants, whether the nomination carries an employment restriction.
A BOWP is only available to those who have already submitted a PR application.
The answer depends on when the BOWP application was filed and your status at that time. A worker who submits a qualifying work-permit application before the current work permit expires may have maintained status and may be authorized to keep working under the conditions of the original permit while IRCC processes the application. A person applying through restoration after losing status normally cannot work until status is restored and the new work permit is issued.
