In-Canada work permits • Practical 2026 guide
Your work permit is expiring. What can you extend, and when can you keep working?
Applying before expiry can protect your ability to remain in Canada while IRCC processes an eligible work-permit extension. Whether you can continue working depends on what you actually submitted, whether you remained in Canada and the conditions of your previous permit. An extension does not automatically authorize a new employer or occupation.
Review your extension optionsCheck the deadline and documents
IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before permit expiry. This is planning guidance, not a substitute for the actual filing deadline.
For a timely online application, IRCC must receive it before midnight UTC on the permit’s expiry date, not local midnight in Canada.
For an eligible on-time extension, continuing work generally remains subject to the original permit’s conditions until IRCC decides.
Which work-permit situation applies to you?
You are staying with the same employer
Check whether a fresh LMIA is required or whether the job is LMIA-exempt. If you submit an eligible extension before expiry, maintained status and interim authorization may let you continue with the same employer, job and work location while IRCC decides. Employer compliance steps still matter.
You want a new employer or different occupation
Changing conditions generally requires a new work-permit decision. Applying is not permission to start the new job. IRCC has a distinct temporary public-policy route under which an eligible worker may request interim authorization to begin the new employment before final approval; the request must qualify and be granted.
Your open permit is about to end
An open permit may be extended only where the applicant qualifies for a new period under the applicable open-work-permit category. Holding a current open permit does not create a general entitlement to another one. An open-permit holder generally does not need a new work permit simply to change employers during current validity.
You hold a post-graduation work permit
PGWPs generally cannot be renewed. IRCC permits an extension when a passport expiry shortened the work permit below the full period for which the person was eligible, subject to its rules; IRCC directs those PGWP extension applications to the paper process. Do not treat a PGWP as an ordinary renewable open work permit.
Your work permit has expired without a timely extension
Do not assume you are on maintained status or entitled to work. Some people can request restoration within a limited period, but restoration does not automatically authorize work. Determine the exact dates and eligibility before taking action.
You no longer qualify to extend your work permit
An eligible application to change to visitor status can address permission to remain in Canada, but does not generally preserve permission to work once the original work permit expires. A visitor record and a renewed work permit solve different problems.
The pre-submission work-permit extension checklist
This is a practical consistency review, not a replacement for the personalized IRCC document checklist. The documentary requirements differ for employer-specific permits, open permits, LMIA-based jobs, LMIA exemptions and exceptional programs.
- Fix the actual deadline. Read your current work permit and status history. IRCC says an online application must reach its system before midnight UTC on the expiry date to preserve status through a timely extension. Do not use the date on a visa sticker instead.
- Identify your eligibility basis. Determine whether you qualify for the same LMIA-based permit, an LMIA-exempt permit, an open permit category or a permitted change in conditions. A job offer on its own does not establish work-permit eligibility.
- Check the employer’s steps. Where required, the employer must secure the proper LMIA or complete the applicable employer-portal submission and compliance-fee process. The route determines what employer documents are needed.
- Check passport validity and restrictions. Passport validity may limit the period IRCC can issue. Consider medical restrictions or work-location restrictions where relevant.
- Collect a consistent employment record. Compare your job title, duties, offer, salary, employment history, LMIA or offer number, and passport data. Address material differences truthfully rather than copying a prior application without review.
- Use the correct IRCC submission route. Most in-Canada extensions go through the IRCC online account with the generated checklist and worker form IMM 5710. Special categories such as PGWP extensions can have different filing instructions.
- Pay the applicable fees and keep proof. IRCC currently lists a work-permit processing charge, and open-permit applications may have an additional holder fee. Check the official current fee table and exemptions for your specific category before payment.
- Preserve the submitted record. Save a copy of the application and upload receipts, any WP-EXT letter, expiry dates and the documents you actually filed.
Maintained status: what an on-time extension does and does not do
If you apply to extend your existing work permit before it expires and meet IRCC’s conditions, you can generally stay in Canada while IRCC processes the application. Where IRCC’s conditions for interim work authorization are met, you can keep working under the original work-permit conditions until the decision. For an employer-specific worker, that normally means the same employer, occupation and work location. The analysis changes if the original work-permit conditions, the new application or your travel facts differ.
For many online work-permit extension applicants, IRCC issues a WP-EXT except PGWP letter as proof for an employer. IRCC explains that its automatically printed expiry date does not automatically end maintained status when the qualifying application is still pending. Not everyone receives this letter, including certain applicants without a timely extension, and the absence or presence of a letter is not a substitute for the underlying legal criteria.
Do not assume changing to visitor status preserves employment authorization. A visitor-record application and a worker extension have different effects. If you need to change your employer during processing, assess the dedicated employer-change public-policy procedure rather than starting the new job just because you submitted an application.
Travel outside Canada can affect continuing work authorization when you return; your permit, visa or eTA and admissibility may also matter. Check IRCC travel guidance before leaving.
What if the employer is waiting for an LMIA or Employer Portal submission?
The extension route depends on whether the position requires a labour market impact assessment and, where relevant, a Quebec Acceptance Certificate, or qualifies for an LMIA exemption. IRCC generally directs LMIA-required workers to obtain the positive decision before applying; it publishes special instructions for certain pending-LMIA cases. Do not assume that filing without required employer evidence will preserve the application or guarantee a work permit.
For LMIA-exempt permits, confirm the exemption category and whether an employer-compliance submission is required. The employer-specific conditions and offer information should reconcile across the portal and the worker’s application. A new employer is a separate employment condition unless the worker has an open work permit or is granted specific interim authorization under IRCC’s public policy.
Five common work-permit extension questions
Can I keep working if I applied before my work permit expired?
Often yes, if you qualify for maintained status and IRCC’s interim work authorization, remain in Canada and continue under the allowed conditions of your original work permit. Confirm your permit category and application facts; the ability to stay and ability to work are not identical.
Do I have to submit exactly 30 days before expiry?
No. IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days in advance. To preserve maintained status for an eligible online worker extension, IRCC must receive the application before the actual expiry deadline, which is measured in UTC.
Can I switch employers while my extension is pending?
An employer-specific permit generally does not authorize a new employer by default. IRCC provides a separate temporary-policy request through which eligible workers can seek interim authorization after submitting a qualifying new work-permit application; follow its current conditions and await authorization.
Can I extend my PGWP again?
Usually not. IRCC’s special PGWP extension possibility concerns a passport that expired before the person received the full period for which they were originally eligible. A different work-permit route may require entirely different eligibility.
What if I missed the date or my extension was refused?
Do not keep working on the assumption that the old permit remains valid. The next route depends on exact dates, whether status was maintained, the refusal and restoration eligibility. See MAK’s restoration versus maintained status explanation.
Work permit expiring? Start with your dates and permit conditions.
The useful professional review is not a generic renewal checklist. It is a determination of the application route you actually qualify for, the employer’s obligations, the work authorization you will have while IRCC decides, and the supporting record that must reconcile.
Official IRCC instructions and source boundaries
- IRCC: Extend or change work-permit conditions
- IRCC: Who can apply for a work-permit extension
- IRCC: How to extend, UTC filing time, documents and employer steps
- IRCC: Maintained status and WP-EXT proof after applying
- IRCC: If the work permit expires
- IRCC Guide 5553: In-Canada worker applications
- IRCC: PGWP-specific extension restrictions
- IRCC: Changing-employer interim authorization public policy
Editorial scope, October 18, 2026. This general public-information article summarizes the linked official federal guidance. It is not an eligibility decision, a guarantee of authorization to stay or work, a substitute for the current IRCC forms and portal, or a representation that an RCIC personally reviewed this specific published article. Circumstances, permits, policies and application instructions may change.
