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How can I extend my stay as worker?

If you want to extend your stay in Canada, you should apply at least 30 days before your status expires.

Depending on your situation, you may need to use a different application form. For example, if you have a new job offer in Canada, you will need to apply for a new work permit. See Extending your stay as a worker for details.

Your employer may also need to apply for a new Labour Market Opinion (a document from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada which says your employer is allowed to hire you). See Extending a worker.

Temporary residents currently in Canada with valid student or temporary foreign worker status must submit their application for a new temporary resident visa to the Case Processing Pilot Office in Ottawa (CPP-O), or visa office that serves their country of nationality.

  • If your work permit expires after you have submitted your application for an extension but before you receive a decision on your application, you can stay in Canada under what’s called implied status. That means the law implies you are a temporary resident. That status lasts until Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) decides on your new permit application. However, you must respect the following requirements:

    If you applied for another work permit:

    • You must stay in Canada and meet the conditions of your original work permit. If you applied for a work permit extension before your work permit expired, you can keep working under the same conditions as your existing permit until CIC decides on your application, even if you have applied to extend your stay under another category of temporary resident.

    If you applied for a different kind of permit:

    • You cannot do any of the activities allowed by the original work permit. 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.
  • If you have applied to extend your work permit and plan on traveling outside Canada while your application is in process, you can leave Canada and come back. However, one of three things will happen when you return to Canada:
    • You may be allowed to come back to Canada as a visitor, if Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has 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.
    • You may be allowed to come back to Canada as a worker, if the officer at the port of entry finds out that CIC extended your work permit while you were away.
    • You may be asked to apply for a new work permit at the port of entry.

    Note: It is possible that you will not be able to enter Canada. The final decision is made at the border by the border services officer.

See also How can I extend my stay as visitor? and How can I extend my stay as a student?

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