Can You Extend Your Work Permit In Canada

Can you extend your work permit in Canada? It all depends on the length of time you have been in the country and the status of your job. If you are asking, can I apply for an extension on my study permit? Then check out our post on studying in Canada. If you want to stay longer, but it’s not quite time to become a permanent resident, you may be able to extend your current status without having to leave the country.

Can You Extend Your Work Permit In Canada

In my experience, one of the biggest mysteries to newcomers arriving in Canada is whether or not they can extend their work permit after it expires. It’s also a top destination on Google for Canadians who don’t know how long they can stay in Canada. Therefore I’ve decided to write an article outlining when you can extend a work permit in Canada and what things affect the possibility of extending your work permit.

Expats in Canada have a temporary status and it is only valid for a limited period of time. For them, they have to take special efforts to get the permission to extend their stay. Their application can be declined under certain circumstances and if they think they would have a difficult time filing another application, they can apply for the Permit Extension Program that is designed to offer assistance with the visa services and support vendors who have historically experienced difficulties in their permit application.

About the process

If you have a work permit that’s about to expire or that you need to change, you must apply to extend it or change the conditions on it.

You should apply to extend your work permit at least 30 days before your current permit expires.

Maintain your status

If you apply to extend or change the conditions of your work permit before it expires, you’re legally allowed to stay in Canada while we process your application.

If your work permit expires while we process your application, find out if you can keep working.

Date and time we receive your application

To maintain your status, we must receive your application before your work permit expires. We determine the date and time an application is received 2 ways:

If you apply online: You must submit your application before midnight UTC on the day your work permit expires.
- Our online application system uses coordinated universal time (UTC).
- Make sure you know the difference between your local time and UTC.
If you apply on paper: We stamp paper applications the day we receive them at the case processing centre.

If we receive an application after your work permit expires, we’ll count back 7 days and use that as the date received.

Check the expiry date on your passport

You can’t extend your work permit beyond the expiry date of your passport. Make sure your passport won’t expire before the requested end date of your permit.

If you don’t have a work permit

If you want to work in Canada temporarily, find out what you need to do.