CanadiaNow

Meta Description: Work permits explained: open vs employer-specific, LMIA basics, eligibility, extensions, and maintained status. Official IRCC links.

Work permit overview (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/work-permit.html

Work in Canada temporarily (IRCC hub):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada.html

Find out if you need a work permit (IRCC tool/page):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/need-permit.html

Work permit eligibility (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/work-permit/eligibility.html

Work permit: how to apply (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/work-permit/apply.html

Applying from outside Canada (Guide 5487):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5487-applying-work-permit-outside-canada.html

Applying inside Canada (extend/change conditions) (Guide 5553):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5553-applying-change-conditions-extend-your-stay-canada-worker.html

Extend or change a work permit (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/extend.html

Maintained status (extend/change before expiry) (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/extend/apply.html

Open work permit (IRCC Help Centre):
https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=176&top=17

LMIA: do you need one? (IRCC/ESDC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/hire-temporary-foreign/find-need-labour-market-impact-assessment.html

Hire a temporary foreign worker (ESDC/TFWP hub):
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers.html

Check processing times (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html

International Experience Canada (IEC) (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/iec.html

Post-graduation work permit (PGWP) (IRCC):
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/after-graduation/about.html

A worker in Canada can apply to restore status within 90 days after a work permit expires or is refused, but cannot normally work while waiting for approval.

Restoration of Status as a Worker: The 90-Day Deadline and Why You Can’t Work Yet

Caglar Aybas

You missed the date. Your work permit expired before you applied to extend it, or your extension was refused. You ...

An article illustration about travelling while on maintained status in Canada, explaining how leaving the country can end the right to work or study while a permit extension is still pending.

Travelling While on Maintained Status: What You Lose at the Border

Caglar Aybas

A family emergency, a wedding abroad, a quick trip across the U.S. border — and your permit extension is still ...

Canadian passport and work permit topic explaining how a permit shortened by passport expiry can be extended to recover lost time.

Your Passport Cut Your Work Permit or PGWP Short: How to Get the Missing Time Back

Caglar Aybas

You were approved for a three-year PGWP, but the permit in your hand ends in fourteen months. Or your employer’s ...

Canadian workers on maintained status may still need to confirm health coverage after their permit expires, with provincial rules varying across Canada.

Health Card on Maintained Status: What Every Province Does When Your Permit Expires

Caglar Aybas

Your provincial health card has the same expiry date as your work permit. When the permit expires while IRCC is ...

A Canadian worker can usually keep working under maintained status even if their SIN expires while a work permit extension is processing, and the SIN must be updated after the new permit arrives.

My SIN Expired While I’m on Maintained Status: Can I Keep Working?

Caglar Aybas

If your Social Insurance Number starts with a 9, it has an expiry date — and that date is the ...

A Canadian worker can keep working on maintained status while a work permit extension is being processed, using proof such as the WP-EXT letter and IRCC guidance.

How to Prove to Your Employer You Can Keep Working on Maintained Status (the 365-Day WP-EXT Letter)

Caglar Aybas

Your work permit expired last week. Your extension application is still in processing. You are allowed to keep working — ...

Quebec temporary workers can pursue permanent residence through the PEQ or PSTQ programs before applying to IRCC for Canadian PR.

PSTQ and PEQ for Temporary Workers in Quebec (2026)

Caglar Aybas

If you are working in Quebec on a temporary permit, your path to permanent residence runs through Quebec first: you ...

TS2023 Work Permits Are Expiring: The 491-km Walk to Ottawa, and the Case Against Removal

Caglar Aybas

Şefika Özlem Yaman Şahin is walking 491 km from Toronto to Parliament Hill as roughly 9,000 TS2023 earthquake work permits expire in 2026. What the government said, and why the case for a 24-month extension is stronger than its June refusal admits.

Professional blog cover image for a Canadian Bridging Open Work Permit guide, showing a newcomer professional in Toronto with work permit, PR application, passport, approval checkmark, Canadian flag, and minimal BOWP headline text.

Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP): Keep Working While Your PR Processes

Caglar Aybas

The BOWP lets you keep working while IRCC processes your PR. The 4-month application window, the PNP employer-restriction trap, fees, and why BOWP beats a regular extension for almost everyone with a PR application in process.

Professional blog cover image for Canada AI Work Permit 2026 showing an AI tech worker, Canadian flag, Toronto skyline, and Global Talent Stream fast-track guide theme.

Canada AI Work Permit 2026: How the Global Talent Stream Fast-Track Actually Works

Caglar Aybas

Canada announced 20-day fast-track work permits for AI professionals through the Global Talent Stream. The catch most coverage skips: you cannot apply yourself - it is employer-driven. Who qualifies, what it costs, and how to position yourself.

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