Your Permit Expired in Canada — Here’s What Actually Happens Next

When a work or study permit expires and you are still in Canada, the instinct is panic — that you have to pack and leave immediately. Sometimes that is true. Often it is not. What actually applies depends almost entirely on timing: whether you acted before your status ran out, and how many days have passed since.

Getting that timeline right is the whole game. Here is how it works.

If you applied before expiry: maintained status

If you applied to extend your permit before your current one expired, you are on what IRCC now calls maintained status (the term that used to be “implied status”). Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, you may generally remain in Canada — and continue working or studying under the same conditions — until IRCC decides your application.

This is the clean path. Applying in time, before the expiry date, is always simpler and safer than fixing a lapse after the fact.

The trap that quietly destroys maintained status

There is a catch that catches people every year. If you applied on time but IRCC returns your application as incomplete, that application is treated as though it was never submitted. Maintained status does not apply. You are out of status from your original expiry date — and you may not even realize it, because the “incomplete” notice can arrive weeks later.

The lesson is the same one that runs through every immigration application: a rushed, incomplete filing is worse than no filing, because it creates a false sense of safety. Completeness is not a formality. It is what protects your status.

If you are already out of status: restoration within 90 days

If your permit expired and you did not extend in time — or your extension was returned incomplete — you have lost status. In most cases you then have a strict window: you must apply for restoration of status within 90 days of losing it (IRPR Section 182).

Two rules inside that window are non-negotiable, and they surprise people:

• You must stop working or studying immediately. Submitting a restoration application does not authorize you to work or study. If you keep working while restoration is pending, you become ineligible for restoration — and you risk far worse.
• You must stay in Canada. Restoration is an in-Canada process. Leaving while it is pending can end your eligibility.

The 90-day clock runs from the date your status expired, not from the day you noticed. Because online applications are timed to midnight UTC, I treat the real deadline as several days earlier than the paper math suggests — filing at the last minute is how people miss a window that cannot be reopened.

Restoration is also discretionary. Meeting the conditions makes you eligible to apply; it does not guarantee approval.

What changed on May 1, 2026

There is a recent development worth knowing. On May 1, 2026, IRCC published updated instructions to its officers that resolve a long-standing ambiguity: out-of-status workers and students can apply to restore their status as visitors — from inside Canada — even if they no longer have a job offer or study plan.

Strictly speaking, this was a clarification rather than a brand-new right. The previous guidance read as though you could only restore to the status you held before, which is why many people in this position were advised to leave Canada and re-enter as visitors. The updated instructions make explicit that this is not required, provided you apply within the 90-day window. Restoring as a visitor is often faster than restoring a work or study permit, because it does not require an LMIA, a job offer, or proof of enrolment.

Two honest caveats. First, while a restoration application is being processed you may remain in Canada, but you are still considered out of status until it is approved — and even a successful restoration does not erase that gap from your record. Second, this does not authorize work or study at any point during processing.

On cost: you pay a restoration fee plus the fee for the status you are restoring to, both within the 90-day window. Check the current amounts on IRCC’s fee list before paying, and note that the restoration fee is not refundable if the application is refused.

If more than 90 days have passed

Once the 90-day window closes, standard restoration is gone. The remaining options are narrower and more serious: a Temporary Resident Permit, which is discretionary and requires compelling reasons; or leaving Canada and applying again from abroad. In specific situations — for example, some spouses of Canadians — a permanent residence pathway may exist despite the lapse. None of these is routine, and this is squarely where professional review matters before you make a move.

Why a status gap matters even if you fix it

Restoring your status closes the immediate problem. It does not always erase the gap. A period of unlawful status does not count as authorized Canadian work experience — which can affect Canadian Experience Class eligibility and your CRS score down the line. If permanent residence is your goal, a lapse now can quietly cost you later. That downstream effect is a reason to protect status proactively, not just react when it breaks.

The one habit that prevents all of this

Almost every status emergency I see traces back to the same root: applying too late, or applying with an incomplete package. Extend early. File complete. If your permit is approaching expiry and your next step is not obvious — a pending PR file, a changing employer, a permit type you are unsure about — that uncertainty is the signal to get it reviewed before the date, not after.

If your permit has already expired, the first thing to establish is which window you are in. You can book a consultation and we will work out your timeline and options.

Frequently asked questions

Can I work while my restoration application is being processed?

No. Restoration does not authorize work or study. You must stop both the moment your permit expires and can only resume once IRCC approves a new permit.

What is the difference between maintained status and restoration?

Maintained status applies when you extend before your permit expires — you can usually keep living, and often working or studying, until a decision. Restoration applies after you have lost status, within a 90-day window, and does not let you work or study while it is pending.

What happens if I miss the 90-day restoration window?

Standard restoration is no longer available. Your options narrow to a discretionary Temporary Resident Permit or leaving Canada and applying again from abroad. Get advice quickly.

I’m a worker whose permit expired — can I really stay as a visitor now?

As of May 1, 2026, yes, if you are within the 90-day window and remain in Canada. You can apply to restore as a visitor without leaving, but it does not give you the right to work.