VisaWhen Express Entry applicants can apply for Canada’s bridging work permit
Workers approaching permit expiry should check their permanent residence file, gather the acknowledgement letter and apply separately for a bridging open work permit if eligible.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Check the permanent residence program and the stage of the file
This guide applies to principal applicants living in Canada and intending to live outside Quebec who applied for permanent residence through the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program or Federal Skilled Trades Program. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires a complete residence application that has passed its check, plus an acknowledgement of receipt. A worker must also hold a valid work permit and status, have maintained status as a worker, or qualify to restore status and get a work permit.
Use the Express Entry after-application page to understand what IRCC reviews in the residence file. The department checks that the application is complete, the fees are paid and the documents are included. Its secure account is where it posts messages about the case. Check which message you have received. A profile in the invitation pool and an invitation to apply both precede filing the residence application. The bridge is for the subsequent stage, once the separate residence file meets IRCC’s stated checks.
Prepare and file the separate work permit application
IRCC’s bridging work permit page tells online applicants to choose the open work permit option and upload the acknowledgement of receipt under Client information. Include the other documents requested by the work permit checklist. The same page has separate instructions for provincial nominees.
Use Guide 5553 for the in-Canada worker form, IMM 5710. Check the passport and current permit before entering identifying details, past status and the dates of your current permission. Follow the checklist the online account generates. If your intended work requires a medical examination, use the guide’s medical section to check the applicable steps and any occupational restriction. This can matter for workers planning to take work in health care or with children after the new permit is issued.
Separate the charges and check the filing time
IRCC’s fee list shows CAD 155 for work permit processing and CAD 100 for the open work permit holder charge. Together those are CAD 255 before any biometrics or restoration fees that apply. Pay the work permit charges with the work permit application. The fees paid for economic permanent residence belong to that separate file.
Check the expiry date on your existing work permit and follow the online extension instructions. IRCC requires online submission before midnight Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on the expiry date. Filing late in the evening in Canada can be too late. For example, on a November day when Toronto is on Eastern Standard Time, midnight UTC comes at 7 p.m. local time. That conversion is for Toronto on standard time, so check the offset for your own location and date. Compare the local time with the department’s clock and submit before expiry to preserve maintained status if eligible. The extension guide also notes that the permit cannot be extended beyond the passport’s expiry. If the bridging criteria will not be met in time, check whether you qualify for another permit before your existing permission ends.
Check which work conditions apply while waiting
The IRCC guidance for an expiring permit explains maintained status. An eligible applicant who files to extend or change a work permit before expiry and stays in Canada can generally work under the previous permit’s conditions while IRCC decides the new application. For example, someone whose existing permit names one employer should continue to work under those restrictions while the open work permit application is pending. Someone who applies to stay as a visitor must stop working when the work permit expires.
Keep the original permit and the submission confirmation for the work permit application. The after-extension guide explains the proof-of-authorised-work letter issued to eligible online applicants and how it can be used with the original permit. It also explains that the date printed on that letter does not end work authorisation if the qualifying conditions still apply and IRCC has yet to decide the work permit application. Check the actual account messages before changing jobs or making plans based on a decision date.
