Restoration of Status

Upon entering Canada, each foreign national obtains a certain status (visitor, worker, student) for a specified period of time.   

Generally, visitors are allowed to stay in Canada for up to 6 months from the date of entry.  

Students are issued permits depending on the duration of their academic program, which can be up to 4 years.  

Workers are issued permits depending on the duration of their job offer or as stated on the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or their contract if they are LMIA exempt.   

If a visitor, student, or foreign worker loses his or her immigration status because their work permit expired, they can still submit an application as long as no more than 90 days have passed since their status expired.     

Perhaps the permit holder has applied to extend his or her status but was refused, then most likely the permit holder was given 90 days to submit a new application to restore his or her status.     

Important: Restoration of Status only applies if the foreign national has not been out of status for more than 90 days, and they have not failed to comply with the conditions of their permit.    

An application to restore temporary status can only be done while inside Canada. Leaving Canada will trigger the need for an entirely new application before or upon entry.