Maintained Status

What is maintained status ?

If you applied to extend your work permit or study permit before your current permit expires, you are authorized to continue residing and working in Canada throughout the renewal process even after the expiry of your current permit. This is called maintained status – formerly “implied status”.

Under maintained status, you are authorized to continue working under the same conditions of your current permit until a decision is made on the extension as long as you are in Canada on the date of expiry and do not leave Canada after the expiry of your current permit.

Impact of maintained status

Travel abroad during maintained status

If you leave Canada after the expiry of your current permit, you will lose your legal status and your ability to work in Canada. Leaving Canada while under maintained status can also impact your RAMQ coverage.

Exception - If you have applied for from inside Canada, leaving and re-entering Canada does not stop you from being able to work full-time while you wait for your post-graduation work permit. If applicable, you must have a valid visa/eTA to return to Canada from overseas.

If you have any travels outside of Canada planned while under maintained status, please inform your unit, before leaving Canada, and contact immigration.apo [at] mcgill.ca .

RAMQ coverage

Individuals already covered by the RAMQ may be eligible for a 6-month extension while under maintained status. You should directly to confirm eligibility and apply for temporary coverage.

SIN number

Your . Once you have received the new permit, you should to extend your SIN number.

Maintained status procedure

The employee must provide evidence of maintained status by following the procedure below. Upon approval of their application, the employee must provide their new work permit or study permit.

The employee must contact their unit immediately if:

  • They receive a refusal of their application; or,
  • They plan to travel outside Canada while under maintained status.

Scenario 1: Work Permit Renewal

If you applied to extend your work permit online, upload in Workday a copy of the letter from IRCC confirming your maintained status WP-EXT except PGWP (IMM 5988).

If you did not receive this letter or applied to extend your work permit by paper, please contact immigration.apo [at] mcgill.ca.

Scenario 2: Transition from Study Permit to Work Permit

If you applied online from within Canada, upload in Workday a copy of the letter from IRCC confirming your maintained status WP-EXT for PGWP (IMM 0127).

If you did not receive this letter, or if you applied online from outside Canada or by paper, please contact immigration.apo [at] mcgill.ca.

Scenario 3: Study Permit Renewal

You must request a maintained status confirmation by emailing immigration.apo [at] mcgill.ca.The employee's departmental administrator must be copied on this email.

In their email, the employee must clearly answer the following questions and provide the documents listed below. APO Immigration will provide a maintained status confirmation by email.

Documents:

  1. Copy of expired or expiring study permit
  2. Evidence that the application for a renewed study permit was submitted before the expiry of the old study permit
    • Online application: letter of confirmation from IRCC showing date of submission
    • Paper application: copy of application and postmark

Questions:

  1. Faculty or Administrative Unit / Department?
  2. Have you traveled outside Canada since the expiry of your study permit?
  3. When did your study permit expire?
  4. When did you apply for your study permit renewal?
  5. Are you enrolled as a full-time student?
  6. Have you graduated and will you be starting a new program? If so, when did you complete your studies and when will your new program start?

Back to top