Work permit extensions and the maintained status timing trap

If a client applies to extend their work or study permit before it expires, they can keep working or studying under the conditions of the existing permit while the new application is pending. This is "maintained status" (formerly "implied status"). The protection is real but narrow.

The conditions carry over — exactly

Maintained status preserves the old permit's conditions: same employer, same occupation, same location if it was employer-specific. A client on a closed permit who changes jobs while "maintained" is working without authorisation. If they need to change employers, they need a new permit approved or an interim authorisation, not just a pending application.

It ends on a decision

The moment the new application is refused, maintained status stops — immediately. The client must stop working that day. Advise clients not to make irreversible commitments (resigning another role, signing a lease tied to the job) on the assumption the extension is a formality.

Leaving Canada while maintained

A client who leaves Canada while on maintained status can generally return as a visitor if otherwise admissible, but cannot resume work or study until the new permit is issued. Time the travel carefully.

If the permit already expired

Maintained status does not apply. The client has a limited window to apply for restoration of status, during which they cannot work or study, and must show they still meet the original requirements. Past that window, the option is to leave and apply from outside.

Practical rule

File extensions well before expiry — weeks, not days — and tell the client in writing what maintained status does and does not let them do.