Last Updated On 9 April 2023, 9:52 AM EDT (Toronto Time)

Visitors, students, or foreign workers can lawfully remain in Canada until a decision is made on their application if they apply to extend their status before it expires.

This time between the decision made and after expiry of temporary residents’ status is called implied status.

In this article, you can learn more about implied status and how it may affect the period of your authorized stay.

Canada implied status

Temporary residents must apply at least 30 days before their current permit expires to extend their stay in Canada.

If their application is being processed when their current permit expires, they can remain in Canada under the same conditions as their previous permit.

For example, a temporary worker who applies to extend their work visa before it expires can continue to work in Canada for the same company while waiting for a decision.

Nevertheless, the temporary worker must stop working on the day their existing permit expires unless they have applied for another permit.

This can be extension of their work permit to work for a different employer or changing to a study permit.

If the status extension application is approved, the applicant (and their family member) can remain in Canada as long as they comply with the new permit conditions.

Moreover, the new permit would include an issue date. It could imply a waiting period between the issuance of the new permit and the current permit’s expiration.

However, it will not be a problem if the person later decides to seek permanent residency. This waiting period between expiration of existing permit and issuance of new one will be considered legal stay in Canada.

Immigration officer will recognize that this period is covered by implied status.

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Travelling outside Canada while having an implied status

It’s crucial to remember that implied status only applies while the applicant is still in Canada.

A temporary resident with implied status who departs the country may be allowed to return as a temporary resident if certain conditions are met, which may include the following:

The individual does not require a temporary residence visa or is exempt, or
Has a valid temporary resident visa (TRV)

However, until a decision is reached about the application for the extension of status, a person with implied status would not be able to resume work or study.

Additionally, the applicant must show the officer at the port of entry proof of enough financial support while awaiting the outcome.

Therefore, it is strongly advised that anyone with implied status who departs the country do so with documentation proving that they have applied for a permit extension.

Upon departing Canada, a person having implied status (either to work or study) effectively forfeits that right until a decision is made regarding the application to work or study in Canada.

For instance, a student who has applied to extend their study permit and leaves Canada might be permitted to return. However, until a decision is reached on the application, they will not be able to study in Canada.

However, they could have legally continued to study in Canada if they had stayed on implied status.

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How implied status affects the length of the authorized stay?

If the application for extension has been approved

If the extension application is approved, the document’s date of issuance shows when the decision on the application was made.

The applicant’s authorized stay period is now equal to the validity of the new document.

The border services officer may impose a period of stay, if the applicant leaves Canada and returns. Meanwhile, the application for an extension is refused before the end of this period.

In that case, the applicant may remain in Canada until the end of the stay specified by the border services officer.

If the extension application is refused

If the extension application is refused, the applicant is deemed in status until a decision is reached on their application.

Moreover, the 90-day restoration period begins on the date of refusal.

If the applicant leaves Canada and returns, the border services officer imposes a period of stay, and the application for extension is refused before the end of this period, the applicant may remain in Canada until the end of the stay specified by the border services officer.

If the extension application is withdrawn

There is no longer a pending extension application as of the day the withdrawal is registered, if the extension application is withdrawn. Consequently, the authorized stay period expires on that day.

If the applicant left Canada, the border services officer imposed a period of stay upon re-entry, and the extension request is withdrawn before the expiration of this period, the applicant may stay in Canada for the duration of the stay specified by the border services officer.