Immigration and Refugee Law
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Maintained status (once called “implied status”) is the rule that keeps a temporary resident in status in Canada after their visitor record, work permit or study permit expires, as long as they applied to extend it before it expired and IRCC has not yet decided. It comes from section 183(5) and (6) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. Separate rules decide whether you may keep working (section 186(u)) or studying (section 189) while you wait.
Many visitors, international students and foreign workers in Canada find themselves waiting for a decision from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) after their documents have expired. Maintained status protects people in that position, but only if certain conditions are met, and it can end suddenly if the application is refused or the person leaves Canada. This guide explains how the rules work, the court decisions that have shaped them, and the practical steps that help you stay on the right side of them.
Key takeaways
Table of contents
Every temporary resident in Canada is authorized to stay for a set period. For a visitor, that period usually appears on the visitor record or is set at entry; for workers and students, it is usually tied to the expiry date of the work permit or study permit. If you want to stay longer, you must apply to extend your stay or renew your permit before that period ends.
Processing takes time, and IRCC often has not decided by the date your status would otherwise expire. Maintained status fills that gap. If you applied on time and are still waiting, the law treats your authorized stay as continuing until IRCC decides. During that time you keep your temporary resident status, subject to the conditions that already applied to you.
IRCC and many practitioners used to call this “implied status.” The current term is “maintained status,” but the legal rule is the same. It is also important to know what maintained status is not: it is not a new permit, it does not guarantee approval, and it does not give you any rights that your previous status did not already give you.
Section 181(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) allows a foreign national to apply to extend their authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident if the application is made by the end of the period authorized for their stay and they have complied with the conditions imposed on their entry.
Section 183(5) then provides that if a temporary resident has applied for an extension and no decision has been made by the end of their authorized stay, the period is extended until the day a decision is made if the application is refused, or until the end of the new period if it is approved. Section 183(6) confirms that during this extended period the person retains their temporary resident status, subject to any other conditions imposed.
There is one statutory exception. Under section 183(5.1), maintained status does not apply to a foreign national who is the subject of a declaration under section 22.1(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
Keeping your temporary resident status and being allowed to work are two different questions. The authority to keep working comes from section 186(u) of the Regulations, which allows a foreign national to work without a work permit until a decision is made on an application under section 201(1), if they have remained in Canada after their work permit expired and have continued to comply with the conditions on the expired permit, other than its expiry date.
In practical terms, this means:
Section 186(u) is not a general permission to work for anyone with a pending application. A visitor who applies for a first work permit from inside Canada, for example, does not gain a right to work by filing that application.
Students have a parallel rule. Under section 189 of the Regulations, a foreign national who has applied under section 217(1) to renew their study permit is authorized to study without a permit until a decision is made, if they have remained in Canada since the permit expired and continue to comply with the conditions on the expired permit, other than the expiry date. Section 217(1)(a) requires the renewal application to be made before the study permit expires.
Students should also keep in mind the ongoing conditions in section 220.1(1): a study permit holder must enrol at the designated learning institution named in their permit, remain enrolled until they complete their studies, and actively pursue their program. These conditions continue to matter while you are on maintained status and, as discussed below, they can affect whether status can be restored after a refusal.
Every part of the maintained status rules depends on an application that is made on time. An application filed even one day after your status or permit expired does not create maintained status, and the Federal Court has said that an applicant keeps status while an application to extend existing status is pending, but not when that status has already expired (Shibu v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2023 FC 148).
Completeness matters just as much. The Federal Court of Appeal has held that an incomplete application returned under section 12 of the Regulations is not an application within the meaning of IRPA and the Regulations (Gennai v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2017 FCA 29). Applying that reasoning, the Federal Court found that a returned work permit extension “never existed” as an application for the purposes of the Regulations (Verma v. Canada (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship), 2017 FC 488). If an application is returned as incomplete after your permit has expired, you may find that you were never on maintained status at all.
For this reason, it is wise to apply well before your expiry date, to check every form, fee and document, and to keep proof of the date you submitted.
Under section 183(5)(a), maintained status lasts until the day a decision is made if the application is refused. The Federal Court has held that a decision is not “made” for this purpose until it is communicated to the temporary resident, and that the date of communication depends on the evidence in each case (Shekhtman v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 964). The date printed on a refusal letter is therefore not always the date status ends.
Once status is lost, section 182 allows a visitor, worker or student who lost status because they did not comply with certain conditions, such as the authorized period of stay, to apply to restore it within 90 days, if they meet the initial requirements for their stay, have not failed to comply with other conditions, and are not subject to a section 22.1 declaration. The Federal Court has described the 90-day limit as one that “brooks no exception” (Lawrence v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 607). Under section 182(2), a student who is not in compliance with section 220.1(1) cannot be restored. A processing fee applies to restoration in addition to the fee for any permit you are requesting; check the current amounts on the IRCC fee list.
Two further points are often misunderstood:
Read more in our article on why timely restoration matters. If restoration is not available, a temporary resident permit may be worth discussing with a lawyer in some situations.
Section 183(4)(a) provides that the period authorized for a temporary resident’s stay ends on the day they leave Canada without prior authorization to re-enter. Sections 186(u) and 189 also require you to have remained in Canada after your permit expired. On the wording of these provisions, leaving Canada after your permit expires means the conditions for continuing to work or study under those sections are no longer met, and you should not assume that returning revives them.
Section 190(3)(f) of the Regulations contains a limited visa exemption for some people returning after a visit solely to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, if they return by the end of their authorized stay or any extension. In Brito v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2003 FC 1379, the Court applied this exemption to a person whose timely extension application had extended her authorized stay. That exemption concerns visa requirements only; it does not guarantee admission, and it does not restore work or study authorization that ended when you left. Anyone on maintained status should get advice before travelling.
People sometimes ask whether they can file a new extension application while their first application is still pending, in order to “extend” maintained status again. The law on this point is unsettled. We are not aware of a Federal Court decision that squarely decides whether a second application filed during maintained status starts a new period of maintained status.
For workers and students the text of the Regulations is a particular concern: sections 201(1)(a) and 217(1)(a) require a renewal application to be made before the permit expires. A second application filed after the permit has expired does not, on its face, meet that requirement, so it should not be assumed to authorize continued work or study under section 186(u) or 189. The Federal Court has also refused to let repeated restoration requests undo an earlier finding about when status expired (Cheema v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 952). Because the consequences of getting this wrong can be serious, a second application should be considered only with legal advice.
Because maintained status is not a document, employers, schools and service providers may ask you to show that you are still authorized to work or study. Keep copies of your expired permit, your submission confirmation showing the date and time you applied, your fee receipt and any acknowledgment of receipt from IRCC. These records show that your application was made before your permit expired, which is the key fact for sections 186(u) and 189.
If you are a visitor, keep your visitor record and proof of your extension application together. Do not start a new job, change employers or begin a new program on the assumption that maintained status allows it; it only continues the conditions you already had.
Maintained status is designed for the period while you wait, not as a long-term solution. If a decision is taking much longer than usual, there may be options to ask IRCC to act, including, in appropriate cases, an application to the Federal Court for an order of mandamus. If your application is refused, you may be able to ask IRCC to reconsider, apply for restoration, or seek judicial review in the Federal Court. Judicial review has strict filing deadlines, explained in our guide to the 15- and 60-day deadlines. Each option has its own requirements, and none of them guarantees a particular outcome.
You can read summaries of recent Federal Court immigration decisions on our court decisions page, and search the Federal Court’s own decisions database.
It is the rule in section 183(5) and (6) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that keeps a temporary resident in status after their authorized stay ends, if they applied to extend it before it ended and IRCC has not yet made a decision.
Yes. “Implied status” is the older name for the same rule. IRCC now uses the term “maintained status.”
Only if section 186(u) applies: you applied to renew your work permit before it expired, you have stayed in Canada, and you continue to follow the conditions of the expired permit, such as the named employer or occupation.
Under section 189, you may keep studying if you applied to renew your study permit before it expired, have stayed in Canada and continue to follow the conditions of the expired permit.
It lasts until IRCC decides your application. If the application is approved, you move to the new period authorized. If it is refused, maintained status ends when the refusal is communicated to you.
A late application does not create maintained status. You may need to consider restoration under section 182, which must be requested within 90 days of losing status and has its own requirements.
Leaving Canada can end your authorized stay under section 183(4)(a), and sections 186(u) and 189 require you to have remained in Canada. A limited visa exemption exists for some short trips to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, but it does not guarantee re-entry or restore work or study authorization. Get advice before travelling.
No. The Federal Court has rejected the argument that a pending restoration application gives implied status or work authorization (Mohammed v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1703).
The law on this point is unsettled, and for workers and students the Regulations require a renewal application before the permit expires. Do not rely on a second application without legal advice.
Courts have held that a returned incomplete application is treated as never having been made, so it may not support maintained status. Check your application carefully before submitting it.
Generally, no. Section 186(u) only allows you to keep working under the conditions of your expired permit. Working for a different employer or in a different occupation may require a new authorization first.
Consider legal advice before you apply if your permit is about to expire, if your application was returned or refused, if you need to travel, or if you are thinking of filing a second application.
If you are waiting for an IRCC decision, have received a refusal or are unsure whether you are on maintained status, Pax Law Corporation can review your situation and explain your options. Samin Mortazavi provides immigration and refugee law services through our Vancouver office to clients across Canada and internationally. Pax Law Corporation is a general practice with offices in North Vancouver and Toronto, and you can book a consultation with either office.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. The law can change and every case is different. Reading it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. For advice about your own situation, please book a consultation with a lawyer.
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