Extending temporary residencies for students, workers and visitors
The Canadian immigration department is giving temporary residents another chance to extend their stay in Canada.
Temporary residents who had valid status on or after January 30, 2020 but whose status expired on or before May 31, 2021 will have until August 31, 2021 to apply to restore their status, according to the Canadian government’s webpage.
This is an extension of a public policy that went into place on July 14 that was originally just valid until December 31, 2020.
It affects workers, students, and visitors who were in Canada when their status expired.
Normally, they would have 90 days to apply to restore their status.
However, due to service disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, affected individuals now have until the end of August to send in their applications, if they meet certain conditions.
In order to be eligible for the new policy, applicants need to have been in Canada with valid status between January 30, 2020 and May 31, 2021.
They must have remained in Canada since entry, and lost their temporary status during this period.
They also need to have paid the application processing fees for restoring their temporary resident status.
The policy also extends to work permit holders with job offers to work while their application is in processing.
This could apply to their work permit application, or their restoration.
If temporary workers are approved under this policy, they may be allowed to start their employment while waiting on a decision to restore their status, or get a work permit.
In order to be eligible for this interim work authorization, foreign nationals need to have submitted an employer-specific work permit and restoration application and paid all fees.
They must have held a valid work permit in the 12 months before the date on which they sent in their restoration application.
They intend to work for the employer or occupation listed in the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or the LMIA-exempt offer of employment included in their work permit application.
They have filled out an IRCC webform to apply for the public policy and they have requested that the exemption be applied until a decision is made on their work permit application.
