What is Restoration of Status in Canada?
As the term suggests, Restoration of Status in Canada simply means that as a temporary resident in Canada you are allowed to restore your status to a valid/legal status in terms of immigration.
As a student/ temporary worker or a visitor, you may find yourselves in a situation where your permit to stay in Canada has expired. It is highly recommended that you do not stay in Canada without a valid permit or continue to engage in any study or work without proper authorization to do so. It is considered ILLEGAL and may impact your future applications for temporary or permanent residence in Canada. A Foreign National has 90 days from the date of expiry of their original permit to apply for a restoration of their temporary status in Canada. Once an approval is granted, they will be issued a Visitor Record.
What does it mean to – Lose Temporary Resident Status?
Under section A47, status is lost on expiry of the period of authorized stay or on determination by an officer that the foreign national has failed to comply with any other requirement of the IRPA.
What Happens When My Temporary Status Expires?
If your temporary resident status has expired, and you have not already applied for an extension, you must immediately cease all activities allowed under your visa. You cannot continue to work or study on an expired permit.
Further, all benefits tied to your temporary permits expire with your permit. This includes access to provincially funded healthcare, your Social Insurance Number, and your temporary resident status.
When should I apply for Restoration of Status?
To be able to continue working or studying in Canada, you must apply for an extension of your permit at least 3-4 months prior to the date of expiry on your permit. An extension is not a restoration. An extension is simply seeking permission to extend your ongoing/valid temporary resident permit.
If an application for an extension is received after the temporary resident status is lost, the case processing centre should refuse the application and respond with a warning notice to the applicant that they are eligible to apply for restoration.
Restoration of Status on the other hand is when your temporary resident permit (TRP) has expired, and you wish to restore the same. Be aware that you can not apply to restore your TRP to a different permit. For example, a Study Permit will not be restored to a Work Permit, or a Visitor Visa cannot be restored to a study/work permit and vice-versa. You may however be able to apply to change the conditions on your original permit and if the assessing officer is satisfied that you are eligible, you may be granted a new/change status.
Who Can Apply for Restoration of Status?
Foreign nationals whose temporary resident permit has expired, may be eligible to apply for restoration of status. You can do so up to 90 days post expiration to apply for restoration of status, provided your situation hasn’t changed and you have not violated any other conditions of your permit.
Can I continue working or studying while I await the outcome of my Restoration of Status application?
If your temporary resident status has expired, and you have not already applied for an extension, you must immediately cease all activities allowed under your original permit. You cannot continue to work or study on an expired permit.
Temporary residents who apply for an extension before their current permit expires may be able to continue with regular activities under Maintained Status, formerly implied status.
What are the Eligibility requirements for restoration of status?
First and foremost, you need to apply for a restoration within 90 days of losing your status. Subsequently, you also need to:
meet the initial requirements for your stay
remain in Canada until a decision is made
ensure that you have not failed to comply with any condition imposed automatically by regulation [R183] or by an officer [R185] on your original TRP.
continue to meet the requirements of a temporary resident and the requirements of the work or study permit, as applicable.
Ensure you are not inadmissible to Canada.
How do I Apply for Restoration of Status?
Restoration of status applications need to be submitted online. You can do so yourselves or hire a professional to represent you. There is a $200 fee for restoration of status in addition to the cost of the permit extension.
Restoration of Status applications must be submitted no later than 90 days after your permit has expired, and acceptance is not guaranteed. It is very important that you do not continue to work or study on an expired permit, as this may affect your chances of receiving a restoration of status.
Restoration of Status applications are time sensitive. Incomplete applications or applications with errors will be returned or rejected. If your application is returned as ‘’incomplete’’, the revised application must still be delivered within the original 90-day deadline. In such a scenario, your previous application will be considered as – ‘never submitted’.
It is imperative to ensure that you do not make any errors on such applications. All outcomes are case specific. It may take anywhere between 4 months or more before you get a decision on your submission and during said time, you are not allowed to continue to study or work, although you are allowed to stay in Canada.
If you are not confident or are unaware on how to submit your application, contact IMMERGITY Immigration now. We are always happy to help.
Restoration of Status after 90 days – is it possible? What are my options?
Unfortunately, the restoration of status option is not available after passing 90 days of losing your status in Canada. However, you may still consider the following:
Leave Canada and return – You will need proper documentation and permission to return to Canada. This could be in form of a new TRV or an eTA. If you overstayed your legal duration in Canada, you must prepare yourselves for extra questioning at the port of entry. A CBSA officer may still refuse you entry if they are not satisfied that you will leave the country as indicated.
Apply for a new TRP – As a temporary resident, you may be granted a new TRP but it solely depends on the assessing officer and your personal conditions.
In some cases, you may be eligible to apply for permanent residence under the H&C category. This as well, is subject to approval based on the genuineness of your circumstances.