Extending Your Work Permit
Lawyers for a Work Permit renewal
Work permit renewal and extension lawyers help make the renewal process quicker and easier for you. For most, if not all, Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada, renewing a work permit is necessary at some point. The work permit renewal lawyers at Kahane Law Office are here to help. Free call 1-877-225-8817 to learn more about extending your work permit. Due to our proximity to Banff, we help many people extend their Visas when here on a working holiday Visa.
Why are Work Permit Renewals / Extensions Required?
There are two reasons for renewing work permits in Canada. First, most temporary workers in Canada on a work permit will want to work for more than one term. Fortunately, most employers will also want to keep their temporary workers for more than one work permit term. Second, if becoming a permanent resident or Canadian citizen is the goal of the worker, work permit renewals or extensions are necessary in their transition to remaining in Canada indefinitely.
Factors Considered in Work Permit Extensions and Renewals
While extending a work permit may seem easy, a number of factors exist that work permit renewal lawyers take into account when wishing to extend a clients stay in Canada as a temporary foreign worker.
Work Permit Extension Time Frames
A Temporary Foreign Worker wishing to renew their work permit should give themselves enough time to gather the appropriate documentation, as well as ensuring a smooth transition between the old and new work permits. Citizenship and Immigration Canada recommends applying for a renewal at least 1 month before your current permit expires. However, it may be prudent to apply well before this date. Our work permit extension lawyers can help you decide on the best timing. Immigration Canada has updates as to its application processing times.
Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) on Renewals:
Many Temporary Foreign Workers require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (commonly referred to as an LMIA) for an extension or renewal of their work permit. This is permission issued by the Service Canada to an employer. Meaning it grants them the ability to employee a Temporary Foreign Worker over a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident. More information on Labour Market Impact Assessments is available here.
If you do require a valid LMIA to apply for an extension on your work permit, and you receive your new LMIA well in advance of your current work permit expiring, you may apply to extend your work permit well in advance.
Implied Status with Work Permit Extensions and Renewals
Implied Status is something that helps extension applicants bridge the gap between an expired work permit, and an application that has already been submitted for renewing a work permit (see Implied Status post). This is a status that is implied. This means it carries no official documentation from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. However, it allows people who already applied for an extension to remain in Canada. They must still meet the conditions of their current work permit, whilst awaiting a decision on their already-submitted renewal application.
Renewal / Extension Eligibility
Unless a Temporary Foreign Worker falls under a Labour Market Impact Assessment Exempt category, their employer (or potential employer) must first apply for and receive a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment for the Temporary Foreign Worker. Only after receiving that positive decision will eligibility exist for the Temporary Foreign Worker to extend their work permit.
Unfortunately, and especially in today’s political climate, Labour Market Impact Assessments can be extremely difficult or impossible to obtain. Further, the vast majority of these take months for processing. Therefore, it is very important to start the process earlier rather than later. This ensures a smooth transition for the Temporary Foreign Worker.
Restoration of Status on Extensions
Restoration of Status applies to those in Canada that previously had valid status, but lost this status within the last 90 days. The key here is the 90 days. If a Temporary Foreign Worker has a work permit that has expired, they have 90 days in which to apply to restore their status in Canada. During this time, a Temporary Foreign Worker must cease any work activity so as not to violate the terms of their agreement with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Implied Status vs. Restoration of Status for Work Permits
Restoration of Status is not to be confused with Implied Status. Implied Status applies to Temporary Foreign Workers who have applied for an extension of their work permit prior to their current work permit expiring. Thus, if the current work permit expires, they have an implied status, allowing them to continue along the lines stipulated in the original work permit. This is why timely work permit renewals are so important.
For those foreign nationals Out of Status, their current work permit has expired, and they have not applied for an extension before that expiry; or they applied for an extension and it was refused but Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. For these foreign nationals caught in a sort of status limbo, there is a 90-day grace period in which they may regularize their status with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada before they need to leave Canada.
Open Work Permits
For those in Canada on an Open Work Permit, a work permit that allows the holder to work in virtually any occupation, applying to renew or extend this permit depends on a number of factors (please see post on Open Work Permits). Open work permits also need work permit renewals.
Work Permit Renewal and Extension Lawyers in Canada
Our entire immigration law team is available for you. Our work permit renewal and extension lawyers, located in Calgary, Alberta help people across Canada. Phone and Skype consultations assist with out of country/province clients. If you have questions, email us directly here today for the quickest way to get an answer. If you want us to help you, call for free at 1-877-225-8817 today.