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Pathway guide

Keep your foreign workers

Most work permits end on a set date and tie the worker to one employer, job and location. To keep a foreign worker, you line up the next permit early (usually a new LMIA or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment), avoid any gap in status, and, where it fits, support their move to permanent residence through Express Entry, a provincial nominee stream or an Atlantic or community program.

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Who it’s for

  • Employers whose worker's permit will expire soon
  • Employers changing a worker's job, pay, work location, or company structure (merger, takeover or name change)
  • Employers who want to keep a post-graduation work permit holder after the permit ends
  • Employers helping a worker's spouse work in Canada
  • Employers who want to support a worker's permanent residence

What it asks for

  • Before the worker applies, get a new LMIA, or submit an LMIA-exempt offer of employment and pay the compliance fee
  • The worker applies before the permit expires, ideally at least 30 days ahead
  • While the application is pending, the worker keeps the same job, employer and location and should stay in Canada
  • A new job, location or employer needs a new permit (or IRCC's interim authorization) first; mergers can too
  • Workers in Canada apply online; flagpoling at the border has ended for most people
  • If a permit has expired, the worker stops working; restoration must be filed within 90 days, and employing an unauthorized worker is an offence
  • A PGWP cannot be extended, so plan the next permit early; Quebec PSTQ applicants have a special extension until December 31, 2026
  • After a permanent residence application, a bridging open work permit can keep the worker working; some spouses can get open work permits
  • Canadian Experience Class: one year of skilled Canadian work in the last 3 years and a language test
  • Express Entry job offers add no points today; points for high-wage occupations are announced for November 3, 2026
  • Provincial nominee streams with employer requirements: Ontario Workforce Priority, BC PNP Skills Immigration, Alberta Opportunity Stream
  • Atlantic Immigration Program and Rural or Francophone community pilots: get designated, make a qualifying offer, then seek endorsement or recommendation

What the employer does

  • List every foreign worker's permit type, employer, occupation, location and expiry date, and set reminders well before expiry.
  • Decide the route for each next permit: a new LMIA (apply early, and check whether a low-wage application can be processed in your area), an LMIA-exempt offer of employment in the Employer Portal with the compliance fee, or an open work permit the worker qualifies for.
  • Give the worker what they need to apply (job offer, LMIA decision or offer of employment number) and make sure they apply online before the permit expires, ideally at least 30 days ahead.
  • While the application is pending, keep the worker in the same job, location and conditions, keep their WP-EXT letter or proof of application on file, and advise them not to leave Canada.
  • Do not start a new job, location or employer arrangement until the new permit or IRCC's interim work authorization arrives; review permits before any merger, takeover or name change.
  • If a permit has expired without an application, stop the worker's work right away and get advice on restoration within 90 days.
  • To keep the worker for good, map their permanent residence options (Canadian Experience Class, provincial nominee streams, the Atlantic Immigration Program or community pilots) and prepare reference letters and any employer applications or designations.
  • Once the worker applies for permanent residence, check whether a bridging open work permit or a spouse's open work permit fits.

Documents you’ll usually need

  • The worker's current work permit and passport (expiry dates)
  • New LMIA decision letter and Annex A, or the offer of employment number and compliance fee receipt
  • Signed job offer or employment contract with duties, wage, hours and work location
  • Proof the worker applied before expiry (WP-EXT letter, or paper application proof)
  • Employment reference letter and pay records for permanent residence applications
  • Merger, takeover or name change documents, and letters to affected workers
  • Provincial or program forms: OINP job offer and approval of employment position, BC PNP Employer Declaration Form, AAIP job offer documents, AIP or community Confirmation of Designation and offer forms (IMM 0157, IMM 0247, IMM 0251)

Fees and timing

  • Apply to extend at least 30 calendar days before the current work permit expires.
    Official source
  • Work permit processing fee $155; open work permit holder fee $100; biometrics $85 per person ($170 maximum for a family applying together).
    Official source
  • Employer compliance fee for an LMIA-exempt offer of employment: $230.
    Official source
  • An LMIA application can be submitted up to 6 months before the job start date; low-wage LMIAs allow employment for a maximum of 1 year.
    Official source
  • High-wage LMIAs may request an employment duration of up to 3 years.
    Official source
  • A positive LMIA is valid for up to 6 months after it is issued; the worker must apply for the permit before it expires.
    Official source
  • Interim authorization to start a new job (code PPCHANGEWORK2020): IRCC should respond in about 10 to 15 days.
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  • Restoration: IRCC must receive the application no more than 90 days after status expired.
    Official source
  • Restoring status as a worker: $246.25, plus the $155 work permit fee ($401.25 in total).
    Official source
  • Quebec PSTQ extension measure: the worker must apply on or before December 31, 2026.
    Official source
  • Express Entry job offer points were repealed effective March 25, 2025.
    Official source
  • Express Entry changes announced October 16, 2026 take effect November 3, 2026; recalculating profiles may take up to two weeks, with invitation rounds paused, and job offers must be added to profiles before November 3.
    Official source
  • OINP: the Ontario Workforce Priority stream expression of interest portal opened August 4, 2026, after the former streams were removed by regulation in force June 25, 2026.
    Official source
  • OINP: the worker registers within 30 calendar days of your job offer; if invited, you have 14 and the worker 17 calendar days to apply.
    Official source
  • BC PNP Skills Immigration application fee $1,750 since January 22, 2026 (was $1,475).
    Official source
  • BC PNP: invited workers have 30 calendar days to apply; request for review fee $500.
    Official source
  • AAIP: Worker Expression of Interest fee $135 since April 7, 2026; worker stream application fee $1,500 since April 1, 2025.
    Official source
  • Community pilots work permit: employer compliance fee $230; the permit is valid for 2 years.
    Official source
Watch out for
  • Never let a permit lapse: once it expires without an application, the worker must stop working, and employing them can be an offence.
  • Maintained status covers only the same employer, job and location, and ends if the worker leaves Canada.
  • Flagpoling no longer works for most workers; the worker must apply online.
  • A PGWP cannot be extended (except when it was shortened by passport validity); start the next permit months ahead.
  • Low-wage LMIAs may not be processed in cities with unemployment of 6% or higher, or above the 10% low-wage cap.
  • Express Entry job offers give no points today; the high-wage points announced for November 3, 2026 are not yet in force.
  • Ontario's Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream is closed; the Ontario Workforce Priority stream replaced it.
  • The Alberta Opportunity Stream does not accept workers on maintained status or bridging open work permits.
  • Since January 21, 2025, spousal open work permits mostly require a TEER 0 or 1 job, or a listed TEER 2 or 3 job, with 16 or more months left on the worker's permit.
  • A merger, takeover or name change can require new permits if wages, duties, location or the type of business change.

Official pages

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Checked against official sources on October 16, 2026. The employer assessment checks your answers against these requirements, and a lawyer reviews anything unusual.