- IRCC says workers must know permit conditions, extend your work permit before expiry, and change conditions when needed.
- Most applicants file online using Form IMM 5710, with a $155 fee and a possible $100 open work permit fee.
- LMIA or CAQ-based extensions need a near-expiry permit, complete employer filing, and documents within 90 days.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says a worker with a work permit has three duties: know the conditions, extend your work permit before it expires, and apply to change your work permit conditions when needed. Three duties. One file.
The department lays out that guidance on its work permit page. The page is current guidance.
Most applicants file online and use Form IMM 5710. The page lists a $155 processing fee, plus a $100 open work permit fee when that charge applies. Not every file carries both costs.
Some extensions face extra timing rules. They apply when a worker seeks more time before a positive LMIA or CAQ decision. The employer must already have submitted a complete LMIA or CAQ application. Required documents must follow within 90 days of the worker's application. Tight window.
That filing path is narrower than the general advice. It is also more exact.
The three duties start with what is already on the permit
The first duty is to understand the conditions already attached to the permit. Those terms control the holder's status. They are not optional.
The second duty is to apply before the permit expires. The extension route depends on that timing. Miss the date, and the file changes character.
The third duty is to seek a change when the permit's conditions need to shift. The department uses that route when the worker's situation changes. Different facts, different filing.
The file gets stricter when LMIA or CAQ support is involved
The department says most people apply online. That is the usual route.
Form IMM 5710 is the form named on the current page. Workers also face the $155 processing fee. If the file calls for an open work permit, the added fee is $100.
Those charges sit beside the timing rules. They do not replace them.
The special extension route for LMIA- or CAQ-based cases is tighter than the basic filing advice. The current permit must be close to ending, not far from it.
That means a permit with two weeks or less left, a complete employer filing for LMIA or CAQ, and the supporting documents filed within 90 days of the worker's application. Short clock. Hard deadline.
The current page was updated August 21, 2026
Fresh page. The current version was updated August 21, 2026. On that page, the department still ties the narrower extension route to the permit's remaining time, the employer's complete LMIA or CAQ application, and the 90 days allowed for required documents.
