Canada Maintained Status Rules 2025: What Changed and What to Do

(CANADA) — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada released a three-year Immigration Levels Plan setting permanent resident admissions at 380,000 annually through 2028 and sharply cutting temporary resident arrivals to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027–2028, as a set of policy changes that took effect at the start of 2026 reshaped the rules for students, workers, entrepreneurs and employers.

Ottawa framed the overhaul as a push for “control, clarity, and consistency” across the immigration framework, building on maintained status reforms that took effect on May 28, 2025 and are being more strictly enforced as of January 2026.

Major changes and effective dates

• Permanent resident target: 380,000 annually through 2028 (down from 395,000 in 2025 — a 3.8% reduction).
• Temporary resident target: 385,000 in 2026, 370,000 in 2027–2028 (down from 673,650 in 2025 — a 43% reduction).
• Maintained status reforms: In effect since May 28, 2025, with stricter enforcement beginning January 2026.
• Graduate student rule change: From January 1, 2026, master’s and PhD students at public designated-learning institutions no longer require a Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter (PAL/TAL) to apply for study permits.
• Start-Up Visa (SUV) program closure: Closed to new applications effective December 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.; limited continuations for applicants with 2025 commitment certificates until June 30, 2026.
• Provincial changes: Ontario and Alberta introduced different reforms affecting labour mobility and nominee streams, effective January 1, 2026.

Permanent resident composition (annual allocations)

A breakdown of the 380,000 annual permanent resident target in the plan:

One-time conversion initiatives

• Transition up to 33,000 temporary foreign workers to permanent status by 2027.
• Process approximately 115,000 Protected Persons as permanent residents over two years.
• These one-time initiatives are intended to convert people already in Canada without increasing the ongoing annual admissions ceiling.

Key takeaway: The plan maintains a high annual permanent resident intake while actively reducing temporary arrivals and steering eligible temporary residents into permanent pathways.

Student-related changes

• The longstanding PAL/TAL requirement for master’s and PhD students has been removed for applications submitted from January 1, 2026 onward.
• Previously, PAL/TALs required students to wait for provincial confirmation they were counted under provincial study permit caps and often required upfront deposits.
• Under the new federal approach, graduate students are exempt from the national study permit cap.
• IRCC described permit processing for PhD students as potentially taking as little as two weeks.
• Students can apply even if the study permit cap is full, and they avoid large upfront deposits previously required.
• Applicants who already received a commitment certificate in 2025 retain until June 30, 2026 to apply under the previous rules.
• Undergraduate and college students remain subject to provincial attestation requirements and study permit caps.

Entrepreneur and Start-Up Visa changes

• The federal Start-Up Visa (SUV) program was closed to new applications on December 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
• Only applicants holding a 2025 commitment certificate from a designated incubator, angel group, or venture fund may continue applying, with a deadline of June 30, 2026.
• Existing SUV work permit holders in Canada may extend their permits while their permanent residence applications are processed.
• IRCC cited program backlogs and speculative business plans that failed to produce meaningful economic activity as reasons for closure.
• Ottawa signaled a “more targeted entrepreneur pilot” to be launched later in 2026, with stricter vetting expected.

Maintained status reforms and practical implications

• Maintained status reforms effective May 28, 2025 are being more strictly enforced as of January 2026.
• Rule: All extension applications must be submitted before the original status expires for maintained status to apply.
• This reduces the margin for error for people extending permits or changing categories.
• Under current rules, temporary residents who apply to change status before current status expiry can remain in Canada as temporary residents while their application is processed, but they cannot begin the new activity until approval of the new permit.
• Exception: Some Post-Graduation Work Permit applicants meeting certain criteria may begin working full-time immediately while awaiting a decision and may retain workability if they leave and re-enter Canada despite an expired study permit.

Provincial policy shifts (examples)

Ontario

• Introduced an “As-of-Right” framework, effective January 1, 2026, allowing certified professionals from other provinces to begin work in Ontario within ten days. Targeted at:
• Engineering
• Healthcare
• Skilled trades
• Amended its Employment Standards Act to:
• Ban employers from demanding “Canadian work experience” in job ads.
• Require disclosure when artificial intelligence screening tools are used in hiring.
• Employers have six months to audit job postings or face fines; this intersects with heightened federal enforcement of maintained status and provincial eligibility rules.

Alberta

• Tightened eligibility for the Rural Renewal Stream, effective January 1, 2026:
• Applicants must hold a valid work permit; maintained status is no longer accepted.
• Workers in TEER 4 or 5 jobs must already be physically resident in Alberta to qualify.
• Reduced endorsement spots for rural communities and made endorsement letters valid for 12 months only.
• Alberta justified changes as preventing “queue-jumping” and ensuring community capacity, but the effect eliminated options for some lower-skilled workers on maintained status, forcing many to renew permits or depart Canada before applying.

Temporary resident caps by category

Ottawa set category-specific temporary resident caps:

• Work permits (Temporary Foreign Worker Program + International Mobility Program):
• 230,000 in 2026, declining to 220,000 in 2027–2028
• International students:
• 155,000 in 2026, declining to 150,000 in 2027–2028

The plan aims to lower Canada’s temporary population to below 5% of the total population by 2027, shifting composition toward skilled workers and graduate talent.

Impacts for key stakeholders

• International students:
• Graduate students (master’s and PhD) benefit from the PAL/TAL exemption and faster processing.
• Undergraduates and college students still face provincial caps and attestation rules.
• Temporary foreign workers:
• Tighter conditions for TEER 4–5 workers in some provinces (notably Alberta), and a preference to transition established workers into permanent status (up to 33,000 by 2027).
• Employers:
• Need to update onboarding procedures to verify valid permits rather than relying on maintained status.
• Ontario reforms affect job ad content and require disclosure when AI screening is used.
• Educational institutions:
• Graduate recruitment may be aided by the exemption, but institutions must continue monitoring and verifying undergraduate/college compliance with provincial study caps.

Compliance, timelines and deadlines (high priority)

• Graduate student applications: New applications from January 1, 2026 onward can be submitted without PAL/TAL requirements.
• Start-Up Visa closure deadline: New SUV applications closed December 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
• Applicants with 2025 commitment certificates must apply by June 30, 2026.
• Maintained status filing requirement: Extension/change applications must be filed before status expiry to retain maintained status.
• Alberta Rural Renewal Stream: From January 1, 2026, maintained status no longer accepted — valid work permit required.

Warning: The combined measures create a more deadline-driven system. Filing timing and eligibility documentation are increasingly critical to avoid disruption, restoration procedures, or removal.

Implementation notes and what’s next

• Ottawa will issue further clarifications on:
• Maintained status enforcement and restoration procedures
• Temporary resident compliance under the 2026 framework
• Details of the “more targeted entrepreneur pilot” expected later in 2026
• Provinces will continue to weigh their own approaches to mobility and nomination within the constraints of the federal Immigration Levels Plan.

For a version of this overview, see rewrite.