- IRCC has doubled the validity period of WP-EXT interim work letters from 180 to 365 days.
- Foreign workers on maintained status can continue working under existing conditions for up to one year.
- To qualify, workers must apply for a renewal online before their current permit expires at 11:59 pm UTC.
(CANADA) — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada extended the validity of WP-EXT interim work-authorization letters from 180 days to 365 days, putting a new rule into effect on April 27, 2026 for foreign workers on Maintained Status under section 186(u) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
The change applies to workers who file to renew a work permit before the original permit expires. It allows them to keep doing the same job with the same employer, occupation, location and conditions until IRCC decides the renewal application.
Under the update, the WP-EXT interim work-authorization letters now serve as proof of authorization for employers, Service Canada and provincial authorities for up to one year. The longer validity replaces the previous 180-day period and reduces the need for repeated document updates while an extension remains pending.
IRCC published the program-delivery update on April 27, 2026. The agency tied the measure to foreign workers who hold work rights during processing under section 186(u), a rule that works alongside the maintained temporary resident status provisions in R183(5) and R183(6).
The distinction matters because the right to stay in Canada and the right to keep working do not operate under the same rule. R183(5) and R183(6) extend the right to remain in Canada while an extension application is in process, while the 365-Day Work Rule under R186(u) preserves work authorization only in narrower circumstances.
Workers keep that work authorization if they apply to extend the same status before the current permit expires. A worker extending a work permit remains authorized to stay and continue working under the same conditions while IRCC processes the application.
A different result follows when a person changes status. Someone who applies before expiry to become a visitor or student can stay in Canada while the application is pending, but cannot continue working after the original work permit expires.
Timing is strict. The renewal application must be submitted online before 11:59 pm UTC on the expiry date of the current permit, and filing even one day late removes eligibility for maintained status and continued work authorization under these rules.
Late applicants fall into a separate category. A person who applies after the permit expires does not receive maintained status, must seek restoration, must pay an extra fee, and cannot work or study until approval arrives.
Travel also changes the legal position. Maintained Status ends if the worker leaves Canada after filing, and re-entry as a worker then falls to the discretion of a Canada Border Services Agency officer, with the possibility that a new permit will be required at the port of entry.
IRCC’s guidance also says workers should print and carry the WP-EXT letter when returning to Canada. Airline staff and border officers may ask for proof that goes beyond the date printed on the expired physical permit.
The rule preserves work rights only if the person continues to comply with all conditions of the expired permit except its expiry date. That means the same employer, the same occupation, the same location and the same conditions continue to govern the job until IRCC reaches a decision.
That separation between stay rights and work rights has practical effects in common situations. Someone who files a same-status extension before expiry can stay in Canada and keep working under the existing permit conditions, while a person who changes to visitor or student status before expiry keeps the right to remain but loses the right to work once the permit ends.
Workers who leave Canada after expiry face another break in continuity. The act of departure terminates maintained status, and re-entry is uncertain rather than automatic.
Employers and human resources departments also stand to see a paperwork change. Instead of collecting a replacement proof letter after 180 days, they can retain one 365-day WP-EXT interim work-authorization letter for payroll and compliance records while the extension remains pending.
That longer validity addresses a routine administrative problem created by the shorter letter period. A six-month proof window could expire before IRCC finished processing a renewal, forcing employers and workers back into another cycle of reminders and updated documentation even though the underlying application had already been filed on time.
IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before a permit expires to avoid gaps. Once the extension is approved, the new work permit replaces Maintained Status and the worker no longer relies on R183(5) or R186(u).
The update touches a large population. IRCC data for the first quarter of 2026 showed more than 500,000 active work permit holders, a scale that helps explain why the agency moved to a full-year WP-EXT letter rather than keeping the shorter validity period in place.
The new letter period does not create an open-ended right to work. It gives documentary proof for up to one year while the renewal application is pending, and it works only if the worker filed on time, stayed in Canada, kept the same status and followed the conditions of the expired permit.
That framework leaves little room for error. A same-status extension filed before 11:59 pm UTC on the expiry date preserves both the right to stay and the right to work under existing conditions, but a late filing, a trip outside Canada or a change from worker to another status ends at least one of those protections, and sometimes both.
