Your permit expired: how to restore your status in Canada within 90 days

Your permit expired: how to restore your status in Canada within 90 days. You just realized your permit expired weeks ago, and you never applied to extend it. Breathe, then act quickly. IRCC must receive an eligible restoration application no more than 90 days after your temporary resident status expired, so first establish whether you actually lost status and when. If you are still in Canada, you can usually apply, and you must stop working or studying until your status is restored. Based on IRCC pages checked on October 17, 2026.

Key takeaways

• Check your status timeline. A permit, a visitor record, a visa and an eTA do different jobs; an expired visa doesn’t by itself mean your stay ended.
• Restoration is not maintained status. An application filed before your status expired lets you stay under the same conditions; restoration is for someone who already lost status.
• The 90 days run from the date status was lost, not the day you noticed.
• A pending application is not a permit. Don’t work or study until you have the authorization.
• Québec may add a provincial step for some students and workers.

Step 1: find the real date your status ended

Not the date on your visa, which is only an entry document, but the date on the document that set your stay: your work permit, study permit or visitor record, or the end date set when you entered. That date starts the 90-day clock.

If you applied to extend before that date, you did not lose status: you are on maintained status and can continue under the same conditions until IRCC decides, as long as you stay in Canada; see our guide on maintained status. Restoration is for people who did not apply in time. When the dates, past applications or permit conditions don’t line up clearly, write out the full timeline before choosing a remedy.

Understand the 90-day deadline

IRCC must receive the restoration application no more than 90 days after your status expired; see IRCC’s restoration instructions. For an online application, IRCC says submission must happen before midnight UTC on the last permitted day: that is not Québec’s local time, so don’t wait for the final hours.

Example: if status ends on April 10, count the following days: April 11 to 30 is 20 days, May 31, June 30 and July 1 to 9 is 9, which makes July 9 the 90th day. This is an illustration; check your own date against your documents.

Step 2: stop working or studying

This is the hardest part and the most important. Once your status has expired, you are not allowed to work until your status is restored and a new work permit is issued, or to study until a new study permit is issued. Submitting a restoration request does not restore your status or create maintained status. Working while waiting can make your situation much worse.

Staying in Canada, leaving and planning to return are separate decisions. A pending application doesn’t guarantee re-entry, and restoration is only available inside Canada.

Step 3: check that you qualify

According to IRCC, you must:

• apply within 90 days of losing your status;
• have met the requirements for your stay, for example not having worked illegally;
• have met the conditions of your permit before it expired;
• not hold a temporary resident permit.

You must also meet the requirements of the status or permit you are asking for. Restoration is not automatic.

Step 4: choose the right route and apply

Former status	What you may be asking for
Worker	Restored status and, if eligible, a new work permit
Student	Restored status and, if eligible, a new study permit
Visitor	Restored visitor status, if eligible

Apply online from inside Canada, indicating that you are restoring your status, and include the application for the permit you need. A former worker chooses a permit category that fits: an employer-specific permit tied to a job, or an open permit only in an eligible category; see our work permit page. Graduates should treat restoration and PGWP eligibility as separate questions: IRCC gives up to 90 days after a study permit expires to apply for a PGWP and restore student status, if you didn’t change to visitor status. Budget for:

• the restoration fee, $246.25;
• the permit fee: $155 for a work permit (plus $100 for an open work permit), or $150 for a study permit;
• biometrics, $85, if required.

Check IRCC’s fee list on the day you pay; the restoration fee is indexed. Add a short timeline explaining when your status ended, when you noticed and what you have done since, with evidence if a medical or other reason caused the delay. Each family member who lost status needs their own application.

Prepare a complete application, not just a deadline request

A restoration request filed on day 89 with half the documents is not much better than no request at all. Organize the file around a short, clear timeline: when your previous status ended, what happened after that date, and which status and permit you are asking for now. That account helps the officer connect your documents to the request instead of guessing the sequence.

Match the evidence to the route you choose. A former worker applying for a new employer-specific permit needs the job offer or the employer’s offer number and, where it applies, the LMIA or the exemption code; a former student needs proof of enrolment and, in Québec, the CAQ; a former visitor needs to explain why the stay should continue and how it is funded. Follow the checklist generated for your application rather than a generic list.

If the delay has a reason, say so and prove it: a hospital stay, a family emergency, a representative who failed to file. An explanation does not erase the requirement to have respected your conditions, but it gives the officer the context. Never present a reason you cannot document.

Visitors who lost status

Visitors can also lose status, often without realizing it: the stamp in the passport showed a shorter stay than expected, or six months passed without an extension. IRCC’s help centre confirms that, in some cases, a person whose visitor status expired fewer than 90 days ago can apply to restore it. The request uses the Application to Change Conditions or Extend Your Stay in Canada as a Visitor (IMM 5708): you select the restoration option at the top of the form, explain in the background section why you stayed longer than allowed, and pay the restoration fee. IRCC adds that there is no guarantee the application will be approved. See the visitor record for the extension that should have been filed before the end of the stay.

A visitor who restores status does not gain the right to work or study. If the plan has changed, for example a job offer or an admission to a program, that is a separate application with its own requirements.

Why maintained status and restoration get confused

Both involve an application and a period of waiting, but the difference is the date. If your extension reached IRCC before your status expired, you are on maintained status: you keep your status, and usually your right to work or study, under the old conditions until the decision. If nothing reached IRCC before that date, your status ended, and the only route is restoration, without the right to work or study while you wait. That one date decides everything, which is why the first step is always to find it precisely.

Account for Québec’s separate steps

IRCC decides federal status and permits, but some situations in Québec also involve a provincial step. A student may need a CAQ along with the federal study permit; some workers need a CAQ for work tied to their job; see our page on the LMIA in Québec. Federal restoration alone may not settle the provincial requirement.

If the 90 days have already passed

Once the restoration period is over, the usual restoration route is no longer available under that deadline. Staying in Canada without status has consequences for future applications, so get advice quickly rather than waiting. Depending on the situation, the options may include leaving Canada and applying for a new authorization from abroad, or, in specific circumstances, a temporary resident permit; none of them is automatic, and each has its own requirements.

If the decision is negative

If restoration is refused, you have to leave Canada unless another authorization lets you stay. Read the refusal and the officer’s note carefully before deciding on the next step. Our guide on reading the officer’s decision note explains your options. If the file involves a complicated history or admissibility questions, see our pages on complex cases and inadmissibility.

Keep copies of what you submitted, the proof of submission and every decision letter. When the deadline or the right route is unclear, you can describe your situation or book a consultation.

Frequently asked questions

It has been more than 90 days. Is there anything I can do?

The regular restoration process is no longer available. Get advice quickly, because staying in Canada without status has consequences.

Can I leave Canada and apply from abroad?

Restoration is only for people in Canada. If you leave, you would need to apply for a new authorization to return, with its own requirements.

Can I travel outside Canada while restoration is pending?

Leaving ends the restoration process for you, since it only works inside Canada, and coming back requires the right travel document and a new decision at the border. Check before you go.

Can my employer keep me on while I wait?

No. Until your status is restored and your new work permit is issued, you cannot work, even for the same employer.

Does restoring my status extend my old permit?

No. Restoration concerns your status; a work or study permit is a separate authorization that you apply for at the same time.

Can my family members be restored on my application?

No. Each family member who lost status needs their own application, children included.

Conclusion

Restoring your status within 90 days depends first on whether your status actually ended, and when. Confirm the timeline, stop working or studying, apply for restoration with the right permit before the deadline, account for any Québec step, and don’t treat a pending application as permission to work or study. The earlier you act within the 90 days, the more time you have to build a complete file instead of a rushed one.

Official sources

Official pages consulted on October 17, 2026:

• IRCC — Restore your status (French page)
• IRCC — Extend your study permit: when to apply