New Public Policy on Restoration of Status Extends Eligibility, Allows Work During Restoration

IRCC has announced a new public policy in effect for applications for restoration received after July 14, 2020 and before December 31, 2020:

This public policy has 2 elements related to restoration objectives:

Restoration [PP.A]
The public policy introduces an exemption from the requirement to apply for restoration within 90 days of losing temporary resident status for all foreign nationals (former workers, students and visitors) in Canada. Temporary residents whose work permit, study permit or authorization to stay expired after January 30, 2020 will have until December 31, 2020 to apply to restore their status instead of the current 90 days.

Interim work authorization [PP.B]
The public policy allows former work permit holders with job offers to work while their restoration and work permit applications are being processed. If approved under this public policy, applicants may be authorized to start their employment while they await a decision on their restoration and work permit applications.

Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria outlined above will be able to restore their status, even after 90 days have elapsed since they lost their status.

Further, for those applicants restoring from a work permit IRCC will provide work authorization in specific circumstances during their restoration period. IRCC details a process whereby an applicant submits the restoration application and submits a form letter after the submission of the main application.

To illustrate this work authorization’s applicability, IRCC has provided the following examples:

Examples where the interim work authorization would apply:

The foreign national’s work permit expired on December 30, 2019, and they fell out of status. They submitted a restoration and work permit application on March 1, 2020 (within 90 days of losing status), and a decision is still pending on their application.

The foreign national’s work permit expired on March 1, 2020, and they fell out of status. They submitted a restoration and work permit application on October 1, 2020 (under the public policy), and a decision is still pending on their work permit application.

Example where the interim work authorization would not apply:

The foreign national’s work permit expired on March 30, 2019, and they extended their stay in Canada as a visitor. In this case, the foreign national cannot benefit from the interim work authorization under this public policy as they do not meet the eligibility criteria (that is, they did not hold a work permit in the last 12 months).

The foreign national is a work permit-exempt worker who is restoring their status and applying for a work permit with a job offer, but they did not hold a valid work permit in the 12 months preceding the date on which they submitted their application for restoration of temporary resident status.

To see IRCC’s public policy, including the specific eligibility criteria, click here.