Maintained Status in Canada: What Temporary Residents Need to Know in 2025

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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has reaffirmed and clarified policies surrounding what is now officially called "maintained status", which applies to foreign nationals in Canada who are temporary residents and who submit an application to extend their status before it expires. This legal mechanism is crucial for international students, foreign workers, and visitors who wish to remain in Canada lawfully while their new permit application is being processed.

Let’s break it all down so you can fully understand how maintained status works, what it allows you to do, and what situations can cause you to lose that legal protection.

What Is Maintained Status (R183(5))?

Maintained status is the legal right to stay in Canada after your current temporary resident status expires, but only if you submitted an application to extend your stay before the expiry date and remained inside Canada during the application process.

It ensures that you're still considered a temporary resident in Canada while waiting for IRCC to make a decision, provided you follow all conditions of your previous permit.

Under this provision, foreign nationals:

Can legally remain in Canada even after the expiry date of their original work, study, or visitor permit until a decision is made — unless they leave Canada.

Are not considered out of status if their extension is pending, as long as the application was submitted before the expiration date of their current permit.

Are protected under Canadian immigration law from being considered “illegal” residents while awaiting a decision.

Who Is Eligible for Maintained Status?

To benefit from maintained status, all of the following conditions must be met:

• ✔️ You must be a temporary resident in Canada (visitor, student, or worker).
• ✔️ You must apply to extend your status before your current permit or visa expires.
• ✔️ You must remain inside Canada throughout the entire processing period.

Activities You Can Continue While on Maintained Status

Whether you can continue working or studying depends on the type of permit you had and the type of extension application you submitted:

✔️ For Work Permit Holders:

• You may continue working legally in Canada under the same conditions as your expired work permit, but only if:
  • You applied to extend your stay as a worker before your permit expired.
  • You continue to reside in Canada without interruption.
• 🔻 However, if you applied to extend your stay as a visitor or student, you must stop working when your work permit expires — even if your application is still being processed.

✔️ For Study Permit Holders:

• You may continue studying under the same conditions of your previous study permit, as long as:
  • You applied to extend your stay as a student before your permit expired.
  • You do not leave Canada during the application processing period.
• 🔻 But if you applied to extend your stay as a visitor or worker, you are not allowed to continue studying once your study permit expires.

❗ Important Notes:

• Your authorization to work or study does not continue just because you’re on maintained status. It only continues if your new application is for the same activity type (i.e., worker → worker or student → student).

How Is Maintained Status Triggered?

It’s not automatic — you must meet the timing rules.

To be granted maintained status, you must:

• ✔️ Submit your extension application before your status expires.
• ✔️ Remain physically in Canada during the processing period.
• ✔️ Apply online, unless you qualify for specific exemptions to the electronic submission requirement.

🕒 Key timing rules:

• Online applications are timestamped using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) — not local time — which means applications submitted after midnight UTC on your expiry date will not qualify.
• For paper applications (rare exceptions), IRCC may backdate the received date by 7 days to account for mail delays, but this still requires caution.

What Happens If You Leave Canada During Maintained Status?

Leaving Canada while on maintained status automatically ends that status. You are no longer protected under R183(5) once you exit the country.

Here’s what that means:

• You lose your legal right to work or study under the former permit’s conditions.
• Even if you are allowed to re-enter Canada (e.g., with a valid TRV or being TRV-exempt), you cannot resume working or studying until your new application is approved and a new permit is issued.
• If you left and your new permit has not been issued yet, you must prove to the border officer that you won’t work or study without authorization and that you have the financial means to support yourself.

TRV Exception for Limited Travel:

• If you are from a TRV-required country, you may be allowed back into Canada without a new TRV only if:
  • You travel solely to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon and return directly.
  • You are otherwise not changing the conditions of your stay.

This exception does not apply if you visit other countries or if your return conditions have changed.

What Happens Based on Application Outcomes?

Let’s go over what happens to your legal status in each of these possible scenarios:

✅ Application Approved:

• Your maintained status ends on the date of approval.
• Your new document (work or study permit) becomes your new legal authority to remain in Canada.
• The approval date becomes the new start date for your period of stay.

❌ Application Refused:

• Your maintained status ends on the day the refusal decision is made.
• From that day, a 90-day period begins, during which you may apply to restore your status under R182.
• If you were outside Canada during the decision, your re-entry period is defined by the border officer, not your previous application.

📤 Application Withdrawn:

• Your status ends immediately upon the date the withdrawal is officially recorded.
• You are no longer a temporary resident under R183(5), unless you hold a separate valid status.

📩 Application Rejected (Incomplete):

• If IRCC rejects your application as incomplete, it is considered as though it was never submitted.
• You lose maintained status and must stop working or studying immediately when your original permit expires.

Can You Submit Another Application During Maintained Status?

Yes — but be strategic.

• If you submit a second extension application while the first one is pending, and both were submitted before your original permit expired, you remain under maintained status throughout the combined processing period.
• If the first application is refused but the second was submitted before the original expiry, you still maintain your status.
• If the second application is submitted after the expiry, and the first is rejected or withdrawn, you lose status and must apply for restoration.

Restoration of Status: Your 90-Day Grace Period

If you lose your maintained status (due to refusal, rejection, or late filing), you may be eligible to apply for restoration of your previous status within 90 days of losing it.

To restore status, you must:

• Submit a restoration application.
• Pay the restoration fee and appropriate permit fee.
• Provide all documents proving your eligibility and intent to comply with permit conditions.

You cannot work or study while awaiting restoration approval.

Final Tips for Temporary Residents

Maintained status is a powerful protection, but it comes with strict rules. Failure to follow the regulations could result in loss of legal status, forced departure, or ineligibility to work or study until your next application is approved.

🛡️ Best Practices:

• Submit extension applications well before the expiry date to avoid last-minute issues.
• Ensure your application is complete, accurate, and properly documented.
• Do not leave Canada during the processing period if you want to retain maintained status.
• If unsure, consider submitting a backup application before the expiry of your status if circumstances change.

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