BREAKING: PGWP holders can apply for a new open work permit Starting today

Certain expired PGWP holders will now be able to apply for a new open work permit.

These measures will affect individual applicants in different ways. IRCC offers the following scenarios:

1. Your PGWP expires from October 2, 2022, to December 31, 2022, your address is up to date and your passport is valid through April 2024

You don’t need to do anything. When you receive an e-mail message from IRCC to confirm your mailing address, don’t respond. An updated work permit will be issued and will be sent to your mailing address by mid-October.

2. Your PGWP expires from October 2, 2022, to December 31, 2022, but you need to update your address and/or passport validity.

IRCC will send you an e-mail message to confirm your mailing address. Follow the instructions in the e-mail to let IRCC know that your mailing address needs to be updated.

If your passport validity doesn’t allow IRCC to extend your work permit by 18 months, you will not receive this initial e-mail, but you will receive a separate e-mail in September.

If you need to update your mailing address or your passport information, you will receive instructions by e-mail in September on how to update your mailing address and passport validity in your online account. You will get a two-week window to do so. If you update this information, you will receive an updated work permit in the mail by mid-November.

To ensure you will be able to benefit, check your passport validity and apply to extend it if it expires before April 2, 2024. If you applied for your PGWP using a paper application, make sure you have linked your application to your online Portal.

3. Your PGWP expires from October 2, 2022, to December 31, 2022, but you won’t be able to update your address or passport validity.

You will need to apply online to extend your work permit. You could receive a work permit extended to your passport expiration date, or you could wait to apply until you have renewed your passport.

4. Your PGWP expires from October 2, 2022, to December 31, 2022, but IRCC didn’t contact you at all.

If you do not receive a message from IRCC by mid-September, you are not eligible to have your work permit extended through this special process for another reason, such as information has been added to your file about your admissibility to Canada that will need further review. You may still apply online to extend your work permit.

5. Your PGWP expired or will expire from September 20, 2021, to October 1, 2022.

IRCC says you will need to apply online for a work permit. Applications open on August 2, 2022. If you are in Canada and your temporary status has also expired, you must apply to restore your status at the same time. Under these special measures, you are allowed to restore your status, even if it expired more than 90 days ago.

You are eligible to apply from abroad if you have left Canada and return after you have been approved.

Applicants can work in the interim

IRCC will be sending email notices to PGWP holders whose documents have expired or will expire from September 20, 2021, to December 31, 2022. The email will indicate that they are allowed to work in Canada in the interim.

Those who receive the email can attach it to their PGWP to show their employer that they are authorized to work in Canada. This one-time measure is intended to ensure that those eligible for the additional 18-month work period can remain working or return to the workforce while they apply for a new work permit. This interim work period will be in effect until May 31, 2023, IRCC says.

IRCC notes that this email notice only allows the individual to work. It does not restore legal temporary resident status if the person’s status has expired. It is intended to ensure those with expired and expiring PGWPs can work while they wait for an updated or new open work permit. If you are out of status, you must apply to restore your status at the same time that you apply for a new work permit. If you are eligible, you may apply for restoration even if it has been more than 90 days since your status expired.

If you are outside Canada and have a valid temporary resident visa, it is possible to come back to Canada and be authorized to work. However, the interim work authorization email notice can’t, by itself, be used to return to Canada.

Work permits for applicants to the temporary resident to permanent resident pathways

Applicants that are part of the Temporary resident to Permanent Resident (TR2PR) pathways whose permanent residence application has not yet been finalized can also apply for an open work permit. This measure ensures TR2PR applicants won’t lose their ability to work while they wait on a decision for their permanent residence application.

IRCC says, “Recognizing that the processing of TR to PR applications will continue for some time, those applying for an open work permit can now receive one with an end-date of December 31, 2024, provided their passport is valid through that date.”

Also, the immigration department noted that about 2,500 TR to PR applicants already received an open work permit through this measure. These work permits have an end-date of December 31, 2022, and holders will soon receive an email saying they may be able to get their work permit updated with a longer validity date.

If these workers have an updated mailing address and they are still in Canada, they do not have to do anything. An updated work permit with a validity date of December 31, 2024, may be mailed to them. They should receive it by mid-October, IRCC says.

Applicants with passports that expire before December 31, 2024, will not receive this e-mail message and will not be eligible to change the length of their current work permit through the special measure. They are still eligible to apply and seek a longer work permit, either by applying to get a work permit to match the day their passport expires, or applying after they have updated their passport.

If the individual needs to update their mailing address, or if they opt out of receiving one through this process, they will no longer be eligible for the special measure. They will need to apply online