Bridging open work permit
A bridging open work permit exists for one reason: your permanent residence application is in process, your current permit is running out, and nobody benefits from you having to stop work. Timing is everything.
Quick answers
Straight answers to the questions we hear most, checked against IRCC on October 26, 2026.
You must live in Canada, be the principal applicant on a permanent residence application, and hold a valid work permit, be on maintained status, or be eligible to restore your status. Your permanent residence application must also have reached the stage IRCC requires for your program.
Source: IRCC →Once your complete Express Entry application has passed the completeness check and you have your acknowledgement of receipt letter. A profile in the pool, or an invitation alone, is not enough. For a provincial nomination outside Express Entry, the application must have passed the eligibility assessment and carry no employment restrictions.
Source: IRCC →Yes, if you applied before your current work permit expired and you stay in Canada: you are on maintained status under the same conditions. IRCC warns that if you leave Canada after your permit expires, you cannot work until the new permit is approved.
Source: IRCC →$255 per person: the $155 work permit fee plus the $100 open work permit holder fee. Biometrics, at $85, may also apply. Do not let your permit expire while you wait for an invitation; extend it instead if you are not yet eligible.
Source: IRCC →From the blogPGWP expiring before PR: can a BOWP bridge the gap? · Restoration of status or leaving Canada: how to choose
How a bridging permit works
Apply before it expires. A bridging permit is designed to bridge, not to rescue: if your permit lapses first, you are into restoration territory.
For Express Entry, past the completeness check with an acknowledgement of receipt. The stage differs by stream.
Not tied to your current employer. IRCC generally issues a bridging permit for 24 months.
A further extension is possible if your PR application is still in process. We keep your permit and PR timelines aligned right through to landing.
If your existing permit lapses first, you are into restoration territory and your ability to keep working is broken in the meantime.
Who qualifies
Eligibility depends on your permanent residence stream and how far your application has progressed.
FSW, CEC and FST applicants whose e-APR has passed the completeness check and who hold an acknowledgement of receipt.
Most commonNominees whose PR application has passed the eligibility assessment, and whose nomination carries no employment restrictions.
The 2019–2024 Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots qualify once approved in principle. The Home Care Worker Immigration pilots that opened in 2025 do not.
Agri-Food Pilot applicants qualify once approved in principle. Quebec skilled workers and Quebec investors also qualify, on Quebec-specific terms.
A separate open work permit route generally applies to inland sponsorship.
Different routeIf your permit expires soon and your PR is filed, this is the question to ask immediately.
One important exception: applicants under the Atlantic Immigration Program — and the former Atlantic Immigration Pilot — are not eligible for a bridging open work permit. IRCC’s C18 instructions, updated 25 August 2026, instead allow successive AIP work permits to be issued until a decision is made on the permanent residence application, each renewal requiring a fresh offer of employment through the Employer Portal. See our Atlantic Immigration Program page.
The rules
Six load tests. Every one of them has to hold on the day you file.
The stage differs by stream. Express Entry applications must have passed the completeness check, with an acknowledgement of receipt. Non-Express Entry provincial nominees must have passed the eligibility assessment. Quebec skilled worker applicants need a completeness check. Care and Agri-Food pilot applicants must be approved in principle.
Valid temporary resident status and a valid work permit — or maintained status as a worker after applying to extend before expiry, or eligibility to restore status.
A bridging permit is an in-Canada mechanism.
There is no four-month window in the eligibility rules. What governs timing is your PR stage on one side and your status on the other.
IRCC generally issues a bridging permit for 24 months, with a further extension possible if your permanent residence application is still in process.
Open does not mean unrestricted — medical requirements apply to some occupations.
How we help
We work backwards from your permit expiry and your PR stage to find the right filing window.
The acknowledgement of receipt and stream evidence must be presented correctly.
So maintained status protects your ability to keep working while a decision is pending.
We keep your permit and PR timelines aligned right through to landing.
Eligibility review
Send us your permit expiry and your PR stage and a licensed RCIC will tell you whether a BOWP is available and when to file.
Reviewed by a licensed RCIC, usually the same business day.
A licensed RCIC will review your details and reach out, usually the same business day.
Message us on WhatsApp →Good to know
The questions we hear most on this topic, answered by our consultants. The full list is in the Help Centre.
More questions on this topic are answered in the Help Centre.
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