Hold a work permit? Since 4 September 2026 you can take a course of six months or less without a study permit.
What it means →
Bridging open work permit — document checklist
Prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. · government fee $255 incl. open holder fee
Bridging open work permit — document checklist
Every document an officer will look for, grouped in the order they are read. The ones marked refusal risk are where these applications actually fail — a complete file is not the same as a persuasive one.
8 documents 5 where refusals happen Government fee $255 incl. open holder fee
Identity
Who is this person, and is the story consistent?Where files fail here: Names, dates or passport details that disagree across documents.
Proof of valid status, or maintained status
You need a valid permit, or an expired one where the extension was filed before it lapsed. A single day’s gap turns this into a restoration case, and restoration carries no right to work while it is pending.
Work permit application and family information form
Filed inland, and coded as a bridging permit rather than a generic extension.
Valid passport
The permit is cut short to your passport’s expiry.
Eligibility
Do they meet this program's bar, on paper?Where files fail here: A requirement evidenced by assertion instead of a document.
Check which stage your class has to reach
Not one rule. Express Entry and PNP-through-Express-Entry need the acknowledgement of receipt. A PNP application outside Express Entry needs the eligibility assessment passed. The caregiver classes and the Agri-Food Pilot need approval in principle. A checklist that says “AOR” across the board will have you file months early.
If you applied under the 2025 home care worker pilots, stop
Those applicants are not eligible for a bridging permit. Only the 2019–2024 Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots qualify, and only at approval in principle. The names are nearly identical and the distinction decides the file.
Your acknowledgement, eligibility confirmation or approval-in-principle letter
Whichever one your class actually requires. An acknowledgement filed against an Agri-Food application does not meet the approval-in-principle test.
Provincial nomination letter, with no employer restriction
A nomination tied to a named employer silently disqualifies an otherwise clean file.
Intent
Does the purpose hold together, and will they comply?Where files fail here: A plan that doesn't match the applicant's history or finances.
Proof you live in Canada, and outside Quebec where that applies
The intend-to-reside condition is an eligibility criterion, not a formality.
General information, not legal advice. This checklist is prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. and was checked against the Government of Canada’s published requirements on the date shown. Requirements change and vary by case, and IRCC generates a personalised document list for many applications — where that list or canada.ca differs from this document, they govern.
Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees. Police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC makes all final decisions.
CHK Immigration Services Inc. is an immigration consultancy with offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Our consultants are regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). Nothing in this document creates a client–consultant relationship.
Current version: https://chkimmigration.ca/checklists/bowp
Checked against the official IRCC page for this application in September 2026. Where that page disagrees with anything here, it wins. General information, not legal advice. Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees — police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC also generates a personalised checklist for many applications, and that list governs. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Having the documents is not the same as having a persuasive file.
Every item above can be present and correct and the application can still be refused — on intent, on a date that does not reconcile, or on a lead time that ran out. A licensed consultant reads it the way an officer will.
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Find out where you actually stand.
Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.
- Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant — never a bot, never a salesperson
- A written shortlist of the programs you realistically qualify for
- Consultations are fee-based; you get the fee and available times by reply
CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.