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What is a bridging open work permit and how do I apply? Can I continue working in Canada while my permanent residency application is pending?

A woman working from home on her computer

A Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) allows certain applicants to continue living and working in Canada while they wait for their permanent residency applications to be processed.

This can be very useful particularly those who apply for a non-Express Entry application through the regular provincial nominee program (PNP) for Canadian permanent residence, which currently takes upwards of 20 months to process.

If you are currently living and working in Canada on a valid work permit that is about to expire, and if you have submitted your Canadian permanent residency application through either Express Entry or Provincial Nominee Program, you may be able to apply for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) that allows you to continue working in Canada (even after your original work permit expires) while you wait for the results of your Permanent Residency application. It is an open work permit, which means once approved, the applicant is free to work for any employer or be self-employed.

BOWP eligibility requirements for Provincial Nominee Program applicants

There are two ways to apply for permanent residency under the provincial nominee category – through the Express Entry system (by receiving 600 additional CRS points), or through directly applying to IRCC.  To be eligible for the former, the applicant must qualify separately for one or more of the Express Entry streams and already have an active profile; these applicants enjoy the standard 6 months processing time.  The latter is available for a greater variety of provincial nominees, but the processing time can extend much longer.

In both cases, the applicant must satisfy the following criteria:

  • You must be already living in Canada on a valid work permit at the time you apply for a bridging open work permit.
  • You must be the principal applicant on your permanent residency application.
  • You must have already received an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) from IRCC after having submitted your permanent residency application.
  • Your provincial nomination must be one that does not have any employment restriction as a condition of your nomination.

Once you have filed your BOWP application within the validity period of your current work permit, you may also keep working under the same conditions as your original work permit while your BOWP application is pending, per the doctrine of implied status. However, if the person leaves Canada before they receive a decision on their BOWP, this interim work authorization ceases.

BOWP eligibility requirements for Express Entry applicants

A Bridging open work permit could also be useful for a wider variety of workers who have submitted permanent residence applications through Express Entry after having earned an ITA without a provincial nomination. Though Express Entry permanent residency applications are typically adjudicated under 6 months, a BOWP can extend the applicant’s work authorization in the meantime so they can continue working in Canada without interruption.

To qualify, the applicant must meet the following:

  • You must be already living in Canada on a valid work permit at the time you apply for a bridging open work permit.
  • You must be the principal applicant on your permanent residency application.
  • You must already have received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) from IRCC, and have submitted a complete application for permanent residence through the Express Entry portal. (Note: this is different from submitting your initial Express Entry profile to join the Express Entry pool of applicants. To understand more about how this works, please click here).
  • You must have received IRCC’s Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) Letter. This is issued automatically and delivered electronically to your Express Entry portal the day you submit your permanent residency application.

As mentioned above, once you have filed your BOWP application within the validity period of your current work permit, you may also keep working under the same conditions as your original work permit while your BOWP application is pending, per the doctrine of implied status. However, if the person leaves Canada before they receive a decision on their BOWP, this interim work authorization ceases.

In both cases, an applicant will submit a BOWP application directly to IRCC, in most cases online through its application portal. Find out more here.

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