Extend your work permit

A work permit allows you to work in Canada temporarily.

You must apply to extend your work permit if you want to stay in Canada for any of the following reasons:

Your job is extended or changes

If your job is extended or changes, you must apply to extend or change the conditions of your existing work permit before it expires.

Determine how you will apply

There are two ways to apply:

Apply online

To apply online you must have access to a scanner or camera to create electronic copies of your documents for uploading and have a valid credit card for payment. Apply online.

Note: If you provide an email address on your application, please check your email account often for automated emails from CIC regarding your case. Some spam filters block these emails. Make sure that emails from CIC are not blocked. If you are not sure whether emails from CIC are being sent, please check your myCIC account often.

Apply on paper

The package includes the application guide and all the forms you need to fill out. Download the application package.

You are offered a different job in Canada

If you are offered a different job in Canada, you must apply for a new work permit.

Do not start your new job without a new work permit.

Determine how you will apply

There are two ways to apply:

Apply online

To apply online, you must have access to a scanner or camera to create electronic copies of your documents for uploading and have a valid credit card for payment. Apply online.

Apply on paper

The package includes the application guide and all the forms you need to fill out. Download the application package.

You want to live and work in Canada permanently

A work permit lets you work in Canada temporarily.

If you want to stay in Canada permanently, you must qualify under one of the permanent resident categories. Learn about the permanent resident categories.

You want to leave Canada and then re-enter

If you leave Canada after working in this country and then want to return to Canada to work, you must have a valid passport or travel document and a valid work permit – that is, the period initially authorized for your entry or any extension to it, as a visitor, student or worker has not expired.

Starting March 15, 2016, if you are from an eTA-required country and received your work permit before August 1, 2015, you will need an eTA if you plan to travel from and return to Canada by air.

If you are a citizen of a visa-required country travelling by any means, you will need:

a valid visa, unless you are returning directly from a visit solely to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, and
a valid permit – that is, the period initially authorized for your entry or any extension to it, as a visitor, student or worker has not expired.

Possession of these documents or an eTA or a visa does not guarantee that you will be allowed back into Canada. You must show the border services officer that you meet all the requirements before you will be allowed to re-enter Canada.

For citizens and permanent residents of the United States

If you are a citizen of the United States, you do not need a passport or travel document to enter or return to Canada. However, you must carry proper identification.

If you are a permanent resident of the United States, you do not need a passport or travel document if you enter or return to Canada from the United States by land or sea. However, you must carry proper identification.

Note: Starting March 15, 2016, U.S. permanent residents who receive their work permit before August 1, 2015 will need an eTA if they plan to travel from and return to Canada by air. As the eTA is linked to the passport used when you apply for the eTA, you must travel with that passport in order to return to Canada by air.

You will be allowed to extend your work permit for a period of time that adds up to – but does not exceed – the maximum of four years of work in Canada. Find out more about the four-year maximum.

If you have applied to extend your status and an emergency situation requires you to travel outside Canada before you get your new permit, find out about Canada’s re-admittance conditions.