- Maintained status arises only where an extension application is received before the current status expires.
- It lets you continue under the same conditions as your existing permit, not under better ones.
- It ends the moment a decision is made, whether or not you have been told.
- It does not generally survive leaving Canada, so travel while pending carries real risk.
- It is not a document. Nothing arrives in the post confirming you have it.
What it actually is
Maintained status is the rule that allows a temporary resident who applied to extend their stay before expiry to remain in Canada, under the same conditions, until a decision is made on that application. It used to be called implied status, and the older name is still widely used.
It is one of the few genuinely protective features of the temporary resident scheme, because processing routinely takes longer than the permits being processed. Without it, every applicant would fall out of status while waiting for a decision that was going to be positive anyway.
It is also conditional on a single fact. The application must have been received before the expiry date. Not signed before. Not paid for before. Received.
Same conditions, not better ones
People frequently misunderstand what maintained status permits. It continues the conditions of the permit you already hold. If your work permit is employer specific, you may continue working for that employer and no other. If you held a study permit and applied for a work permit, you may continue studying, not start working.
Changing employers while on maintained status is where this most often goes wrong. Someone applies to extend, receives an offer from a better employer, and starts. That is unauthorised work, and it is discovered later at the worst possible moment.
If your circumstances change while an application is pending, that is a question to ask before acting on it, not afterwards.
How it ends
Maintained status ends when a decision is made on the application. Not when you receive the decision. Not when you read the email. If an application is refused on a Tuesday and the letter reaches you on the following Monday, you were out of status for that intervening week, and anything you did during it was done without authorisation.
This is why refusals in this area are so damaging. A person acting entirely in good faith can be out of status, and working unlawfully, without knowing it. Checking your application status regularly is not paranoia, it is basic hygiene.
It also ends if you leave Canada in most circumstances, which is why travel during a pending application should be treated as a decision rather than a routine trip.
Proving it to an employer
Because maintained status is not a document, employers frequently ask for something that does not exist. What you can show is the application submission confirmation, the receipt of payment, and your expired permit demonstrating the application was made in time.
Many Canadian employers know this arrangement well. Some, particularly smaller ones, do not, and a short letter explaining the position and pointing to the evidence often resolves it. That letter is a routine thing for a lawyer to produce and it saves jobs.
Keep everything. The submission receipt is the proof that the application was made in time, and if that timing is ever questioned it is the only thing that will answer it.
Is maintained status the same as implied status?
Yes. The name changed, the concept did not.
Can I change employers while on maintained status?
Not if your permit is employer specific. Maintained status continues the conditions of the permit you already hold, so working for a different employer would be unauthorised.
How do I prove I have maintained status?
It is not a document. You show the application submission confirmation, the payment receipt and your expired permit, which together demonstrate a timely application.
What happens if my application is refused?
Maintained status ends when the decision is made, not when you receive it. If the refusal is not resolvable you may need to apply for restoration within ninety days, provided the conditions are met.
Contacting us does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Please do not send confidential information until we have confirmed we can act for you. We aim to reply within 2 business days. Sending this form does not meet any court deadline or limitation period.
If you or a child are in immediate danger, call 911. This form is not an emergency service and is read during business hours. Assaulted Women’s Helpline 1-866-863-0511, Talk4Healing 1-855-554-4325, both open around the clock.
