Bridging Open Work Permit: Who Can Apply and When

A bridging open work permit lets you keep working while you wait for the result of a permanent residence application. IRCC lists the programs it covers: the three Express Entry programs, the Provincial Nominee Program whether or not you applied through Express Entry, the Quebec skilled worker class, the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots that were open from 2019 to 2024, the caring for children and caring for people with high medical needs classes, the Agri-Food Pilot and Quebec investors.

IRCC says applicants under the Home Care Worker Immigration pilots that opened in 2025 are not eligible. The Rural Community Immigration Pilot is not on IRCC's list either; it has its own work permit, described on our RCIP page.

You must live in Canada, and intend to live outside Quebec, when you apply. You must be the principal applicant on the permanent residence application. That application must be complete and have passed IRCC's completeness check, and you need the acknowledgement of receipt letter IRCC sends to your account.

You also need one of three things: valid temporary resident status and a valid work permit, an expired work permit with maintained status as a worker, or eligibility to restore your status and get a work permit.

IRCC is explicit that submitting a profile to the pool is not the same as applying for permanent residence. An invitation alone is not enough either: the application has to be in.

The conditions above apply, plus one more: your nomination must carry no employment restrictions. Include a copy of the nomination letter.

If you applied outside Express Entry, the bar is higher. Your permanent residence application must have passed the eligibility assessment, and IRCC says it will not start processing the bridging permit until it has reviewed the application and confirmed you meet the basic requirements. PNP or Express Entry explains the two routes.

IRCC's advice is not to let your work permit expire while you wait for an invitation, and to extend it instead. Your employer may need a new Labour Market Impact Assessment or a new offer of employment for that. Working while an extension is processed and a PGWP that is about to expire cover the gap.

You can leave Canada while the applications are processed. But if you leave after your work permit expires, or it expires while you are away, you cannot work when you return until the new permit is approved. For provincial nominee applicants IRCC adds that you must be in Canada with valid temporary resident status when it decides the bridging permit, or the application may be refused.

You apply the same way as for an extension or a change of conditions on a work permit, online in most cases. Select open work permit as the type, pay the work permit processing fee and the open work permit holder fee, and upload the acknowledgement of receipt letter in the client information field.

Whether your permanent residence application has reached the stage IRCC requires, when your current permit expires against that date, whether a nomination carries an employment restriction, and any travel planned before the permit is issued.