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Restoration of status is a fancy term for the process an individual who wishes to change or extend the terms of their temporary stay in Canada, necessarily goes through. As a temporary visitor to Canada, you only have legal status in Canada to stay for a designated period of time, therefore, if you decide you would like to stay longer to study or work, you must apply to extend your permit before the permit expires. If you fail to apply for a new permit before yours expires, you will not be on implied status, and rather, you will now have to apply for a restoration of status. A restoration of status is needed by any individual who allows their permit to expire before submitting a new application, but still would like to remain in Canada. If this is the case for you, I will be breaking down how to go about applying to restore your status in Canada, and successfully obtain a new valid temporary permit which will allow you to remain in Canada.
The most important criteria to meet before applying for a restoration of status, to ensure you are even required to restore your status, is that you have allowed your temporary visa allowing you to be in Canada, to expire. Similar to this, you could also find yourself eligible to apply for restoration of status as the result of failing to abide by the conditions of your work or study permit. Specifically, you must have violated the condition to only work for the employer listed on your work permit, or, because you changed your program of study or educational institute from the one which is listed as a condition on your study permit. If you do either of these things and consequently have your study permit revoked, you can apply to restore your status on the new conditions of your permit. Though, it is important you did not violate any other conditions of your temporary permit. Next, it is equally important this permit has expired less than 90 days before you submit your application to restore your status. If it has been longer than 90 days, you are unfortunately ineligible. Finally, as mentioned, you must have complied well with the conditions on the original permit. Failure to have done so would also result in having your application to restore your status refused.
Once you submit your application, you are permitted to remain in Canada, but you are not permitted to work or study while you are here. If you had applied to renew your work or study permit before the permit expired, you would have “implied status” and would be permitted to continue on as if the previous visa had not expired until a decision is rendered on your current application. However, since the permit expired before the application was submitted, you have actually lost your status, and must apply for it to be restored. Therefore, you are not permitted to continue on with the conditions of your previous permit, because this permit is expired.
First and foremost, you must physically be inside Canada to apply for restoration of status. If you wish to apply for restoration, you must complete the application package, checking off both the sections for the type of permit you wish to acquire, and the box which indicates you are applying for restoration. Then, you must provide full details of how you came overstay the conditions of your permit, or, fail to abide by the specific conditions of your work permit. There is unfortunately no guarantee your application to restore your status will be successful. Nevertheless, it is your responsibility as the applicant to prove to an immigration officer you did not intend to violate the conditions of your temporary permit initially, and you will continue to work hard towards abiding by the conditions of your permit. You must include the following:
If you wish to apply for a restoration of status, we can help you with this process. Much like any other immigration application, a restoration of status application process can become overwhelming if done alone; therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to apply. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients restore their status in Canada and continue their stay. If you believe that you might be eligible, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advise.
With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!
