Your status expired: how the 90-day restoration window works

First, which situation you are in

If the extension application went in before the permit expired, that is a different provision, covered in what maintained status actually is. There, the authorized period is extended and you keep your status while you wait.

This page is about what happens once status has already been lost. Filed before expiry, and subject to the conditions in s.186(u), you can keep working while a decision is pending. Once status is lost, you must stop.

The 90-day window

IRPR s.182(1):

On application made by a visitor, worker or student within 90 days after losing temporary resident status as a result of failing to comply with a condition imposed under paragraph 185(a), any of subparagraphs 185(b)(i) to (iii) or paragraph 185(c), an officer shall restore that status if, following an examination, it is established that the visitor, worker or student meets the initial requirements for their stay, has not failed to comply with any other conditions imposed and is not the subject of a declaration made under subsection 22.1(1) of the Act.

The 90 days run from the day status was lost. Not from the day you noticed, and not from the day anyone told you.

Which kinds of non-compliance are covered

Not all of them. The provision names three: s.185(a), the period authorized for the stay; s.185(b)(i) to (iii), the type of work, the employer and the location of work; and s.185(c), studies, meaning the type or course of study, the institution, the location and the times and periods.

Section 185 contains more than that. Work times and periods at (b)(iv), crew members at (b)(v), the area of permitted travel at (d) and reporting requirements at (e) are not in the list s.182(1) refers to. Reading s.185 as a whole and assuming it is all restorable is a mistake.

Students have a separate and absolute exclusion. Under s.182(2), an officer shall not restore the status of a student who is not in compliance with a condition set out in s.220.1(1). There is no discretion in that one.

"Shall restore" comes with an if

The provision says an officer shall restore status, which reads as an obligation. The if that follows carries three requirements, and all three must hold: you still meet the initial requirements for your stay; you have not failed to comply with any other condition imposed; and you are not the subject of a declaration under IRPA s.22.1(1). That last is a declaration the Minister makes on their own initiative on public policy grounds, lasting up to 36 months.

The second requirement is the one that reaches furthest. It looks at the whole period, not only at the thing that caused the expiry.

IRCC's help centre states it plainly: there is no guarantee that the application will be approved.

These 90 days are not a grace period

The window is the period within which an application can be filed. It is not additional authorized stay. During it you hold no status, and you must stop working. IRCC's own wording is that you must stop working, and that to stay in Canada and work again you must apply to restore your status and obtain a new work permit.

IRCC lists who can apply: those who apply within 90 days of losing status, who met the requirements for their stay, for example by not working without authorization, and who complied with all the conditions on the expired permit before it expired.

Fees, and the order things happen in

From IRCC's fee list, checked 2026-08-08:

Family members each file separately and each pay the restoration fee. There is no group or family rate.

You cannot skip restoration and apply straight for a different permit. Where both the permit and the status have expired, the original permit and status have to be restored first. IRCC gives two examples: someone whose study permit has expired and who wants a post-graduation work permit can, if eligible, restore their student status and apply for the post-graduation work permit; someone whose work permit has expired and who wants a study permit must apply to restore status and work authorization, and may file the study permit application at the same time if eligible.

Processing times are not worth taking from a static figure. For current times, use IRCC's processing times tool.

Three things to line up before starting

The date status was actually lost, because every day counted afterwards depends on it. Which provision the non-compliance falls under, because only some are restorable. And the second of the three requirements, which looks back over the entire period rather than at the last thing that went wrong.

Get the first one wrong and every number after it is wrong. The window itself is fixed, and once it has run, this provision is no longer available.

The consultation rates are here.

Common questions