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Permit expired — how long can you stay? Grace period vs the 90-day restoration window

Canada • Study Permit • study 0 views
By VisaBuddies Communityvia community — compiled from public visa forums

Step-by-Step

Always confirm current rules on IRCC's status-restoration page — this synthesizes group understanding, not legal advice.

An applicant asked whether there's a 30-day grace period after a study or work permit expires. The group untangled the common confusions:

  1. There is no automatic 30-day 'stay' grace period. The consensus: once your permit expires you are out of status immediately — 'leave instantly' — unless one of the situations below applies.

  2. Maintained status: apply to extend before expiry. If you applied for an extension (or a visitor record) before your permit expired, you keep your status while the decision is pending. This is the clean path — file before the expiry date.

  3. The 90-day window is for restoration, not for staying on. Several members noted the 90 days: if your status lapses (or your extension is refused), you have 90 days to apply to restore your status. Restoration is a remedial application with its own fee — it lets you fix the situation from inside Canada, but it is not a general permission to remain.

  4. Failing restoration means leaving. As one member put it: the restoration period exists to restore status; failing that, you must leave the country.


Practical order of operations: extend before expiry → if missed or refused, apply for restoration within 90 days → if neither, depart.

Dos, Don'ts & Tips

  • Do: Apply for your extension or visitor record before the permit expiry date — that's what keeps your status maintained while you wait.
  • Don't: Don't treat the 90-day restoration window as a grace period to stay and work/study normally — it's a deadline for a remedial application.
  • Tip: If an extension is refused after your permit expired, the 90-day restoration clock is your remaining option — act on it immediately.

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