A visitor whose authorized stay in Canada is about to expire may apply for a visitor record to remain in the country longer. When the application is submitted before the existing status expires, the applicant can generally remain legally in Canada until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada makes a decision.

This temporary legal position is called maintained status. It was previously known as “implied status,” and many applicants, employers and online resources still use the older term.

However, maintained status is frequently misunderstood. It is not a document, visa or automatic approval. You do not receive a temporary visitor record while waiting. Instead, Canadian immigration law extends your existing temporary resident status until IRCC decides the properly submitted extension application.

Can You Stay in Canada While Your Visitor Record Is Processing?

Yes, you can generally remain legally in Canada after your current visitor status expires when:

• IRCC received your application to extend your stay before your authorized status expired;
• the application is complete;
• you remain eligible as a temporary resident; and
• IRCC has not yet made a decision.

Your original visitor status continues under the same conditions while the application is pending. If IRCC approves the application, it issues a visitor record showing the new authorized period of stay. If IRCC refuses it after your original status has expired, maintained status ends on the date of refusal.

You Are Not “On a Visitor Record” Yet - Real Meaning

The phrase “visitor record on maintained status” is commonly searched, but it is not technically precise.

While waiting for a decision:

• you have submitted an application for a visitor record;

• you remain in Canada under maintained status; and

• you do not possess the new visitor record until the application is approved.

A visitor record is the physical immigration document issued after approval. Maintained status is the legal continuation of your existing temporary resident status while IRCC processes the application.

A visitor record is not a visitor visa. It determines how long you may stay in Canada but does not guarantee that you can leave and re-enter the country.

The Legal Basis for Maintained Status

Section 183(5) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations provides that when a temporary resident applies to extend their authorized period of stay before it ends, that period is extended until a decision is made.

The regulation provides two possible outcomes:

1. If IRCC refuses the application, the extended period ends on the decision date.

2. If IRCC approves the application, the applicant may remain until the end of the newly authorized period.

Section 183(6) confirms that the temporary resident retains their status, subject to the applicable conditions, during the extended period.

In practical terms, maintained status prevents a person from becoming an overstayer merely because IRCC did not process the visitor record application before the original expiry date.

When Does Maintained Status Begin?

Maintained status becomes relevant after your original authorized stay expires.

Consider this example:

Between August 20 and September 15, the person remains under their original valid visitor status. Maintained status applies from September 16 until IRCC makes a decision.

IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before the current status expires. However, the critical legal issue is whether IRCC receives a valid extension application before the authorized stay ends.

Can You Work While Waiting for a Visitor Record?

No. A pending visitor record application does not authorize you to work in Canada.

Visitors cannot start working simply because they applied to extend their stay. Similarly, former workers who switch to visitor status must stop working when their work permit expires unless they submitted an eligible work permit extension before expiry.

IRCC also ended the temporary policy allowing most visitors to apply for employer-specific work permits from inside Canada on August 28, 2024.
 

Can You Study While Waiting for a Visitor Record?

A pending visitor record application does not generally authorize studies that require a study permit.

A study permit holder who applies to change their status to visitor should normally stop studying when the study permit expires unless another legal exemption applies.

By comparison, a student who submits a proper study-permit extension application before expiry may generally remain in Canada and continue studying under the conditions of the original permit while IRCC processes the extension.

Therefore, applicants should choose the correct application:

Applying for a visitor record should not be used simply to obtain more time to prepare a late work or study permit extension. IRCC specifically warns that changing to visitor status does not give a person additional time to extend an expired work or study permit.

Can You Leave Canada While on Maintained Status?

You may leave Canada, but a pending visitor record application or maintained status does not guarantee that you can return.

A visitor record is not a visa. A visa-required traveller generally needs a valid temporary resident visa to travel back to Canada. An eligible visa-exempt traveller may need a valid eTA for air travel.

Even with a valid TRV or eTA, a Canada Border Services Agency officer makes the final decision on admission at the port of entry.

Leaving Canada can also change the practical relevance of an application made to extend a stay inside Canada. Applicants who travel should update IRCC when their address or material circumstances change.

How Can You Prove Maintained Status?

IRCC does not normally issue a visitor record or separate permit immediately after an extension application is submitted. Applicants should therefore retain records showing that IRCC received a complete application before the status expiry date.

Useful documents include:

• the online submission confirmation;

• the application number;

• the fee-payment receipt;

• a complete copy of the application;

• the personalized document checklist;

• proof of the original status expiry date;

• screenshots from the IRCC account; and

• any acknowledgement or correspondence received from IRCC.

These documents do not replace a visitor record. They help establish the timing and nature of the application while it is being processed.

For example, if an applicant’s visitor status expired on October 1, the submission confirmation should show that IRCC received the application before October 1.

Maintained Status vs Restoration of Status

These two concepts should not be used interchangeably.

A restoration applicant cannot claim maintained status simply because the restoration request is pending. IRCC also states that a person awaiting restoration may not work or study until the appropriate restoration and permit applications are approved.

Practical Visitor Record Document Checklist

The documents should tell one consistent story: why the visitor needs additional time, how the stay will be financed and why the visitor will leave Canada when required.

Final Takeaway

Maintained status protects an eligible visitor from becoming an overstayer while IRCC processes a timely visitor record application. It is valuable, but limited.

It does not provide a new immigration document, authorize employment, permit long-term studies or guarantee re-entry after international travel. It also does not guarantee that IRCC will approve the requested extension.

The safest approach is to:

• identify the correct status expiry date;

• apply well before that date;

• submit a complete and properly supported application;

• retain proof of submission;

• follow all visitor conditions;

• monitor the IRCC account; and

• act immediately if the application is refused or returned as incomplete.