In Canada, foreign nationals on temporary status who apply to extend that status before the prior status expires, may remain in Canada, and continue to work or study, as applicable, while their applications are being processed. They are deemed to have what is referred to as ‘implied status’, until their case is adjudicated.
That is, for instance, if someone in Canada has a work permit expiring Nov. 30, 2020, but, prior to the expiration date, makes application through the appropriate process, to extend that status, they will be allowed to continue to remain in, and work in, Canada until such time as the application is adjudicated. So, if that application is not processed until February 1, 2021, the person can continue to work completely legally until February 1, 2021. (Of course, if there is ultimately a negative adjudication, then the person may need to leave at that point, but that is a separate issue.)
This has been an important right under Canadian immigration law since often, adjudication of inland extension cases can take a number of months.
However, there were also some issues with this ‘implied status’. Perhaps most notably, many provincial health systems would not cover a person unless they had a valid work permit – which they don’t have while under implied status. (In some cases, they provide retroactive coverage once a new work permit is secured, but that of course is not an optimum solution.) Again, from an immigration point of view, they are completely legal in Canada, but provincial guidelines might dictate that they need something more specific to secure entitlement to health coverage.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has now advised that moving forward, when a person, and notably a foreign worker, makes an application to extend status, they will receive a letter (through the online portal) that says that the person has an “automatic extension of status”. As such, applicants will be able to rely on more than just a regulatory provision; they will have in their hands a letter from IRCC confirming that they have a valid form of extension of status. In many, if not most, if not all cases, it is expected that this should satisfy provincial health authorities to provide health coverage.
This may be of benefit for other purposes as well. For instance, financial institutions may require proof of status to issue loans, or open accounts, etc. So, it is hoped that this letter with wording confirming a person has real status in Canada will provide benefit to people who are in ‘implied status’.
The information in this article is for general purposes only, and not intended as legal advice for any particular situation.