Bridging Open Work Permit: keep working while you wait for PR

What is a bridging open work permit?

A bridging open work permit (BOWP) is a temporary open work permit that lets certain permanent-residence applicants continue working in Canada while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) finishes processing their PR application. It exists to solve a common timing problem: your work permit is expiring, but your permanent residence has not yet been decided. In short, a bridging open work permit bridges the gap between an expiring temporary permit and a pending PR decision.

Rather than forcing you to stop working, or leave Canada, the BOWP "bridges" the gap between your old permit and your PR decision. It is one of the most-used tools available to someone who is already in Canada and already in the permanent-residence queue.

Because it is an open work permit, a BOWP is not tied to a specific employer, job or location. You can work for almost any employer in Canada and change jobs freely while you wait. The catch is in the eligibility and the timing, both of which are stricter than many applicants expect, and both of which we walk through below.

Bridging open work permit processing time: how long does it take in 2026?

A bridging open work permit takes 110 days, the published time for "Work permit from inside Canada (initial and extension)", which is the category a BOWP is actually processed under (IRCC processing-times tool, checked September 3, 2026 and last refreshed by IRCC on September 2, 2026). IRCC publishes no separate line item called "bridging open work permit", so that category is the government figure to plan against. It works out at just over sixteen weeks, and it is a median across a mixed queue of extensions and bridging permits, not a guarantee: half the applicants in that line wait longer, and a clean, complete file tends to sit at the faster end. IRCC publishes the live figure on its check processing times tool.

That 110-day figure covers applications filed online, which is how almost every BOWP now goes in. If you are among the small number of applicants who must apply on paper, for example because of a documented problem with the online portal, budget for a longer wait: paper applications sit in a separate, slower stream and are not reflected in the online number above. Either way, treat the published figure as a planning tool, not a deadline, IRCC's own tool states plainly that your application may take longer than the time shown.

Four things move a BOWP faster or slower within that average, and they are the same four things our team checks before a file goes anywhere near IRCC:

• Application completeness. A missing document, an unanswered question, or a form uploaded in the wrong field is the single most common cause of an avoidable delay, IRCC returns or pauses incomplete applications rather than processing them with a gap.
• Biometrics. If you have not given biometrics in the last ten years, or your existing biometrics are not on file for this application, IRCC generally will not finish processing until you attend an appointment and the results are received, which can add real weeks if you book late.
• Case complexity. A straightforward Express Entry-linked BOWP with a clean immigration history moves faster than a file with a prior refusal, a status gap, a criminality or medical flag, or a PNP nomination that still needs to be verified against your PR application.
• IRCC's current workload. Processing times move with intake volume and staffing at the office handling your file; the same category can run faster or slower month to month, which is why we check the live figure again close to filing rather than relying on a number from months earlier.

You will see other figures quoted for BOWP processing, some sources cite a range closer to six to eight and a half months as of late 2025 and into 2026. Treat those as directional estimates rather than the number to plan against: they are typically drawn from applicant-reported timelines or older snapshots of IRCC's tool, not a single official BOWP-specific figure, because none exists. The 110-day median above is the current government number for the category a BOWP is actually processed under, and it is the one we check again for each client shortly before filing, since it moves with IRCC's workload rather than staying fixed.

What does a bridging open work permit cost?

A bridging open work permit costs $255 CAD in government fees: a $155 work permit processing fee plus a $100 open work permit holder fee, paid together, with a further $85 per person if biometrics are required for your file (IRCC fee list, September 2026). Pay only the base processing fee and IRCC will treat the application as incomplete, which is one of the more avoidable ways applicants lose weeks before the file even reaches an officer.

Fees are paid upfront through your IRCC secure account as part of the online application, and IRCC's general policy is that application fees are not refunded if the application is refused, only the fee for a service IRCC did not provide (for example, an unused biometrics fee) is typically returned. That makes getting the eligibility and paperwork right the first time worth more than the fee itself. Confirm the current amounts on IRCC's fee list before you pay, because a $255 refusal costs you the money and, more seriously, the weeks it takes to refile. If you would rather file it yourself and just want a second set of eyes on the eligibility and paperwork first, our lower-cost File Review service exists for exactly that.

Who is eligible for a bridging open work permit?

You are eligible for a bridging open work permit if you are physically in Canada, hold a valid or maintained work permit that is expiring soon, and have an eligible permanent-residence application that has reached at least the completeness check or acknowledgement-of-receipt (AOR) stage. All three have to be true at the same time.

A BOWP is one of several routes when a permit is running down, alongside a straight work permit extension; see your options after a PGWP for the full comparison.

The table below sets out the core BOWP requirements. Every one must be met, missing a single condition (for example, applying after your permit has already expired, or before your PR application is far enough along) is the most common reason a BOWP is refused.

Beyond the five conditions in the table, a case officer reviewing a BOWP checks two things you will not find written out plainly on canada.ca: that the PR application named in your AOR letter is genuinely the application that was accepted into processing, not a profile still sitting in the Express Entry pool, and that your work permit history has no unexplained gap between the permit you currently hold and any permit before it. Neither is disqualifying on its own, but either one, left unaddressed in your application, is a common reason officers pause a file to ask further questions rather than approve it on the papers as submitted.

Which PR programs qualify for a bridging open work permit?

The permanent-residence programs that qualify you for a bridging open work permit are the three federal Express Entry programs (the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program), most enhanced Provincial Nominee Program streams, the Quebec Skilled Worker program, and the Agri-Food and caregiver routes where those remain open. Your application must be under one of those programs and at the right processing stage, which the table below sets out program by program.

How to apply for a bridging open work permit

A BOWP is applied for online through your IRCC secure account, from inside Canada. The exact documents depend on your situation, but the framework below is consistent. The most important thing is to apply while your current work permit is still valid.

1. 01

   Confirm your PR stage

   Check that your eligible PR application has reached the completeness check or acknowledgement-of-receipt (AOR) stage. Too early, and the BOWP will be refused.

2. 02

   Check your permit's expiry

   Make sure your current work permit is still valid and is expiring soon, generally within about four months, so you fall inside the BOWP window.

3. 03

   Gather your documents

   Passport, current work permit, proof of your PR application stage (AOR or completeness letter), and the completed work permit application forms.

4. 04

   Apply online to IRCC

   Submit the open work permit application from inside Canada through your IRCC account, selecting the bridging open work permit basis, before your permit expires.

5. 05

   Stay on maintained status

   Because you applied before expiry, you can keep working under your existing conditions while IRCC processes the BOWP, this is maintained status.

6. 06

   Receive your BOWP

   On approval, your bridging open work permit is issued (generally for up to 24 months), and you can work for almost any employer while your PR is decided.

Bridging open work permit documents checklist

A bridging open work permit package needs seven things: your passport, your current work permit, your AOR or completeness letter, your nomination letter if you have one, proof that both fees are paid, your biometrics instruction letter if biometrics are required, and the completed inside-Canada open work permit forms. The list varies slightly by PR program, but this is what we confirm is in a client's package before we submit it.

• Passport: you need a valid passport or travel document covering the length of the permit you are requesting.
• Current work permit: include your existing work permit even if it is close to expiring, because IRCC needs to see the status you are bridging from.
• Acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) letter: your AOR or completeness letter for your PR application is the document that proves your file has passed the completeness check IRCC looks for.
• Nomination letter: if your PR route is a Provincial Nominee Program stream, upload your nomination letter alongside the AOR letter.
• Proof of payment: include the receipt IRCC generates once both the work permit processing fee and the open work permit holder fee are paid.
• Biometrics instruction letter: if biometrics are required, include the instruction letter together with confirmation that you have attended or booked your appointment.
• Completed application forms: submit the forms for an open work permit made from inside Canada, with "Open work permit" selected as the permit type and the correct BOWP basis identified.

One paperwork detail worth flagging on its own: your AOR letter and your nomination letter (where one applies) go in the "Client information" field of the online application, not as a generic supporting document, and IRCC's guidance is specific about which field each letter belongs in for each PR program. Uploading the right document to the wrong field is a small mistake that produces the same outcome as leaving it out altogether, because the officer reviewing the file may not see it where they expect to look.

How long is a bridging open work permit valid?

Since early 2025, bridging open work permits are generally issued for up to 24 months. The precise length is set at IRCC's discretion based on your circumstances, and the goal is to cover the expected processing time of your PR application so that you can keep working throughout. Validity policies and processing times both change, and IRCC publishes the current position on canada.ca.

If your permanent residence is still pending when your BOWP approaches its expiry date, you may be able to renew your bridging open work permit, applying for a second BOWP, as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements at that time. We track these dates with you so a second application, if needed, goes in well before your status would lapse, and right up until IRCC issues your PR confirmation.

How to track your BOWP application and avoid delays

Once you have applied, you check your bridging open work permit the same way you check any other IRCC application: through your IRCC Secure Account, where the status shows whether your file is in process, whether IRCC has requested anything further, and when a decision has been made. If IRCC needs more information, it will ask through your account, and it is worth checking regularly rather than waiting for an email, delays in responding to a request are one of the more common ways a straightforward BOWP drags on.

If you use IRCC's public "check processing times" tool to estimate your own wait, select "Temporary residence (visiting, studying, working)" and then "Work permit from inside Canada (initial and extension)", not the generic "Work permit" heading and not the outside-Canada option. That is the only category that reflects a BOWP, and it is easy to select the wrong one and land on a figure for an entirely different queue.

Beyond watching your account, four habits avoid most of the delays we see on BOWP files, and they cost you nothing but a bit of attention before you press submit:

• Submit a genuinely complete application. Every field answered, every document in the right upload slot, before you click submit, not after.
• Attach proof of both fee payments. A single combined receipt from your IRCC account is enough; a partial payment or the wrong fee code is a common, avoidable hold-up.
• Book biometrics immediately if they are required. Do not wait for a reminder, appointment availability at your local Service Canada or VAC location can itself add weeks.
• Reply to any IRCC request the day it arrives. A procedural fairness letter or a request for additional documents has a deadline, and missing it can mean refusal regardless of how strong the underlying case was.

When your BOWP is approved, IRCC notifies you through your account and mails the physical permit to the address on file, so keep that address current in your profile if you move while the application is pending. If your status shows "in process" well past the current published timeline, contacting IRCC directly, rather than submitting a duplicate application, is the right move, a second application filed on top of a pending one tends to create confusion in your file rather than speed anything up.

Bridging open work permit vs. work permit extension

One question separates the two: is there an eligible permanent-residence application already in progress, past the completeness check or AOR stage? If yes, a bridging open work permit is generally the right tool; if no, what you need is a straight work permit extension. Both keep you working past your permit's current expiry date, which is why they are so easily confused. A work permit extension simply renews the status you already hold, employer-specific or open, with no PR application behind it.

Cost rarely decides between the two. A straight work permit extension carries the same $155 processing fee, plus the $100 open work permit holder fee if you are extending into another open permit rather than an employer-specific one. The fee difference that matters is not what you pay IRCC, it is what a wrong choice costs you elsewhere: refiling from scratch, at full cost, while your status runs down and your options narrow.

Some applicants qualify for either at different points in the same journey; you might extend an employer-specific permit while your Express Entry profile is still just a profile in the pool, then switch to a BOWP once that profile becomes an actual PR application past AOR. Filing the wrong one, an extension when a BOWP was available and would have released you to change employers, or a BOWP application before your PR file has actually reached the completeness check, is a common and avoidable mistake, and one we check for before any application goes in.

What a BOWP does and does not allow

A bridging open work permit lets you work for almost any employer in Canada and change jobs freely while your PR is decided, but it does not tie you to a job, require an LMIA, or have any bearing on whether your permanent residence is approved. The limits matter most around travel and around what the permit means for your actual PR decision.

How the BOWP fits your path to permanent residence

For many clients, the BOWP is a bridge between two stages of the same journey. You may have built Canadian work experience on an employer-specific permit or a PGWP, used it to qualify for Express Entry or a provincial nomination, and now need to keep working while IRCC finalises your PR. The bridging open work permit is what holds your income and your status steady through that final wait.

Working under a licensed RCIC (CICC #R706497), our team plans this sequencing from the start, so that as one permit ends, the next status is already lined up, and you never face an avoidable gap right through to your PR confirmation from IRCC. We represent clients entirely online, by video call and secure document sharing. Prefer to handle the legwork yourself? Our lower-cost File Review gives your own bridging open work permit application an expert check before you submit. Whether your PR route is the Canadian Experience Class, another Express Entry program or a provincial nomination, a well-timed bridging open work permit 2026 application is what keeps you earning while IRCC finishes the job.

In practice, the applicants who come to us mid-process, permit expiring in six or eight weeks, PR application already filed, unsure whether a bridging open work permit is even the right document, are the norm, not the exception. We start by confirming the two things that actually decide the outcome: whether your PR application has genuinely reached the stage IRCC requires, and whether your current permit gives you enough runway to apply before it lapses. From there, the processing time, the fee, and the paperwork are the straightforward part.