All permit and visa options for going to Canada

Maintained status is granted when you are in a transition period between two work or study permits in Canada.

For example, if you are coming to the end of a study permit and you apply for a PGWP, you are authorised to stay in Canada while your application is being processed, even if the expiration date of your initial permit has passed.

Since processing applications can take several weeks or even months, this guarantees that those waiting for their application to be processed have legal status in Canada, and are not forced to leave the country while waiting for a decision to be made.

Workers are able to continue working with maintained status, even if their original work permit has expired.

For more information on maintained status, see Temporary residents: Maintained status during processing.