Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) Canada 2026: Eligibility, How to Apply & Processing Time

You have a permanent residence application in the queue. You also have a job, a lease, and a work permit with an expiry date creeping closer. If the permit runs out before IRCC finishes your PR file, you lose the legal right to work — even though you did everything right. The Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) exists precisely for this gap. It lets PR applicants who are already working in Canada keep working while their application is processed.

This guide reflects the rules as of June 2026, verified against IRCC's official pages. Every fee, eligibility rule, and timing detail below is sourced in the References section.

Quick Answer: What is a Bridging Open Work Permit?

A BOWP is an open work permit that lets you keep working for almost any employer in Canada while you wait for a decision on your permanent residence application. To qualify in 2026 you must: (1) be physically in Canada on valid temporary status (or on maintained status, or eligible to restore it); (2) be the principal applicant on a PR application under an eligible program — Express Entry (CEC, FSW, FST), most Provincial Nominee Program streams, the Quebec Skilled Worker class, or certain caregiver/pilot programs; (3) have a PR application that has passed the completeness check, meaning you hold an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR); and (4) apply before your current work permit expires. The total government fee is $255 CAD ($155 work permit + $100 open work permit holder fee).

Because it is an open permit, it is not tied to one employer, job, or location — unlike a closed (employer-specific) work permit. For how the BOWP sits alongside the other permit categories, see our guide to work permit types in Canada and how to apply.

Why the BOWP exists

Canadian PR applications under economic programs are not instant. After you submit, IRCC can take many months — sometimes more than a year — to finalize a decision. Many applicants are already in Canada on a closed work permit (for example, a Provincial Nominee Program job offer) or another temporary permit that expires on a fixed date. Without a bridge, an applicant could be forced to stop working, leave their employer in the lurch, and possibly leave the country, all while their PR file sits in processing.

The BOWP closes that gap. It "bridges" the period between when your current permit expires and when IRCC decides your PR application. Crucially, it is open, so even if you previously had an employer-specific permit, the BOWP frees you to change jobs or employers without applying for a new work permit each time.

Summary: The BOWP is a temporary, open work permit for PR applicants already in Canada. It keeps you working legally during the PR processing wait and removes the employer-specific restrictions that many applicants had on their original permit.

Who is eligible in 2026

To apply for a BOWP, you generally need all of the following.

1. You are in Canada

You must be physically present in Canada and applying from inside the country. The BOWP is an inside-Canada application — you cannot apply for one from abroad, and leaving Canada can affect your status (more on that below).

2. You hold valid status — or maintained status

You must have a valid work permit, OR an expired work permit on which you have kept maintained status, OR be eligible to restore your status as a worker. If your work permit is still valid, the simplest move is to apply before it expires.

3. You are the principal applicant on an eligible PR application

This is the part most people get wrong. The BOWP is only for the principal applicant — the person whose name leads the PR application. Spouses and dependants cannot get a BOWP in their own right (though a spouse may separately qualify for a family open work permit under different rules).

Your PR application must be under one of these eligible programs:

• Express Entry — Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST)
• Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) — but only if your nomination has no employer restrictions. If your nomination ties you to a specific employer, you are not eligible for a BOWP.
• Quebec Skilled Worker class (QSW)
• Caregiver programs — the Home Child-Care Provider Pilot / Home Support Worker Pilot, and the Caring for Children / Caring for People with High Medical Needs classes
• Agri-Food Pilot — for legacy applications still being processed (the pilot has closed to new entrants, but in-stream applicants may still qualify)

For the program most BOWP applicants are waiting on, see our complete guide to Express Entry.

4. Your PR application has reached the right stage

You cannot apply for a BOWP the moment you submit your PR application. IRCC has to have looked at it first:

• Express Entry and QSW applicants must have passed the completeness check under section 10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the "R10" check). In practice, this means you hold an Acknowledgement of Receipt (AOR) confirming your full PR application was accepted into processing.
• Other eligible programs (such as some PNP and caregiver streams) require a positive eligibility assessment on your PR application before you can bridge.

The AOR letter is the document you upload to support the BOWP. No AOR (or no positive eligibility decision, depending on your program) means it is too early to apply.

Summary: Eligibility comes down to four gates — you are in Canada, you have valid or maintained status, you are the principal applicant under an eligible program, and your PR file has passed the completeness check (you have your AOR). PNP nominations with employer restrictions are excluded.

When to apply: timing is everything

There is no benefit to rushing a BOWP before you have your AOR — you will simply be refused. But once you have it, do not wait until the last minute.

The single most important rule: submit your BOWP application before your current work permit expires. If IRCC receives your application before the expiry date, you keep maintained status — the legal right to keep working under the same conditions as your current permit while IRCC processes the BOWP. If your permit expires first, you fall out of status and lose that automatic protection (you may then have to apply to restore status, which is more complicated and not guaranteed).

A practical rule of thumb many applicants and advisors use is to apply roughly three to four months before expiry, once the AOR is in hand. That window is wide enough to gather documents and narrow enough that your PR application is well into processing. It is guidance, not a hard legal cutoff — the binding requirement is simply that IRCC receives your BOWP application before your permit expires.

How to apply, step by step

The BOWP is filed as a work permit application from inside Canada through your secure IRCC online account.

1. Confirm you have your AOR (or positive eligibility decision) for your PR application.
2. Sign in to your IRCC secure account and start a work permit application (the "applying from inside Canada" stream).
3. Answer the eligibility questions so the system routes you to an open work permit and generates your personalized document checklist.
4. Upload your AOR letter in the client information / explanation field — this is the document that links your work permit application to your eligible PR application.
5. Pay the fees: $155 for the work permit plus the $100 open work permit holder fee, for a total of $255 CAD.
6. Submit before your current permit's expiry date to preserve maintained status.

How long it is valid and how long it takes

Validity. A BOWP is typically issued for a period of around 12 to 24 months, intended to comfortably cover the remaining PR processing time. The exact length is at the officer's discretion and may be tied to the validity of your passport.

Processing time. IRCC's published service-standard goal for inside-Canada work permit applications is in the range of about four months (roughly 120 days). In reality, with very high volumes of permits expiring across Canada in 2026, actual BOWP processing has often run longer than the service standard. Treat any single number with caution and check IRCC's live processing-time tool for the current figure before you rely on it. The good news: as long as you applied before your permit expired, maintained status lets you keep working throughout the wait.

Summary: Budget for a BOWP valid 1–2 years and a processing wait that can stretch beyond IRCC's ~120-day target. Maintained status — earned by applying before expiry — is what protects your job during that wait.

What happens if your permit expires: maintained status

"Maintained status" (formerly called "implied status") is the safety net that makes the BOWP work in practice. If IRCC received your BOWP application before your current work permit expired, you may continue working under the same conditions as your expired permit until IRCC makes a decision — even after the printed expiry date passes.

Two warnings:

• Maintained status only exists if you applied on time. Apply after expiry and you do not get it.
• Leaving Canada ends it immediately. The moment you depart, your maintained status stops, and you cannot re-enter on the expired permit. If you must travel while a BOWP is pending, get professional advice first — re-entry can get complicated.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1. Bridging open work permit for permanent residence applicants — IRCC (Canada.ca)
2. Fee list — IRCC (work permit $155; open work permit holder $100)
3. Pay the Open Work Permit Holder fee — IRCC
4. Work permit: Applying from inside Canada — IRCC
5. Check processing times — IRCC
6. How to get a Bridging Open Work Permit — CIC News (eligible-program list)
7. Maintained status: What do I need to know? — CIC News

This article is general information, not immigration advice. Immigration rules change frequently — always verify current requirements on IRCC's official pages or consult a licensed immigration consultant (RCIC) or lawyer before applying.