The Bridging Open Work Permit exists to solve one problem: a permanent residence application is in the queue, but the work permit that keeps you in Canada is running out. The BOWP is an open work permit — no employer named, no LMIA, no restriction on hours — issued to certain permanent residence applicants so they can keep working while IRCC finishes processing. It is not automatic, it is not available to everyone with a pending application, and the single most common way to lose it is to apply too late.
Key Takeaways
- The BOWP is an open work permit tied to the stage your permanent residence application has reached, not to a job offer.
- You must be in Canada, hold valid status or be on maintained status, and hold or have held a work permit.
- Eligibility is stream-specific: it turns on whether your permanent residence application has passed the required stage, such as an acknowledgment of receipt on a completed application or a provincial nomination.
- It is not a remedy for lost status. If your permit has already expired and you did not apply on time, the issue is restoration, not bridging.
- The eligible-stream list is set by IRCC public policy and changes. Verify the current IRCC posting before you plan around it.
What the permit is, and what it is not
A BOWP is issued under the LMIA-exempt framework of the International Mobility Program. Because it is open, the holder can work for any employer, change jobs without a new application, and work anywhere in Canada, subject to the usual restrictions on regulated occupations.
What it is not is a status repair tool. The BOWP presupposes that you already have lawful temporary resident status, or maintained status because you applied to extend on time. It also presupposes an underlying permanent residence application that has reached a defined point. It does nothing for someone whose permanent residence application is still being prepared, and nothing for someone already out of status.
The three conditions everyone must meet
You are in Canada. The BOWP is an in-Canada permit. Applicants outside Canada are not the audience for this policy.
Your status is intact. You must hold valid temporary resident status, or be on maintained status because you applied to extend before expiry. This is where files fail. If the work permit expires while the permanent residence application sits at an earlier stage, and no extension was filed, the person falls out of status and the bridging route closes.
You hold or have held a work permit. The BOWP bridges from an existing work authorization. A person who has only ever held visitor status does not bridge into an open work permit through this route.
Stream-specific eligibility
The rest of eligibility depends on which permanent residence route you are in and how far along it is. The policy has generally covered applicants under the federal Express Entry programs once a complete electronic application for permanent residence has been received, provincial nominee applicants at the appropriate stage, Quebec skilled worker applicants holding a selection certificate, applicants under certain federal pilots, and applicants approved in principle on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Two cautions, and they matter more than the list itself.
First, the stage requirement is the substance of the test. For most economic streams the trigger is not filing — it is IRCC’s acknowledgment that a complete application has been received. Applying for a BOWP before that point produces a refusal.
Second, the list is policy, not statute. IRCC has added and removed streams over time, and it can be adjusted without legislative change. Before you build a timeline around bridging, confirm the current IRCC posting for your specific stream.
For provincial nominee applicants, the interaction between the nomination, the work permit supporting it, and the bridging permit is stream-dependent — worth reading alongside our comparison of Express Entry and provincial nominee strategy.
Timing: the part that actually decides cases
Work backwards from your permit expiry date, not forwards from your permanent residence filing date.
The sequence that works is: permanent residence application reaches the qualifying stage, then the BOWP application is filed before the current work permit expires. Filing on time gives you maintained status, so you continue working even if the BOWP decision takes months.
The sequence that fails is: permit expires while the permanent residence application is still short of the qualifying stage. At that point the choices are narrow. An extension of the existing permit, where one is available, may buy time. Where the permit has already expired, the question becomes restoration within 90 days — and there is no work authorization while restoration is pending.
Graduates are the most exposed group, because a post-graduation work permit cannot be renewed and can only be issued once. If permanent residence is the plan, the qualifying stage has to be reached before the PGWP runs out. That planning problem is set out in more detail in our PGWP guide.
What happens to the permit afterwards
A BOWP is generally issued for a period tied to policy and to your passport validity, and it can in some circumstances be extended if the permanent residence application is still pending. If the permanent residence application is refused or withdrawn, the basis for the bridging permit falls away; continuing to work after that point is a compliance problem, not a grey area.
Spouses are a separate question. A spousal open work permit does not follow automatically from a BOWP: since January 2025 the general spousal open work permit requires the principal worker to be in a TEER 0 or 1 occupation, or a listed TEER 2 or 3 shortage occupation, and to hold a permit with at least 16 months of validity remaining at the time the spouse applies. A short bridging permit can fail that 16-month test on its own.
FAQ
Can I apply for a BOWP as soon as I submit my permanent residence application?
Generally no. For most streams, eligibility begins when IRCC confirms that a complete application has been received, not when you press submit. Check the requirement for your specific stream.
Does the BOWP let me work for any employer?
Yes. It is an open permit, subject to the normal rules for regulated and licensed occupations, and to any medical requirements for work in health care, childcare or agriculture.
My work permit expires next month and my PR application was just filed. What now?
Look first at whether the existing permit can be extended on its own terms, and file before expiry no matter which route you take. Filing something on time preserves maintained status; filing nothing does not.
Can my spouse get an open work permit if I hold a BOWP?
Only if the current spousal open work permit criteria are met, including the occupation requirement and the 16-month remaining-validity requirement. Check the length of the bridging permit before assuming.
Is the BOWP available for humanitarian and compassionate applicants?
It has been available where an application has been approved in principle at the first stage. Approval in principle also opens access to study permits and provincial health coverage. Confirm the current criteria before relying on this.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration law and IRCC/ESDC policy change frequently, and every case turns on its own facts. Reading this article does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Obtain advice tailored to your situation before you act.
Talk to a Canadian immigration lawyer. BridgePoint Law advises individuals and businesses across Canada — and on Canada–US–China cross-border matters — on bridging open work permits and work authorization during permanent residence processing. Book a consultation with our team in Toronto and Kingston. We work in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
