Foreign nationals who renew their Canadian work permits from inside the country often face an anxious wait while Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) processes their applications. Until now, the only proof many of these workers could present to employers—or to provincial health-insurance authorities and other service providers—was an interim letter known as a WP-EXT. That letter confirmed the individual’s right to keep working under Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulation 186(u) (popularly called “maintained status”), but it expired after 180 days.
![IRCC lengthens interim work-authorisation letters to 12 months for foreign workers on ‘maintained status’]()
For workers who prefer professional help navigating such changing requirements—and the paperwork that comes with them—VisaHQ offers an end-to-end service for Canadian visas and permits. Through its Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/), applicants can track deadlines, assemble supporting documents and receive real-time status alerts, ensuring they stay compliant when updates like the new 365-day WP-EXT are introduced with little warning.
On 27 April 2026 IRCC quietly updated its online Program Delivery Instructions, doubling the validity period of all WP-EXT letters from six months to a full calendar year. The change, first spotted by legal practitioners and later confirmed in a notice to officers, means that any worker who submitted a work-permit renewal before their previous permit expired can now show a 365-day authorisation letter while they wait for a decision. The department stressed that the longer letter does not extend the underlying legal right to work; it simply gives workers and HR departments a more realistic proof-of-status window as processing times continue to exceed six months in several streams. IRCC also published three new decision-tree examples clarifying what happens when an applicant files a second work-permit request while the first is still pending. The guidance confirms that a second application only preserves maintained status if it, too, was filed before the original permit expired. Officers are told to refuse requests for second letters when the applicant is already covered by an unexpired WP-EXT, a move meant to cut down on duplicate enquiries. For employers, the update removes the administrative scramble that often occurred around the 180-day mark, when HR managers had to decide whether to pull a worker off the job or take a compliance risk. Payroll and benefits providers can now rely on the longer document, giving companies extra certainty when scheduling critical project staff or planning international assignments. Workers who have already received a 180-day letter do not need a replacement; IRCC says officers will issue the new 12-month version automatically for applications still in process. Immigration lawyers are advising foreign nationals to download or print the revised letter—available through their IRCC online account—as soon as it appears. While the change is administrative, it signals that Ottawa recognises the real-world friction created by slower processing and is prepared to use program-delivery tweaks to keep the labour market moving.
For workers who prefer professional help navigating such changing requirements—and the paperwork that comes with them—VisaHQ offers an end-to-end service for Canadian visas and permits. Through its Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/), applicants can track deadlines, assemble supporting documents and receive real-time status alerts, ensuring they stay compliant when updates like the new 365-day WP-EXT are introduced with little warning.
On 27 April 2026 IRCC quietly updated its online Program Delivery Instructions, doubling the validity period of all WP-EXT letters from six months to a full calendar year. The change, first spotted by legal practitioners and later confirmed in a notice to officers, means that any worker who submitted a work-permit renewal before their previous permit expired can now show a 365-day authorisation letter while they wait for a decision. The department stressed that the longer letter does not extend the underlying legal right to work; it simply gives workers and HR departments a more realistic proof-of-status window as processing times continue to exceed six months in several streams. IRCC also published three new decision-tree examples clarifying what happens when an applicant files a second work-permit request while the first is still pending. The guidance confirms that a second application only preserves maintained status if it, too, was filed before the original permit expired. Officers are told to refuse requests for second letters when the applicant is already covered by an unexpired WP-EXT, a move meant to cut down on duplicate enquiries. For employers, the update removes the administrative scramble that often occurred around the 180-day mark, when HR managers had to decide whether to pull a worker off the job or take a compliance risk. Payroll and benefits providers can now rely on the longer document, giving companies extra certainty when scheduling critical project staff or planning international assignments. Workers who have already received a 180-day letter do not need a replacement; IRCC says officers will issue the new 12-month version automatically for applications still in process. Immigration lawyers are advising foreign nationals to download or print the revised letter—available through their IRCC online account—as soon as it appears. While the change is administrative, it signals that Ottawa recognises the real-world friction created by slower processing and is prepared to use program-delivery tweaks to keep the labour market moving.
