How to extend my Working Holiday work permit?

First and foremost, an IEC work permit (including the Working Holiday) cannot be extended beyond the max. allowed time under the agreement with your country.

See extra info blog post > here <

This post only explains the steps in Scenario:

Yes, under certain circumstances

In three situations, a work permit can be extended to the maximum allowed length under the agreement with your country. Never beyond that allowed time.

The three scenarios:

  1. Mistake: When the immigration officer made a mistake during activation and issued the work permit for a shorter time than you are allowed under your country. This is the most common mistake that you should try to fix on the spot with the officer. 
  2. Passport*: Your passport was not valid for long enough when the work permit was activated and therefore a shorter work permit was issued to match the validity of the passport. 
  3. Young Professional**: If the employer created a shorter job offer and therefore a shorter work permit was issued.

In all of the above scenarios, you do not have to pay any fees to get the work permit extended. 

The extension can only be done by paper application! Not online. More info >> here << 

Steps for the extension in the above three scenarios:

*Passport: You first must apply for a new passport before you can apply for the work permit extension. 

**For the Young Professional work permit extension: The employer has to submit a new job offer in the employer portal and pay the $230 compliance fee again. Then they will get a new A number that you must include in your letter of explanation.  

  1. Download and fill out and validate Form IMM 5710 >> here <<
    • If you have issues downloading the IMM Form, please follow one of the steps >> here <<
    • The option to check at the top of the form is “Apply for a work permit for the first time…”
  2. Include a letter of explanation that explains:
    • that you are a participant in the International Experience Canada
    • that you apply for an extension of participation
    • that you don’t have to pay any fees
    • why you apply for an extension 
  3. Send the paper application to this address:

Case Processing Centre Edmonton
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada
c/o Work Permit- IEC Station 404
Suite 55 9700 Jasper Avenue NW
Edmonton AB T5J 4C3

Send the paper application with tracking service so you know when it was received. 

You can only extend it to the maximum allowed time if you also had the health insurance for the maximum time.

An important step that is not made clear in the extension application instructions:

Don't forget to send a copy of the health insurance policy that proves that you had one since the start of the work permit and for the entire duration of the intended stay (for example a 2 years policy if your country allows 2 years).

What happens if my current work permit expires while I wait for the extension?

After you sent the paper application under any of those three scenarios, and ‘on time‘ (before the current work permit expired) you can benefit from maintained status. In other words, it means while the paper application is processed, you can keep working under the same conditions as the current work permit as long as you remain in Canada. You can work until the maximum allowed time under the agreement. 

A very important note from IRCC about the term ‘on time’ to be able to benefit from maintained status: 

The date received for paper applications is the date physically received and stamped at the Case Processing Centre. However, if the date physically received is after the expiry date of the applicant’s status, the officer will backdate the received date by 7 days to account for any mail delivery delays.

Official government Source 

An example for clarification of all of the above rules:

  • You are from Germany that allows a 12-month work permit.
  • When you arrived at the airport or border to activate the work permit you had a 12-month health insurance policy.
  • Regardless, your work permit was issued with an incorrect end date. It was issued for only 8 months.
  • If you send a paper application on time before the current work permit expires, you can stay in Canada and work until you receive a new work permit. 
  • Or you can work for the rest of the time allowed. In this example you can work for another 4 months (because the maximum allowed time under the agreement is 12 months for Germany). 
  • If you would like to stay longer past the allowed time, you have to either apply for another work permit or the visitor record.  

And what about the scenario where the work permit was issued only for the length of my health insurance?

In this scenario, the extension of the work permit is absolutely not possible. There is a strict automatic rejection. It is a requirement of the IEC program that you have a health insurance for the entire intended duration of your stay when activating the work permit. If you only have health insurance for a shorter period of time (e.g. 3 months), a work permit will be issued only for as long as the health insurance is valid.

 I quote from this official government source >here< under Scenario 3:

  • IRCC does not allow the client to submit an application to extend the period of their participation to reach the full maximum duration allowed under the bilateral agreement or arrangement.
  • The applicant failed to obtain travel insurance that fully covers their anticipated stay, as stipulated in their letter of introduction; therefore, their work permit application is automatically refused.
  • The IEC participant cannot increase the validity period of their work permit. If they receive a work permit with a shorter validity period due to the length of their insurance coverage, they are not eligible to apply to increase the validity period of their work permit at a later date.

Also, before you submitted the application you had to electronically sign a disclosure with the information about the health insurance. There is no excuse with "I didn't know".

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