Status Restoration
Status Restoration
A restoration of status allows temporary residents to regain valid status in Canada when the person has remained over their original period of authorized stay. Since a restoration is the only avenue of redeeming a loss of status, an application has to be carefully made and contain very solid arguments on behalf of the temporary resident as to why they overstayed. When examining restoration, particular attention has to be paid to who is eligible to apply and under what conditions. Let’s now take a look at some requirements.
The definition of “temporary resident” includes international students, visitors, workers and temporary resident permit holders (TRP class). The latter is a less frequent class of temporary residents who are granted special permission to enter Canada. Having said that, it is now important to clarify that holding a visa is not the same as holding a permit when it comes to entering Canada. To illustrate, a visa is commonly a glossy sticker that goes in somebody’s passport and it serves as an entry document. On the other hand, a permit is a written authorization to perform work or studies under specific conditions. Consequently, having a work or study permit does not always grant entry to Canada if the person’s country of origin is a visa-requiring country.
Status Restoration
Oftentimes, an individual applying for a work or study permit who comes from a visa-requiring country will get both the visa and the permit issued at the same time. Nevertheless, people who come from a visa-exempt country may only require an electronic travel authorization, also known as an eTA, to visit Canada. There are only very few exceptions where an individual will not need an eTA nor a visa to enter the country. It is therefore imperative for a person to pay attention to their country of origin and the purpose of their travel before arranging a trip to Canada.
After an individual has obtained their respective documents and arrives in Canada, it is then up to the officer’s discretion to decide whether the person can enter the country and for how long. Having a visa or an eTA does not guarantee that the person will be able to enter Canada. However, if the person is granted access, the typical authorized period of stay is 6 months for visitors and it is subject to the length of a studies program or work contract when it comes to workers or international students.
Right after a person has been granted access, they become temporary residents. Here, it is important for temporary residents to make sure they understand how long they have been granted access in Canada. Nowadays, it is common for border officers not to stamp a passport. In the case of a visitor for example, it is implied that the time allowed to stay is 6 months if there are no stamps or dates written down in the passport at the time of entry.
Certainly, anything can happen after a temporary resident enters Canada. There could be many possible scenarios where a person let their status expire. A common reason is that a person applied for an extension of their stay while still on valid status but that application got denied. Despite the reason, a temporary resident has a grace period of 90 days from the day their status expired or, in case of a denied extension, 90 days from the date a refusal letter is obtained, to submit a restoration application.
Furthermore, an out of status temporary resident can only apply for restoration if they still meet the initial requirements for their stay and have not failed to comply with any other condition required in their class. For example, if under visitor class, a person decided to engage in unauthorized work. In that scenario, that temporary resident will not be eligible for restoration. When it comes to workers and students, being out of status does not mean being on implied status. Consequently, the worker or student cannot continue to study or work while waiting for the restoration application to be processed.
Regards,
SmartImmigrant
