Canada Maintained Status Update
IRCC Announces Major Changes to Maintained Status Rules
Temporary residents may face unexpected consequences under new policy update effective May 28, 2025.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made significant changes to the rules surrounding maintained status—a policy that allows temporary residents to stay legally in Canada while waiting for a decision on their application. These changes took effect on May 28, 2025.
What’s important to note? The new rules don’t just apply to future applicants. They also affect individuals who are already on maintained status, potentially exposing them to legal or status risks if they don’t act accordingly.
If you're currently awaiting a decision on your work permit, study permit, or visitor extension, it’s essential to understand what these new rules mean for you. Ignoring them could lead to unintentional status violations or removal from Canada.
What Are The Changes to Maintained Status?
Moving forward, if your temporary resident status expires and you apply for a subsequent application after that date, even if you are on maintained status, that subsequent application will be returned unprocessed.
This will leave you out of status in Canada, with limited options, such as applying for restoration of status, if you’re eligible.
This essentially puts an end to one of the benefits of submitting a dummy application. But it will also have broader impacts.
One of the major impacts we anticipate is a potential reduction in overall competition within the Express Entry pool. IRCC is beginning to crack down on “dummy” applications—those submitted solely to trigger maintained status.
These applications have allowed some individuals to continue working in Canada and gain additional Canadian work experience, giving them an advantage in the pool. This marks IRCC’s first clear attempt to address this behaviour, and it could signal the beginning of broader measures that may significantly affect those currently in or planning to enter the pool.