Open work permits for prospective Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program candidates with a provincial support letter issued on or before December 31, 2025
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
These instructions apply to IRCC employees. Given that applicants cannot submit their applications at a port of entry, the instructions do not apply to border services officers. All work permits applications must be submitted electronically unless otherwise specified.
The Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge temporary public policy took effect on July 6, 2026 and will facilitate the issuance of open work permits for foreign nationals who were previously issued a support letter from the Government of Manitoba on or before December 31, 2025. The support letter must indicate that the foreign national was both screened and placed in the province’s Expression of Interest pool under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) on or before December 31, 2025. Eligible candidates must also be employed in Manitoba and demonstrate this by providing a letter of employment. The public policy is being implemented exclusively in Manitoba, as the province signed a Letter of Intent with IRCC. Eligible candidates will be required to apply for a work permit prior to the public policy expiring on December 31, 2027. After this date, any further applications received, including renewals, will be refused.
Note: An expired public policy (“Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective Provincial Nominee Program Candidates”) and its extension (“Temporary Public Policy to Facilitate Work Permits for Prospective Alberta, Manitoba and Yukon Nominee Program Candidates”) allowed the issuance of open work permits to candidates employed in Manitoba, Alberta or Yukon and who had a support letter from the province/territory of nomination indicating that the foreign national had been assessed and placed in an expression of interest pool or other application inventory process under a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). These previous measures, which are no longer in effect, allowed for Alberta candidates to apply until December 31, 2024, while Yukon and Manitoba candidates were eligible until December 31, 2025. To clarify, the new Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge temporary public policy only applies to candidates from Manitoba, granting additional time to nominate candidates who were previously identified and assessed as permanent resident candidates and were placed in the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program’s Expression of Interest pool, and who received support letters in 2024 or 2025. As such, any applications received from candidates from Alberta or Yukon under the previous public policies, including renewals, are not eligible under the new public policy and should be refused.
On this page
- Eligibility
- Documentary evidence
- Application assessment
- Final decision
- Spouses or common-law partners and dependents
Eligibility
Regulatory exemptions
There are three cohorts facilitated under this public policy. Cohort 1 consists of applicants who have a valid work permit at time of application, Cohort 2 consists of applicants whose work permits have expired, and Cohort 3 consists of applicants who are authorized to work without a permit under paragraph 186(u) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). For applicants in each respective cohort, an exemption may be granted from the following requirements of the IRPR:
Cohorts 1 and 3 (applicants who hold a valid work permit, or are authorized to work without a permit under paragraph 186(u)):
- Paragraph 200(1)(c) - the eligibility requirements that a foreign national must meet to be issued a work permit under existing pathways.
Cohort 2 (applicants who hold an expired work permit):
- The requirement in section 182 - for a visitor, worker or student to apply for restoration within 90 days after losing temporary resident status
- The requirement in section 182 - for a visitor, worker or student to have complied with any other conditions imposed
- Paragraphs 199(a) to (i) – the requirements that a foreign national must meet in order to apply for a work permit after entering Canada
- Paragraph 200(1)(c) - the requirement to be described under this paragraph of the Regulations
- Paragraph 200(3)(e) - the requirement that a work permit not be issued to a foreign national who has engaged in unauthorized work or study in Canada or has failed to comply with the conditions of a previous permit or authorization
General eligibility criteria
This temporary public policy, issued pursuant to section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), facilitates the issuance of open work permits to applicants who meet the following criteria at the time of application:
- hold a valid work permit, or
- held a valid work permit on May 7, 2024, which has since expired, and have applied for a work permit under section 200 of the IRPR and either an extension or restoration of temporary resident status under section 182 of the IRPR, or
- were authorized to work pursuant to paragraph 186(u) of the IRPR on May 7, 2024, after having submitted a work permit renewal application on or before that date, and have submitted an application for a new work permit under section 200 of the IRPR and an extension of their authorization to remain in Canada as temporary residents; and
- hold an employment letter from the foreign national’s current employer in Manitoba; and,
- have an open work permit support letter issued by the Government of Manitoba on or before December 31, 2025, indicating that they have been screened in and were placed in Manitoba’s Expression of Interest pool under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program on or before December 31, 2025.
Important: As part of their application, an applicant may include a letter of continued support issued in 2026 by the Government of Manitoba, however, this letter does not overcome the requirement to have a support letter issued by the Government of Manitoba on or before December 31, 2025.
Important: To be eligible under this temporary public policy, individuals must have valid temporary resident status, maintained status, or must apply for restoration.
An individual who has applied for facilitation under the public policy may leave Canada while their application is pending but must be in Canada with valid temporary resident status or must have applied for restoration of status at the time the decision is rendered in order to benefit from facilitation under the public policy. Temporary residents who leave Canada without prior authorization to re-enter lose their temporary resident status. Each entry requires a new examination and a decision on allowing the foreign national to enter as a temporary resident.
Officers should confirm that the applicant has not left Canada or has returned to Canada prior to granting the public policy open work permit. Officers can find instructions on confirming exits here, Entry/Exit Program. If entry/exit results reveal that the applicant has left Canada, the officer should send a request for proof of status in Canada before making a final decision.
Documentary evidence
Officers should be satisfied that they have the following documentary evidence to make an assessment:
Note: When an application is submitted electronically, the document checklist will include more documents than are required for a work permit application under this public policy. Clients are instructed to upload a page with “Not applicable” in the extra document slots.
Mandatory documents
- Copy of valid passport
- Digital photo
- Payment receipt in the Proof of Fee Exemption slot
- Support letter issued by the Government of Manitoba on or before December 31, 2025 indicating that the applicant has been screened and was placed in Manitoba’s Expression of Interest pool under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program on or before December 31, 2025.
- Copy of current work permit or copy of expired work permit, as applicable
- Letter of employment from current employer
Optional documents
- Family Information form [IMM 5707] - The document is not required for in Canada work permit applications but may be requested by the officer if it will support their assessment.
- a letter of continued support issued by Manitoba in 2026 - This letter is not required but may be submitted by the applicant. It should not be confused with the support letter issued by the Government of Manitoba on or before December 31, 2025.
Applications that do not include an IMM5707 or a letter of continued support issued in 2026 by the Government of Manitoba should not be refused solely for these reasons.
Application assessment
When officers are reviewing an application under this public policy, the following steps should be taken.
Identifying applications made under the public policy
Individuals applying for an open work permit with facilitation under the public policy must select in the online application in the IRCC secure account that they are “Applying for an open work permit under an active public policy or pilot program announced by IRCC” in order to trigger the open work permit results. To identify that they are seeking consideration under the Manitoba Workforce Transition Bridge temporary public policy, applicants are instructed to enter the following code in both the job title/intended occupation box and the brief description of duties box:
- “MBEOI2024”
Note: Regarding applications related to other PTs: In the previous public policies for PNP candidates, those applying from Alberta used the indicator “ABEOI2024” while those applying from Yukon used “YKEOI2024”. Only applications that were received during the previous public policy validity periods were eligible for an open work permit: 2024 for Yukon, and 2024 or 2025 for Alberta. Applications received after these dates with either identifier should be refused for not meeting the eligibility criteria as these public policies have ended.
Assessing proof of provincial support and employment in Manitoba
The officer must be satisfied that the applicant is an existing worker who has been screened in by the Government of Manitoba and was placed in the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program’s Expression of Interest pool. This should be assessed by doing all of the following:
- reviewing the support letter issued by Manitoba on or before December 31, 2025
- confirming the applicant is listed on the report issued by Manitoba
- ensuring the applicant has a valid or expired work permit
- ensuring the applicant has provided a letter of employment from their current employer
Officers should note that although the application is for an open work permit and no offer of employment is required, the applicant needs to provide the letter of employment from their current employer. This can be used as evidence that they are actively working in the province (as the objective of the TPP is to retain candidates previously identified who are actively working in the province).
Final decision
Approval
On the “Application” screen, officers should confirm or enter the following information in the specific fields:
| Field | Selection or input |
|---|---|
| Case type | 20 |
| Province of destination (Mandatory) | Manitoba |
| City of destination (Mandatory) | Manitoba NES |
| Exemption Code | R01 (applications submitted inside Canada) |
| NOC | 99999 |
| Intended occupation |
Open Important: Officers must change this from the code MBEOI2024 entered by the applicant
|
| Employer | Open |
| Duration | 2 years or until the expiry of the passport or travel document, whichever is earlier. These applicants are not eligible for a further extension. |
| Fees |
Work permit processing fee – $155 Restoration fee (if applicable) – $229 Biometric fee (if applicable) – $85 |
Refusals
If an officer is not satisfied that all the requirements of the public policy and of R200 are met, they must record their reasons and outline the rationale underlying the decision as well as the facts and elements considered. They must also provide an explanation for the decision in a case note.
Refusal reasons should clearly indicate which criteria or what requirement of the public policy or R200 was not met and explain how the conclusion was reached. For assistance, officers can follow the steps in Decision making: Standard of review and process for making a reasonable decision.
Spouses or common-law partners and dependents
An open work permit may be issued to the spouse or common-law partner under IMP administrative code C41 or C47 if the principal applicant is approved for an open work permit under this public policy. Dependents can receive an open work permit under IMP administrative code C46 or C48 if the principal applicant is approved for an open work permit under this public policy.
Study permits
Minor children can apply for a study permit under existing study permit streams or may study without one at the K –12 level if they are already in Canada and at least one parent holds a work or study permit. Applications must be submitted online.
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