What to do if your permit expired

On this page

• What happens when your permit expires
• How to restore your status as a student
  • If you have family members with you in Canada
• While you maintain your status

What happens when your permit expires

You lose your student status in Canada if any of the following applies to you:

• Your study permit expired before you applied for a new one.
• You changed the conditions on your study permit such as
  • your DLI
  • type of study
  • location of study
  • time period of study
• You didn’t respect the conditions of your study permit.

Once you lose your status, you can’t study in Canada until we’ve restored your status as a student.

If you apply after your permit expires, you can stay in Canada but you can’t study until your status has been restored and you have received your new study permit.

How to restore your status as a student

If your permit expires but you keep meeting the requirements of your stay and you respect the conditions of your study permit, you may apply to restore your status as a student.

If you want to keep studying in Canada, you must

• apply for a new study permit
• apply to restore your temporary resident status in Canada
• submit all supporting documents
• pay your fees

Use the document checklist and guide for extending your stay as a student. You can stay in Canada while we process your application, but there’s no guarantee that we’ll approve your application.

When you apply, make sure to

• select “Restore my status” under section 3 at the top of the form
• include a note explaining the reason you need to extend your stay
• include the restoration fee

If your temporary resident status is restored

• you get a study permit, which outlines the conditions of your stay in Canada
• your temporary resident status in Canada will be extended until a specified date

If you have family members with you in Canada

If your spouse, common-law partner or dependent children came with you to Canada, they may also need to restore their status. They must each apply separately to get it restored. Each family member must pay the restoration fee for their application.

While you maintain your status

If you apply to extend or change the conditions of your study permit before it expires, you’re legally allowed to stay in Canada while we process your application.

While you’re on maintained status, you won’t be able to renew documents issued by your province or territory, such as your

• driver’s licence
• health card

You also can’t get a social insurance number (SIN) card.

Make sure your documents are valid before your study permit expires.