What Happens If You Overstay in Canada?
Overstaying in Canada can make you inadmissible under IRPA s.41(a) for breaking a condition of your status. Within 90 days of losing status, you can apply to restore it under IRPR s.182. An officer can report the overstay (IRPA s.44), and the removal order for an overstay is an exclusion order, which requires written authorization to return for one year after it is enforced (IRPR s.228(1)(c)(iv), s.225).
90 days
The window to apply to restore your status from inside Canada (IRPR s.182)
$246.25
IRCC’s restoration fee, before any work or study permit fee
1 year
How long an enforced exclusion order requires written authorization to return, or 5 years for misrepresentation (IRPR s.225)
IRCC sets the fees, and fees change. The Fee Calculator shows the current amounts.
What counts as an overstay in Canada?
An overstay occurs whenever a foreign national remains in Canada beyond their authorized period of stay or beyond the conditions of their status. The most common cases:
- An expired visitor record or visa: your stay was authorized until a specific date, that date has passed, and you did not extend.
- Expired temporary resident status: your work or study permit expired and you had not applied to extend it.
- Working or studying without authorization: your permit conditions prohibited it, and you did it anyway. This is also a status violation under IRPA s.41.
- Remaining after a removal order: a removal order has been issued and you have not complied with the departure obligation.
Visitors who enter Canada and are not given a specific end date on their record are authorized for 6 months from the date of entry, unless an officer fixes a shorter or longer period (IRPR s.183(2)). Check your entry documentation carefully.
What are the consequences of overstaying?
Failure to comply with the conditions of your temporary resident status is a ground of inadmissibility under IRPA s.41(a). An officer weighs it in a later application: IRPR s.179(e) requires that the applicant is not inadmissible.
The visitor visa form asks whether you have ever "remained beyond the validity of your status" in Canada (IRCC Guide 5256, Background Information, Question 2). It does not automatically disqualify future applications, but the answer must be truthful: a false answer is misrepresentation (IRPA s.40).
An officer may report your overstay (IRPA s.44), and a removal order can follow: for an overstay, an exclusion order (IRPR s.228(1)(c)(iv)). There are three types of removal orders under the Regulations (IRPR s.223), with different consequences for returning.
| Order type | When issued | Effect on returning |
|---|---|---|
| Departure order | A permanent resident who fails the residency obligation (IRPR s.228(2)), or a foreign national whose refugee claim is eligible or pending (s.228(3)). | None, if you leave within 30 days after the order becomes enforceable and verify your departure with an officer at a port of entry (IRPR s.224, s.240(1)). If you do not, it becomes a deportation order (s.224(2)). |
| Exclusion order | Staying past the authorized period (IRPR s.228(1)(c)(iv)), other failures to comply such as unauthorized work (s.229(1)(n)), and misrepresentation (s.229(1)(h)). | Written authorization needed to return for 1 year after the order is enforced, or 5 years if it was issued for misrepresentation (IRPR s.225). |
| Deportation order | Criminality (IRPR s.228(1)(a)); security, human rights violations and organized crime (s.229(1)(a) to (e)); and a departure order not complied with in 30 days (s.224(2)). | Written authorization (an Authorization to Return to Canada) needed to return at any time after the order is enforced (IRPR s.226(1)). |
The rule
Overstaying breaches a condition of your status and creates inadmissibility.
Can you restore your status after an overstay?
Where temporary resident status has expired, whether a work permit, study permit or visitor record, IRPR s.182 sets out a restoration route from inside Canada. The conditions:
- You must apply for restoration within 90 days of your status expiry.
- You must not have failed to comply with any other condition imposed on you.
- You must meet the initial requirements for your stay; a worker or student may restore as a visitor.
- You must remain in Canada until a decision is made and not be the subject of a declaration under IRPA s.22.1(1); a person who worked or studied without authorization is not eligible.
Maintained status (often still called implied status) applies when you apply to extend or change your status before it expires. If you applied to renew a work or study permit, you may then keep working or studying under the same conditions while you wait (IRPR s.186(u), s.189).
Restoration applies after your status has already lapsed. You have lost status, so you have no status while you wait and cannot work or study until restoration is approved.
The restoration fee is $246.25 CAD. Restoring as a visitor is generally that fee alone. A worker adds the $155 work permit fee, for about $401.25, and a student adds the $150 study permit fee, for about $396.25.
How do you leave Canada after an overstay?
Once restoration is out of reach, IRCC Guide 5551 says you must leave Canada.
Leave before a removal order is made
IRPA s.52(1) requires authorization to return only once a removal order has been enforced, so a person who leaves before any order is made needs none. You still need whatever visa or eTA your passport requires, and an officer decides each entry.
Confirm your departure with the CBSA if an order was made
A removal order is enforced when you appear before an officer at a port of entry to verify your departure, obtain a certificate of departure from the CBSA, and depart (IRPR s.240(1)). For a departure order, missing the 30 days turns it into a deportation order (IRPR s.224(2)).
Answer the form question truthfully
The visitor visa form asks whether you have ever remained beyond the validity of your status in Canada, or been ordered to leave Canada or any other country (IRCC Guide 5256, Question 2).
Can you come back to Canada after an overstay?
- Disclosure
- The visitor visa form asks whether you have ever remained beyond the validity of your status (IRCC Guide 5256, Question 2). A false answer is misrepresentation, a separate 5-year inadmissibility under IRPA s.40.
- A visa or an eTA, and an ARC
- Your passport still decides whether you need a visa or an eTA. After an enforced exclusion order (during its 1 or 5 years) or deportation order, you also need an Authorization to Return to Canada (IRPA s.52(1)).
- A Temporary Resident Permit
- An officer may issue a Temporary Resident Permit to an inadmissible person if the officer is of the opinion that it is justified in the circumstances (IRPA s.24(1)).
Which free tool checks your own case?
- Admissibility ExplorerThe IRPA admissibility grounds, one question at a time
- Visa CheckerVisa or eTA, by passport and how you travel
- Fee CalculatorCurrent government fees, itemized
Free, with no account. What you enter in a tool stays in your browser.
What do people ask?
What happens if you overstay in Canada?
Overstaying breaks a condition of your status, which can make you inadmissible under IRPA s.41(a). The visitor visa form asks whether you have ever remained beyond the validity of your status. Within 90 days of losing status, you can apply to restore it under IRPR s.182. An officer can report the overstay (IRPA s.44), and the removal order for an overstay is an exclusion order.
What is the penalty for overstaying in Canada?
The penalty comes from the removal order, if one is made. For an overstay it is an exclusion order (IRPR s.228(1)(c)(iv)): you need written authorization to return for 1 year after it is enforced, or 5 years when an exclusion order is issued for misrepresentation. A departure order, made in other cases such as a pending refugee claim, carries no bar if you leave within 30 days and verify your departure. A deportation order requires written authorization to return at any time (an Authorization to Return to Canada). IRPA s.52(1) requires authorization to return only once a removal order has been enforced.
I overstayed my visitor visa by a few weeks. What happens when I leave?
If you leave before any removal order is made, you need no authorization to return, because IRPA s.52(1) applies only to an enforced removal order. You still need whatever visa or eTA your passport requires, and an officer decides each entry. The visitor visa form asks whether you have ever remained beyond the validity of your status, and the answer must be truthful: hiding it would be misrepresentation under IRPA s.40.
Can I restore my status after overstaying in Canada?
Yes, if you apply within 90 days of losing status. IRPR s.182 also requires that you have not failed to comply with any other condition and that you meet the initial requirements for your stay. After 90 days the route closes. Count the days from the exact expiry date on your permit or record. The Restore Visitor Status guide explains the application.
How much does it cost to restore my status after overstaying?
The restoration fee is $246.25 CAD. A visitor generally pays only that fee. A worker adds the $155 work permit fee, for about $401.25, and a student adds the $150 study permit fee, for about $396.25. You must still apply within 90 days of losing status. Fees change, so confirm them on the IRCC fee list. The Fee Calculator shows the current amounts.
What is the difference between a departure order and a deportation order?
A departure order requires you to leave Canada within 30 days of it becoming enforceable and to verify your departure with an officer at a port of entry. If you do, you need no authorization to return. A deportation order requires written authorization to return at any time (an Authorization to Return to Canada). Under IRPR s.224(2), a departure order becomes a deportation order if you do not leave in time. An overstay itself leads to an exclusion order, not a departure order (IRPR s.228(1)(c)(iv)).
Will an overstay affect my application for permanent residence in Canada?
Yes, it is part of your compliance history. An applicant must answer truthfully all questions put to them (IRPA s.16(1)), and the officer weighs a past failure to comply. Withholding it is misrepresentation under IRPA s.40, which brings five years of inadmissibility.
What is an Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC) and when do I need one?
An ARC is written permission to return while a removal order still bars you. You need one during the bar of an exclusion order (1 year, or 5 years for misrepresentation) and at any time after a deportation order. You do not need one after a departure order if you left within 30 days and confirmed your exit. An officer decides each ARC.
Part of:Visiting Canada
- Restoring Visitor Status in Canada: The 90-Day Window
- Dual Intent: Visiting While Your PR Is in Process
- Canada Visitor Visa Approval Rates by Country
The textbook on this subject
Volume 1: Entering Canada $79
Six IRPA inadmissibility grounds (s.36 and s.38 to s.42), explained with the official text cited.
Follow on Facebook to hear when the library opens (opens in a new tab)Official sources
This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.