How to Restore Visitor Status in Canada

If your visitor status expired and you are still in Canada, you can apply to restore it within 90 days of the expiry date under IRPR s.182. You pay the $246.25 restoration fee, with no separate Visitor Record fee on top. You have no status and cannot work while you wait. An officer decides.

Read IRCC Guide 5551 on restoring your status

Last verified: November 2026

90 days
The window to apply for restoration, counted from the date your status expired (IRPR s.182)
$246.25
The restoration fee, per person who lost status, with no separate Visitor Record fee
310 days
IRCC’s published time for Visitor Records, the application a visitor restores through, checked November 11, 2026

IRCC has no separate processing line for restoration, and its fees change. The Fee Calculator and the Processing Times page show the current figures.

What is restoration of status, and how is it different from maintained status?

Restoration of status lets a foreign national whose temporary resident status has expired, and who did not have maintained status, apply from within Canada to regain status. It is governed mainly by IRPR R.182. Maintaining your stay through a timely extension is governed by R.183.

An extension (for a visitor, applying for a Visitor Record) must be filed before your current status expires. Restoration is the remedy available after status has already lapsed, and only within the 90-day window.

Maintained status (R.183): applied before expiry: You applied to extend or to change your status before your authorized stay expired. While that application is pending, you may generally remain in Canada under the same conditions as your previous status. It is often still called "implied status", and it generally ends if your application is refused.
No status (R.182): applied after expiry: Your status expired before you applied, so you are in Canada without valid status. You may apply for restoration within 90 days, but work and study are not authorized while restoration is pending, and if an officer determines you have left Canada, the application is refused.

How does the 90-day window work?

Under IRPR R.182, a foreign national may apply to restore their visitor status if they do so within 90 days of losing that status. The clock starts on the date your authorized stay expired, not from when you realized it had expired.

For visitors, that date is usually the one stamped in your passport or shown on your Visitor Record. If no specific date was given, your status expires six months from the day you arrived in Canada (IRCC Guide 5551; IRPR s.183(2)).

Your application must be received by IRCC within the 90 days, not merely started or mailed near the deadline. Most people must apply online (IRCC Guide 5551), and applying online gives you a time-stamped submission that shows when you applied.

The rule

A foreign national may apply to restore their visitor status if they do so within 90 days of losing that status.

IRPR R.182Verify on justice.gc.ca

Who can restore visitor status?

To be eligible for restoration of visitor status under IRPR R.182, you generally must meet all of the following conditions. An officer assesses each application, so meeting them does not guarantee approval:

You are still inside Canada at the time of applying (restoration cannot be done from outside Canada).
You are applying within 90 days of your status expiry, and you previously held valid temporary resident status.
You have stopped the activity that required authorization: a person restoring status generally cannot keep working or studying while the application is pending.
You continue to meet the requirements of a visitor, you are admissible to Canada, and no new inadmissibility grounds have arisen.
You lost status only by breaching a condition on the length of your stay, on the type of work, employer or location of work, or on your studies (IRPR s.182, s.185(a), (b)(i) to (iii), (c)), and you breached no other condition.
You are not the subject of a declaration under IRPA s.22.1(1) (IRPR s.182), and you did not work or study without authorization (IRCC: either makes a person ineligible). TRP holders are not eligible for restoration of status.

A worker or student who has lost status, and who no longer qualifies for their original permit, may apply to restore their status as a visitor instead. IRCC Guide 5551 says to submit the application within 90 days, give full details of all the facts and circumstances, meet the requirements for a stay as a visitor, and pay the restoration fee.

How do you apply, and what does it cost?

Apply online from inside Canada
Apply through your IRCC online account while you are still in Canada, within 90 days of the date your status expired. The account time-stamps your submission.
Ask for restoration with a Visitor Record
You apply for a Visitor Record and ask for restoration in the same application. You must still meet the requirements of a visitor.
Pay the restoration fee
The restoration fee is $246.25 CAD per person who lost status. IRCC's fee list marks the visitor line "Visa fee not needed", so there is no extension fee on top. Biometrics ($85 per person, to a family maximum of $170) may also apply if yours are not already on file.
$246.25
Stay in Canada until the decision
You may remain in Canada while the application is pending, but you may not work or study. IRCC’s instructions say that if an officer determines you have left Canada while it is pending, the officer shall refuse the application, and the processing fees are not refunded.

Restoring as a worker or student instead adds the permit fee: a work permit is $155 and a study permit $150, on top of the restoration fee. IRCC Guide 5551 says the processing fee will not be refunded, regardless of the final decision, once the Case Processing Centre has started processing the application.

What happens if you miss the 90-day window?

If more than 90 days have passed since your visitor status expired, you can no longer apply for restoration from within Canada.

Leaving Canada: IRCC Guide 5551 says that if you do not apply for restoration within 90 days, you must leave Canada. A person who leaves before any removal order is made needs no authorization to return, because IRPA s.52(1) applies only once a removal order has been enforced.
Applying from outside Canada: After leaving, you can apply for a new TRV, work permit, or study permit. The visitor visa form asks whether you have ever remained beyond the validity of your status (IRCC Guide 5256, Question 2), so the new application will ask about the overstay.
Enforcement: An officer may report a person in Canada without status as inadmissible (IRPA s.44). For staying past the authorized period, the removal order 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).

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What do people ask?

How do I restore my visitor status in Canada?

Apply online through your IRCC account while you are still in Canada, within 90 days of the date your status expired. You apply for a Visitor Record, ask for restoration in the same application, and pay the restoration fee. You must still meet the requirements of a visitor and must not work or study while you wait. IRPR s.182 sets the 90-day rule.

How much does it cost to restore visitor status in Canada?

It costs $246.25 CAD per person, the restoration fee. IRCC's fee list shows no separate Visitor Record fee for a visitor who restores. Biometrics ($85 per person, family maximum $170) may apply if yours are not on file. Restoring as a worker or student adds the permit fee. The processing fee is not refunded once IRCC has started processing, whatever the decision, so confirm the current amounts on canada.ca before you pay. Our Fee Calculator adds them up.

How long does it take to restore status in Canada?

IRCC's processing times tool has no separate line for restoration. A visitor restores status through a Visitor Record application, and IRCC's published time for Visitor Records was 310 days when this site last checked, on November 11, 2026. You must stay in Canada and cannot work or study while you wait. Our Processing Times page shows the current figure.

Can I work in Canada while my restoration application is pending?

No. A restoration application does not give you work authorization, because restoration only applies once your status has already lapsed. You have no status while you wait, and IRCC's instructions say a person who works without authorization is not eligible for restoration. Study is not allowed either. Stay in Canada and wait for the decision.

If my restoration application is refused, do I have to leave immediately?

IRCC Guide 5551 says a person without status must leave Canada. The Act gives no appeal of this decision: the route to court is an application for leave and judicial review to the Federal Court (IRPA s.72(1)). Staying on after a refusal adds to the overstay. You can then apply from outside Canada for a new visa or permit and explain what happened. Our Overstaying in Canada guide covers the consequences.

What happens if I miss the 90-day restoration window?

After 90 days you can no longer apply for restoration from inside Canada. IRCC Guide 5551 says you must then leave Canada, and a person who leaves before any removal order is made needs no authorization to return (IRPA s.52(1)). An application from outside Canada will ask about the overstay. If you stay, an officer can report you (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. Our Overstaying in Canada guide explains the removal orders.

I lost my worker or student status. Can I restore as a visitor instead?

In many cases, yes. A worker or student who lost status and no longer qualifies for the original permit, such as a worker without a qualifying job offer, can ask to restore status as a visitor. You apply for a Visitor Record with the restoration, pay the restoration fee and show you meet a visitor's requirements. The same 90-day window applies.

What is the difference between maintained status and restoration?

Maintained status keeps you in status, while restoration tries to get it back. Maintained status (often still called implied status, IRPR s.183) applies when you apply to extend or change your status before it expires, and you can generally stay on the same conditions while you wait. Restoration (IRPR s.182) applies after status has lapsed: you have no status, cannot work or study, and have 90 days to apply.

Part of:Visiting Canada

Official sources

This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.