Maintained status (implied status)

A buyer meets the term when some of the seller’s staff are foreign workers whose permits are close to expiring. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says that to maintain status, it must receive the extension application before the work permit expires. Under s. 183(5) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, if a temporary resident has applied for an extension and no decision is made by the end of the authorized stay, the stay is extended until the day a refusal decision is made or, if the application is allowed, until the end of the new period. That subsection is subject to s. 183(5.1). Hiring questions in a sale are covered in Can a buyer choose which employees to hire in an asset purchase?.

What IRCC says it does and does not give

IRCC says that, unless the worker holds a post-graduation work permit, the worker gets a work permit extension letter showing they can keep working under the same conditions as the current permit. While on maintained status, a worker cannot renew documents issued by their province or territory. IRCC also says temporary resident permit applicants do not benefit from maintained status.

What to ask the seller

• Which workers have extension applications pending, and the date each was filed
• Whether each application reached IRCC before the permit expired
• Which permits are employer-specific, since the employer-specific work permit names one employer