A quiet but practical fix took effect on June 9, 2026: foreign nationals in Canada who have applied for permanent residence under the Provincial Nominee Program can now qualify for a work permit without first receiving IRCC’s acknowledgement of receipt for the PR application. The temporary public policy runs until December 31, 2026.
The problem this solves
Provincial nominees waiting on PR processing have long relied on bridging permits, and bridging permits required an acknowledgement of receipt. When PR intake slowed, the AOR could take months, and workers whose permits were expiring had no clean way to keep working. The new measure removes that dependency for eligible nominees.
Who benefits
The measure covers eligible PNP applicants in Canada, and spousal open work permits are available for their spouses and partners. If you hold a provincial nomination, have submitted your PR application, and your current permit is running down, you may now have a path to keep working that did not exist in May.
The BC angle
BC PNP draws have continued through the summer, with the July 9 round targeting childcare, healthcare, construction and veterinary occupations. For nominees coming out of those draws, the June measure means the gap between nomination and PR no longer threatens employment continuity in the same way.
Act inside your status window
Two cautions. First, this is a temporary policy with a hard end date; if it applies to you, use it well before December. Second, the usual rules about maintained status still apply: apply before your current permit expires, and you can generally keep working on the same conditions while the new application processes. Miss the expiry date and you are into restoration territory, which is a much worse place to be.
Official source: CIC News: Canada eases access to work permits for provincial nominees.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Immigration rules change frequently and every case is different. For advice about your situation, book a consultation.
About the author
Miguel Martins Pereirinha is a Canadian immigration lawyer and partner at Slayen Immigration Law in Vancouver, British Columbia. He practises Canadian immigration law exclusively — work permits, permanent residence, family sponsorship, citizenship and inadmissibility — and works with clients in English and Portuguese.
