Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP)
A BOWP keeps you working while your permanent residence application is processed. It is an open permit, so it is not tied to one employer, and it exists precisely so that a PR applicant does not lose their job to a processing queue. The eligibility list is specific, and one recent change trips people up.
Which PR applications qualify
- ● Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades.
- ● Provincial nominee applications, both through Express Entry and outside it.
- ● Quebec Skilled Worker and Quebec Investor, with a valid CSQ.
- ● The 2019–2024 caregiver pilots — Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker — and the earlier Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs classes.
- ● The Agri-Food Pilot.
The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots that opened in 2025 are expressly not BOWP-eligible. This is the most common current error in this area — the older caregiver pilots qualify, their 2025 replacements do not.
What stage you need to have reached
- ● For most streams, a complete permanent residence application that has passed the completeness check — in practice, you have your acknowledgement of receipt.
- ● For the caregiver and agri-food streams, approval in principle.
- ● For Quebec streams, a valid Certificat de sélection du Québec.
Your status when you apply
You must be in Canada, and one of the following must be true: you hold valid status with a work permit, you are on maintained status as a worker because you applied to extend before your permit expired, or you are still eligible to restore your status as a worker.
You must also intend to live outside Quebec, unless you are applying under a Quebec stream. Applying from outside Canada does not work — this permit exists for people already here.
Why timing decides this
The BOWP sits in a narrow gap: after your PR application is far enough along to qualify, and before your current work permit expires. Miss the front of that window and you have nothing to apply on; miss the back of it and you are into maintained status or restoration, which is a harder conversation with an employer.
If your permit expires within a few months and your PR application has just been filed, that is worth a call now rather than in six weeks. There are usually options, and they get worse with time.
Reviewed by a licensed RCIC · Last updated 13 August 2026. Immigration rules change often — confirm anything time-sensitive with us or on canada.ca.
Looking for related services? See our full Work Permits overview or all services.
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Frequently asked questions
I applied under the Home Care Worker pilots. Can I get a BOWP?
No. The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots that opened in 2025 are not on the BOWP-eligible list. The older Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots from the 2019–2024 intakes are. This distinction catches a lot of people, and some websites still have it wrong.
When can I apply for a BOWP?
Once your permanent residence application has passed the completeness check — for most streams that means you have the acknowledgement of receipt — and while you still hold valid status as a worker, are on maintained status, or are within the restoration window. Applying too early is as much a problem as applying too late.
Is a BOWP an open work permit?
Yes. You are not tied to a single employer, which is the practical point of it: you can change jobs while your PR application is processed, subject to the usual restrictions on certain occupations requiring a medical exam.
How long is a BOWP valid?
It is issued to cover the processing of your permanent residence application, and the length depends on your circumstances and your passport validity. As with any Canadian work permit, it will not be issued beyond your passport's expiry.
Can my spouse get a work permit too?
Possibly, but under the spousal open work permit rules, which were narrowed in January 2025 and depend on the principal's occupation and permit validity. It does not follow automatically from your BOWP.
Still unsure how this applies to your case? Book an appointment with a licensed RCIC.
More Work Permit services
Other pathways we handle in this area — or talk to a licensed RCIC about which fits your case.
Waymark runs on the Nova System platform — built in Abbotsford, BC by practising RCICs.