CIC provides guidance on filing work permit extensions without an approved LMO or CAQ

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has been providing guidance to foreign nationals seeking extensions of their work permits through the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta, while waiting for a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) or a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) to be approved.

According to CIC, if a foreign national is ready to submit a work permit application to CPC Vegreville, but is waiting for an LMO or CAQ, the application may still be submitted, but only within two weeks of the expiry date of his or her existing work permit. In addition, proof that the LMO/CAQ request was made must also be included with the application.

Applicants who are submitting work permit extensions to CPC Vegreville under the above circumstances must therefore do one of the following (as applicable):

1. They must include a copy of the LMO/CAQ application sent to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada/Immigration Québec;
2. They must include a copy of the receipt confirmation number, if the request was made online; or
3. They must indicate the following in Section D of IMM 1249:
   • The date the LMO/CAQ request was sent
   • The office to which it was sent
   • The employer’s name
   • The confirmation number for the submission, if available

If the LMO/CAQ confirmation number is not available at the time of filing, applicants must contact CIC’s call centre and provide this information within two months of CPC Vegreville’s receipt of the application. Failure to do so may result in CPC Vegreville refusing the application.

CIC has also advised that applicants who are waiting for their CAQ may not submit their extension applications online. Instead, paper applications must be submitted by mail in such cases.

Henry J. Chang
Blaney McMurtry LLP

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Henry J. Chang, Dentons LLP

Corporate immigration lawyer at Dentons LLP

Henry J. Chang is a partner in the firm’s Employment and Labor Group. He currently practices in the areas of Canadian and United States business immigration law, international business law, and cannabis law.

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