Inland renewal applications in Canada can at times be slow. As such, in order to expedite matters, people already in Canada on work permits (or other types of status) sometimes drive to a nearby Canada-U.S. border-crossing, exit Canada, and simply return immediately to make an application on entry. This effectively amounts to a renewal, without the wait, and is referred to as ‘flagpoling’.
The government of Canada has now ended the right to flagpole. All renewals of status for those already in Canada must be done through the ordinary inland/online filing process. [Note that current inland work permit processing time is estimated as 156 days from time of submission.]
The government has, however, indicated a few exceptions, including:
- US citizens and permanent residents
- Professionals, under certain free trade agreements, from the United States, Mexico, Chile, Panama, Peru, Colombia and South Korea;
- Spouses/common law partners of professionals, under free trade agreements, from Panama, Colombia and South Korea;
- Truck drivers required to leave Canada for the purpose of their employment, and who hold maintained status having applied for renewal prior to departure; and
- Those with appointments already booked with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Note that CBSA has published guidance that implies that this refers to “same-day service”, which may in turn imply that a person who, for example, has business outside Canada, and had a true need to travel (for a period of greater than one day), may still be able to make an application at a port of entry on return. However, this interpretation is not yet confirmed, and we await clarification on this and some other implications of the new rules. We will advise further as soon as there is any update.
Certainly, employers and employees should take necessary precautions in filing early and otherwise ensuring that matters are dealt with in a timely manner.
The information in this article is for general purposes only, and not intended as legal advice for any particular situation.