dell2 said:
if he apply work extension before his WP expires. he'll be on implied status till the decision is made.
If the OP has a work permit that can be extended, then what you're saying is true.
But if PGWP's are not extendable (which they're not) then the OP doesn't have a basis for implied status.
One can only be on legal implied status and keep working, if a new work permit application or extension has been submitted.
In this case, the OP won't qualify for a new work permit unless
1) he has his PNP certificate
2) he has a positive LMIA
3) he has AOR from his PR application, or
4) he qualifies for immigration through some other program, like Family Class, Live-in Caregiver Program etc.
Of course, to win some time, he can submit a work permit application (in which case he can legally work until the processing goes through, which is around 40 days for online applications and 70ish days for paper applications) but unless one of the above conditions are fulfilled, then the application will be rejected and he will have to leave Canada (but not earlier than what the PGWP expiry date is). If he overstays his PGWP without being on a legal implied status, then he's obviously doing it illegally and can/will face trouble the next time he tries to enter Canada, gets pulled over by cops, is questioned by the transit police, and so on and so on. Also whatever work experience he would gather wouldn't be admissible for any future immigration processes (since the PNP/CIC will know that the work was done under illegal status). Short things short--don't rely on being on implied status unless you're 150% convinced that you're allowed to do so!
AOR/file number from PNP alone is not acceptable basis for a work permit. AOR from PR application is, but getting one is currently taking at least 2-3 months from submission (and obviously one needs to qualify for PR first).
It's super tricky right now with the long PNP processing times. It's getting to be virtually impossible to maintain working status while waiting for the certificate to come through.
In my opinion the best option would be to either
1) see if the OP qualifies for any of the categories in Express Entry (mainly CEC I think),
2) do whatever's necessary to get a positive LMIA (which obviously means finding an employer willing to file one for him, which in turn might mean moving to an area that has a shortage on workers in whatever field he's willing to work in), or
3) see if he qualifies for PNP in a province where the processing time is currently shorter (BC PNP and AINP are definitely out of the question). I'm not sure about the other ones but I think they all have websites with current processing information.
Good luck buddy!
