Bridge work permit application on maintained visitor status

[mrv1k]

Hey guys!

A bit of background. I'm a citizen. Did the whole immigration journey myself. For anyone who's going through it - good luck and patience!

I have applied for her inland spousal sponsorship back on January 29, 2026. That same day we also applied for Visitor Record because her 6 months stay was coming to an end on February 12.

On February 9, we received a confirmation for VR. On March 17, we received SS AOR.
Now that we have SS AOR, I'm helping her to apply for her bridge work permit.

The application is pretty straightforward but I have 2 main concerns:

1) During the initial online application questionnaire, if I enter a date that was her original date of leave, it asks whether we want to restore her status which gives 2 options:

a) if you say no - "You're not eligible for Work Permit"​

b) if you say yes - it forces you to apply for "Restoration of status" (extra $246.25 fee!)​

Both options are not applicable in our case so I'm thinking I need to enter a date until which we asked for extension. Waiting for VR result is not realistic. Based on current estimations it'll be a while (306 days) before the decision has been made. If we wait for VR result we may as well wait for SS and skip WP altogether because WP takes 253 days. (processing times as of March 31, 2026)

2) 5710e:
Personal details. Question 7. "Current country or territory of residence"

What did you enter in "Status"? "Visitor" or "Other", saying something like "Maintained Visitor via VR"?​

What did you enter as "To" (expiration date) for the applicant's status? I assume "To" should be identical to my question #1​

​

5710 instructions mention what to enter for "out-of-status" but nothing about "maintained".

I tried to search but couldn't find a clear satisfying answer. Has somebody been in the same situation? If yes, do you mind sharing your experience?

Thank you for your time and all the best,
Victor.

 

[scylla]

Post to the Family Sponsorship section. You are not applying for a BOWP. You are applying for an OWP. BOWPs are for individuals who have applied for PR through an economic immigration program.

 

[mrv1k]

Ok, well, feel free to ignore then. Doesn't look like there's an option to move so I'll have to repost. Repost is here https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...lication-on-maintained-visitor-status.878997/

 

[volapan]

Hey guys!

A bit of background. I'm a citizen. Did the whole immigration journey myself. For anyone who's going through it - good luck and patience!

I have applied for her inland spousal sponsorship back on January 29, 2026. That same day we also applied for Visitor Record because her 6 months stay was coming to an end on February 12.

On February 9, we received a confirmation for VR. On March 17, we received SS AOR.
Now that we have SS AOR, I'm helping her to apply for her bridge work permit.

The application is pretty straightforward but I have 2 main concerns:

1) During the initial online application questionnaire, if I enter a date that was her original date of leave, it asks whether we want to restore her status which gives 2 options:

a) if you say no - "You're not eligible for Work Permit"​

b) if you say yes - it forces you to apply for "Restoration of status" (extra $246.25 fee!)​

Both options are not applicable in our case so I'm thinking I need to enter a date until which we asked for extension. Waiting for VR result is not realistic. Based on current estimations it'll be a while (306 days) before the decision has been made. If we wait for VR result we may as well wait for SS and skip WP altogether because WP takes 253 days. (processing times as of March 31, 2026)

2) 5710e:
Personal details. Question 7. "Current country or territory of residence"

What did you enter in "Status"? "Visitor" or "Other", saying something like "Maintained Visitor via VR"?​

What did you enter as "To" (expiration date) for the applicant's status? I assume "To" should be identical to my question #1​

​

5710 instructions mention what to enter for "out-of-status" but nothing about "maintained".

I tried to search but couldn't find a clear satisfying answer, and even came across the Gumitide official website while browsing which had nothing to do with my search but that is how deep the rabbit hole went. Has somebody been in the same situation? If yes, do you mind sharing your experience?

Thank you for your time and all the best,
Victor.

Use the Visitor Record extension date rather than the original departure date. She maintained status by applying before her original stay expired so restoration does not apply. For form 5710e enter Visitor as her current status and use the implied maintained status date as the expiration date until a VR decision is made. Include the SS AOR with the bridge open work permit application.

 

[wopazef]

Hey guys!

A bit of background. I'm a citizen. Did the whole immigration journey myself. For anyone who's going through it - good luck and patience!

I have applied for her inland spousal sponsorship back on January 29, 2026. That same day we also applied for Visitor Record because her 6 months stay was coming to an end on February 12.

On February 9, we received a confirmation for VR. On March 17, we received SS AOR.
Now that we have SS AOR, I'm helping her to apply for her bridge work permit.

The application is pretty straightforward but I have 2 main concerns:

1) During the initial online application questionnaire, if I enter a date that was her original date of leave, it asks whether we want to restore her status which gives 2 options:

a) if you say no - "You're not eligible for Work Permit"​

b) if you say yes - it forces you to apply for "Restoration of status" (extra $246.25 fee!)​

Both options are not applicable in our case, so I'm thinking I need to enter a date until which we asked for the extension. The waiting period feels incredibly long, and while waiting I've been trying to stay occupied by catching up on hobbies and browsing sites like https://yacinetvhub.com. Waiting for the VR result is not realistic. Based on current estimations, it'll be around 306 days before a decision is made. If we wait for the VR result, we may as well wait for SS and skip the WP altogether because the WP processing time is 253 days (as of March 31, 2026).

2) 5710e:
Personal details. Question 7. "Current country or territory of residence"

What did you enter in "Status"? "Visitor" or "Other", saying something like "Maintained Visitor via VR"?​

What did you enter as "To" (expiration date) for the applicant's status? I assume "To" should be identical to my question #1​

​

5710 instructions mention what to enter for "out-of-status" but nothing about "maintained".

I tried to search but couldn't find a clear satisfying answer. Has somebody been in the same situation? If yes, do you mind sharing your experience?

Thank you for your time and all the best,
Victor.

Since the Visitor Record application was submitted before her status expired, she should be on maintained status, not out of status, so restoration shouldn't apply. For the IMM 5710, I would select "Visitor" as her current status. For the expiry date, use her original visitor expiry date and include a short letter of explanation stating that she has maintained status because the Visitor Record extension was submitted before that date and is still pending. If the online questionnaire is directing you toward restoration, it's usually due to one of the answers in the eligibility questions, so it's worth reviewing those carefully.