How long do I have to apply to restore my status?
Short answer
In Quebec, as everywhere else in Canada, an application to restore temporary resident status must be made within 90 days after the loss of status (s. 182 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations).
In detail
The 90-day limit is written into section 182 in plain terms: “within 90 days after losing temporary resident status”. These are calendar days, not business days.
The starting point is the loss of status — normally the expiry date of the permit or of the document authorizing the stay. That date has to be established precisely, since the whole calculation flows from it.
Section 182 also imposes substantive conditions: an officer restores status if the person shows that they met the initial requirements for their status and complied with the other conditions imposed on them. Meeting the deadline is necessary, but on its own it is not enough.
What to document
The expiry date shown on the document, the date you sent your restoration application, and proof that you sent it. Also write down the deadline you calculated: that is the element you will want to be able to show later.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
Related questions
- Can I work while my restoration application is being processed?
- What do I have to show to have my status restored?
- How long do I have to challenge an immigration refusal in Federal Court?
- I was refused by an embassy abroad what is my deadline to challenge it?
- I missed the deadline to challenge a decision can I still do something?
See all the answers · the full guide collection · Lire en français
What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.