Form IMM 5710 is the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) application you use from inside Canada to extend a work permit, change its conditions, apply for an initial work permit, or restore your status as a worker. It’s a fillable PDF you complete in Adobe Reader, validate to generate a barcode page, and submit either through your IRCC secure account or by mail with your fee payment.
The same form handles several situations: extending a permit with your current employer, getting a new permit tied to a different employer, applying for a first work permit from visitor or student status (including a post-graduation work permit), applying for an open work permit such as a bridging open work permit, or restoring worker status after a permit has expired. You pick the right combination of checkboxes in the application type section, and you can tick more than one where it fits.
What to Gather Before You Open the PDF
Missing a single number or document is the most common reason the form fails to validate or an application stalls after you submit it. Have everything ready before you start typing.
Numbers and Identification
Your Unique Client Identifier (UCI) is an eight- or ten-digit number formatted as 0000-0000 or 00-0000-0000. It appears on any previous permit, IRCC letter, or PR card. If you’ve never applied to IRCC before, leave the field blank or write “N/A.”1Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Where Can I Find My Client ID/UCI?
You’ll need your passport document number, issuing country, and issue and expiry dates. Your passport must be valid beyond the work permit period you’re requesting.
For an employer-specific permit, you need either an LMIA number (if your employer went through a Labour Market Impact Assessment) or an offer of employment number generated by the IRCC Employer Portal, which begins with the letter “A” followed by seven digits.2Government of Canada. Employer Portal User Guide Open work permit applicants don’t need either.
Supporting Documents
Plan on a clear scan of your passport’s biographical page. For an employer-specific permit, include the employment contract or offer letter, and make sure the details match what the employer submitted in the Employer Portal. For a post-graduation work permit, include transcripts and your program completion letter. For a bridging open work permit, include the acknowledgement of receipt letter confirming IRCC accepted your permanent residence application, plus a provincial nomination letter if you’re going through the Provincial Nominee Program.3Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Bridging Open Work Permit for Permanent Residence Applicants
Any document not in English or French needs a certified translation, and the translator cannot be you, a family member, a friend, or your immigration representative. The translation must include a signed statement of accuracy along with the translator’s credentials and contact information. Submit the original document and the translation together.
One boundary worth flagging: if you’ll be working in Quebec, most temporary foreign workers also need a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) from the provincial government. The CAQ application fee is $233 as of January 2026, and it’s a separate process from the federal work permit.4Government of Quebec. Submitting an Application for Temporary Selection Some workers are exempt, so check Quebec’s exemption list before paying.
Filling Out the Form
Download IMM 5710 from the IRCC website and open it in Adobe Reader, not your browser’s built-in PDF viewer. The browser viewer typically breaks the validation feature.5Government of Canada. Application to Change Conditions, Extend My Stay or Remain in Canada as a Worker (IMM 5710)
Application Type and Personal Details
Enter your UCI first. Pick your preferred language for correspondence (English or French). Then check the box or boxes describing what you’re applying for: a work permit with the same employer, an initial or new-employer work permit, restoration of your status as a worker, or an extension of a temporary resident permit.
Personal details include your full name exactly as it appears on your passport, any aliases or previous names, gender, date of birth, place of birth, and country of citizenship. You’ll also indicate your current status in Canada — visitor, worker, student, or another category — and the dates that status has been valid.
Residence and Relationship History
List every country other than your home country and Canada where you’ve lived more than six months in the past five years, with your immigration status and the dates for each. The relationship section asks for your current marital status, your spouse or partner’s name, whether they’re a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and any previous marriages or common-law relationships.
Language, Passport, and Contact Information
Indicate your native language and whether you can communicate in English, French, both, or neither. If you’ve taken a test with a designated language testing agency, note it here. Enter your passport number, issuing country, issue date, and expiry date, plus any national identity document you hold and your current Canadian mailing address.
Employment and Work Permit Details
Enter the employer’s name and address, your job title, the LMIA number or offer of employment number, and the dates you want the permit to cover. For an open work permit, choose “Open work permit” as the type and skip the employer-specific fields.
Validating and Generating the Barcode
Once every required field is filled, click the Validate button at the bottom of the form. If all mandatory fields are complete, a barcode page appears at the end of the PDF, encoding your answers for IRCC’s scanning system.6Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. How Do I Fill Out and Validate IRCC Application Forms With 2D Barcodes If nothing happens when you click Validate, a required field is still empty; scroll through and look for highlighted or flagged fields.7Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. After I Click the Validate Button on My Application Form, Nothing Happens and I Don’t See the Barcodes. Why? Handwritten forms won’t generate the barcode page, because the validation feature only works when fields are typed in Adobe Reader.
Fees
All amounts are in Canadian dollars. The base work permit fee, including extensions, is $155 per person.8Government of Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Application Fees Open work permit applicants pay an additional $100 open work permit holder fee, bringing the total to $255.9Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. How Do I Apply for an Open Work Permit? Biometrics cost $85 per person, capped at $170 for a family applying together and $255 for groups of three or more performing artists and their staff.10Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics Restoration adds $246.25 on top of the $155 work permit fee, for a total of $401.25.
Pay by credit or debit card during online submission, or include payment with a paper application. Bridging open work permit applicants pay both the $155 work permit fee and the $100 open work permit holder fee.
Biometrics
Most work permit applicants must provide fingerprints and a photograph. You’re exempt if you’re under 14, over 79, a head of state or government, or holding a diplomatic visa. You’re also exempt if you already gave biometrics for a permanent residence application still being processed.10Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics
Biometrics are valid for 10 years. If you gave them within the past 10 years for any temporary residence application, they’re automatically linked to your new file and you don’t need to give them again.11Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When to Give Your Biometrics – Temporary Resident Applicants IRCC cannot issue a permit beyond the expiry date of your biometrics, though, so if you want a longer permit you may choose to give them again even if the previous ones are still valid.
Inside Canada you provide biometrics at a designated visa application centre by appointment.12Government of Canada. Find a Visa Application Centre After you submit the application, IRCC sends a biometrics instruction letter through your online account telling you where and when to go.
Submitting the Application
Online
Sign in to your IRCC secure account with a GCKey or a Canadian banking Sign-In Partner.13Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. IRCC Secure Account: Sign In Select the option to apply to stay in Canada and answer the eligibility questions. The system builds a personalized document checklist from your answers. Upload the validated IMM 5710 PDF, including the barcode page, along with your supporting documents. Accepted formats include PDF, JPG, and DOC, each within the file size limits shown on the upload page.
Provide an electronic signature by typing your name and answering a security question, then pay the fees. A successful submission shows “Transmitted” status and gives you a confirmation number. Save it; that’s how you track the file.
Paper
If you’re mailing the application, print the form after validation and place the barcode page on top of the package. Sign and date the signature boxes if you’re 18 or older. Send the package to the address in the instruction guide for your application type, with your fee payment.
After You Submit
If you filed before your current permit expired, you have what IRCC calls maintained status. You can keep living and working in Canada under your original permit’s conditions while the new application is processed, even after the old expiry date passes.14Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. I Applied for a New Work Permit. Can I Stay in Canada if My Work Permit Expires? You must keep following the original conditions, meaning the same employer and job. Maintained status ends the moment you leave Canada, and to return you’d need a new work permit issued from outside the country or at a port of entry.
IRCC posts current processing time estimates on its processing times page by application type. Check your online account regularly; requests for additional documents, biometrics instructions, and the final decision all arrive there rather than by email or mail. For applicants inside Canada, an approved work permit is generally mailed to the Canadian residential address on your form, so keep that address current through your account if you move.
If Your Permit Already Expired
You have a 90-day window from the date your permit lapsed to apply for restoration of your temporary resident status. Stop working immediately; there is no maintained-status protection for restoration applicants, and you can’t resume work until a new work permit is approved.15Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Restore Your Status and Get a Work Permit
To be eligible, you must have followed the conditions of your expired permit while it was valid (no unauthorized work, no other overstays), and you cannot be a temporary resident permit holder. The total fee is $401.25: the $246.25 restoration fee plus the $155 work permit fee. Beyond 90 days, restoration is no longer available and you must leave Canada.
On the form, tick the “Restoration of your status as a worker” box in the application type section. Each family member who lost status files and pays separately; there is no family rate for restoration.
A Note on Medical Exams
Some work permit applicants need an immigration medical examination before IRCC will approve the application, particularly those working in health care, child care, or other occupations with close contact with vulnerable populations, and those staying longer than six months. A temporary public policy currently exempts certain foreign nationals already in Canada from the medical exam requirement until October 5, 2029.16Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Medical Exams – Immigration If you completed a medical exam within the past five years that showed low or no risk to public health and you’ve lived in Canada since, you likely don’t need a new one; include the immigration medical exam number or unique medical identifier from the earlier exam in your application. If IRCC decides you need a medical after reviewing your file, they’ll notify you through your online account.