· NextMigrate Team
Bridging Visa, Maintained Status and 3C Leave: How to Stay Legal While You Wait
The riskiest day of any visa is the day before it expires. Apply on that day and the law usually keeps you legal for months while you wait. Apply one day later and you may have nothing at all.
The short answer: In Canada, the UK, Australia and the US, the core rule is the same. Apply for your next visa or extension before your current one expires, and you usually stay legal while you wait. Canada calls this "maintained status". The UK calls it "section 3C leave". Australia gives you a "bridging visa". The US treats a timely, genuine extension or change of status as authorised stay while it is pending. You usually keep your old conditions, including work. But leaving the country often ends this protection, and a late application gives you almost none.
Before you read on, check one thing: the exact end date of your permitted stay. Not the visa sticker. The real record: your permit, eVisa, VEVO entry or I-94.
Four countries, side by side
Correct as of October 2026. Rules change, so check the official page before you act.
| Country / rule | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Canada: maintained status | Apply to extend before your status ends. Your stay is extended until a decision. Workers who applied for another work permit can keep working. | IRPR s.183(5)-(6), current to Sept 2026 |
| Canada: restoration | If you missed the deadline, you may apply to restore status within 90 days. Fee: CAD 246.25 plus any permit fee. | IRCC, Aug 2026; IRCC fees, 2026 |
| UK: section 3C leave | Apply before your leave expires. Your leave continues while the application, an in-country appeal or an administrative review is pending. | Immigration Act 1971, s.3C |
| UK: travel | Section 3C leave lapses if you leave the UK. | Immigration Act 1971, s.3C(3) |
| Australia: Bridging visa A (BVA) | Lets you stay lawfully until your visa application is decided. Free. Does not allow return travel. | Home Affairs |
| Australia: Bridging visa B (BVB) | Lets you leave and return within a set travel period. You need a substantial reason to travel. | Home Affairs, July 2026 |
| Australia: BVC and BVE | BVC: you applied without a substantive visa. BVE: you are already unlawful. Both end if you leave. | Home Affairs BVC; BVE, 2026 |
| US: 240-day rule | Some workers whose employer files a timely extension can keep working for the same employer for up to 240 days. | USCIS Policy Manual, 2026 |
| US: travel | In its student guidance, USCIS says travel abroad while a change of status is pending means it treats that application as abandoned. | USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part F, Ch. 8 |
Canada: maintained status
Apply to extend before your stay ends, and if no decision comes in time, your stay is extended until the decision, with your status kept (IRPR s.183, 2026). IRCC calls this maintained status.
What you can do
- Workers who applied for another work permit: you can keep working under the same conditions. For an employer-specific permit, that means the same employer, job and work location. Open work permit holders can still change jobs (IRCC, 2026).
- Online applicants: most get a work permit extension letter (WP-EXT) as proof, except post-graduation work permit holders (IRCC, 2026).
- Workers who applied for a study permit or visitor record instead: you must stop working on the day your work permit expires (IRCC Help Centre, 2026).
What you cannot do
- You cannot renew a provincial driver's licence or health card while on maintained status. You also cannot apply for or update your Social Insurance Number. Renew these before your permit expires (IRCC, 2026).
- Temporary resident permit (TRP) applicants do not get maintained status at all (IRCC, Aug 2026).
The exact deadline
Online, IRCC must receive your application before midnight UTC on the day your permit expires. UTC may differ from your local time by many hours. On paper, IRCC uses the day it stamps the application. If it arrives after expiry, IRCC counts back 7 days to set the received date (IRCC, 2026).
If you leave Canada
IRCC tells workers on maintained status: "You must stay in Canada and work under the conditions of your original work permit" (IRCC Help Centre, 2026). Students who leave while an extension is pending may be let back in only as visitors, and cannot study until it is approved (IRCC Help Centre, 2026). You also need a valid visa or eTA to return. Our guide to travel authorisations like the eTA, ETA and ESTA explains the difference.
If you missed the date
You may apply to restore your status. IRCC must receive this no more than 90 days after your status expired. You can stay while it decides, but you normally cannot work until your status is restored and a new permit is issued (IRCC, Aug 2026). The restoration fee is CAD 246.25. With a new work permit, the total is CAD 401.25. With a new study permit, it is CAD 396.25 (IRCC fees, 2026).
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Free eligibility check →United Kingdom: section 3C leave
Section 3C applies when you have limited leave, apply to vary it before it expires, and it expires before a decision (Immigration Act 1971, s.3C). It starts automatically, by law.
What you can do
You stay on the conditions of your old leave (Home Office guidance, v12.0). If you could work, you can keep working. Limits such as "no public funds" continue too. Your employer can confirm your right to work through the Home Office Employer Checking Service when you have an outstanding application, appeal or review (GOV.UK).
How long it lasts
3C leave continues while your application is undecided. If you are refused, it also continues while you can still bring an in-country appeal, while an appeal is pending, and while you can seek or are waiting for an administrative review (s.3C(2)). Inside the UK, you have 14 days to ask for administrative review (7 days if you are detained). It costs £80 (GOV.UK).
What you cannot do
- Travel. The law says 3C leave "shall lapse if the applicant leaves the United Kingdom" (s.3C(3)). A short holiday can end your legal stay.
- Make a second application. You cannot make a new application to vary your leave while on 3C leave (s.3C(4)). You can usually change (vary) the one you already made before it is decided.
- Rely on a late or invalid application. 3C only extends leave you held when you applied in time.
Australia: bridging visas A, B, C and E
Australia does not extend your old visa. It grants a separate bridging visa. Home Affairs says nearly all bridging visas are applied for automatically when you apply for a substantive visa (Home Affairs, BVA). A substantive visa is any visa that is not a bridging, criminal justice or enforcement visa (Home Affairs, BVE).
| Bridging visa | Who gets it | Work | Travel |
|---|---|---|---|
| BVA (subclass 010) | You applied in Australia while holding a substantive visa | Depends on conditions; you can ask for work rights if in financial hardship | Ends if you leave. No return travel. |
| BVB (subclass 020) | You hold a BVA or BVB and need to travel | Allowed if your BVB permits it | Leave and return within the set travel period |
| BVC (subclass 030) | You applied when you did not hold a substantive visa | Usually no work at first, except for some skilled and business visas | Ends if you leave |
| BVE (subclass 050) | You are unlawful, or hold a BVE or BVD | Your grant letter says if you can work | Ends if you leave. You cannot return without a substantive visa. |
When a BVA starts
A BVA comes into effect when your current substantive visa ends. Until then, its conditions still apply (Home Affairs).
Travelling needs a BVB
A BVA ends immediately if you leave Australia (Home Affairs). To leave and come back, you need a BVB granted before you go. You must explain a substantial reason to travel and attach evidence. If your travel period has ended, or is too short for your trip, you need a new BVB first (Home Affairs, July 2026). A fee applies. Check the current amount on the Home Affairs page.
After a refusal
For a BVA or BVB granted on or after 19 November 2016, the bridging visa ends 35 calendar days after a refusal or tribunal decision. It ends 28 days after a court upholds the refusal (Home Affairs). Use the VEVO online service to see exactly how long you can stay.
United States: pending extension or change of status
To extend or change status, you (or your employer) must file with USCIS "before your authorized stay expires" (USCIS). Your authorized stay is the date on your I-94 record, not the date on your visa stamp.
Unlawful presence and the 3- and 10-year bars
If you stay past your I-94 date, you can build up "unlawful presence". More than 180 days of it, and then leaving, can bar you from returning for 3 years. One year or more can bar you for 10 years (US State Department, 9 FAM 302.11).
A timely, non-frivolous extension or change of status application stops this clock while it is pending, as long as you were lawfully admitted and do not work without permission. The law itself guarantees up to 120 days. DHS and State Department policy go further: if you also kept your status up to the filing date, the whole time the application is pending counts as authorised stay (9 FAM 302.11). Read more in our guide to overstay consequences and re-entry bans.
The 240-day rule for workers
Some workers can keep working for the same employer for up to 240 days after their authorized stay ends, if a timely extension was filed (USCIS Policy Manual, 2026). The USCIS employer handbook lists L-1, O-1, TN, E-1, E-2, E-3, R-1 and several other categories (USCIS Handbook for Employers). Work stops at 240 days or on the decision, whichever comes first. It does not cover a new employer.
Work permits (EADs)
If you renew an Employment Authorization Document on or after 30 October 2025, you no longer get an automatic extension while you wait, with limited exceptions. USCIS advises filing up to 180 days before your EAD expires (USCIS, Oct 2025).
Travel
In its guidance on students, USCIS says: "If a nonimmigrant travels abroad while their COS application is pending, USCIS considers that COS application abandoned" (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part F, Ch. 8). Rules for employer petitions can differ, so ask before you book anything.
Your eight-step safety plan
- Find your real expiry date. Canada: your permit. UK: your eVisa in your UKVI account. Australia: VEVO. US: your I-94, not your visa stamp.
- Work back from it. Check processing times on our visa timelines tool and apply as early as the rules allow.
- Submit a complete, valid application. An application rejected as incomplete or invalid may give you no protection.
- Watch the clock. In Canada, the online cut-off is midnight UTC. Do not wait for the last evening.
- Keep proof. Save the submission confirmation, fee receipt, and any letter such as Canada's WP-EXT or a USCIS I-797C receipt. Keep copies on your phone and on paper.
- Tell your employer and renew local documents. Give your employer proof early. In Canada, renew your driver's licence and health card before your permit ends.
- Do not travel unless you are sure it is safe. In Australia, get a BVB first. In the UK and Canada, leaving can end your protection.
- Plan for a refusal. Know your deadlines for appeal, review or restoration. Our guide on what to do if your visa is refused can help.
How to wait without losing your mind
You did everything right, and now your life sits in someone else's queue. Checking your email ten times a day, lying awake, turning down a family wedding abroad: all normal. None of it means your case is in trouble.
A simple routine helps. Check your account once a day, at the same time. Write your key dates and your plan B on one page. Then put it away. Your application does not move faster when you watch it.
If you lose your job while waiting, read our guide on redundancy on a sponsored visa.
Five ways people lose their protection
- Leaving it to the last hour. Payment errors and website problems happen.
- Travelling "just for a few days". In the UK, Canada and on a BVA, this can end your legal stay.
- Changing employer too early. Maintained status, 3C leave and the US 240-day rule usually keep your old conditions, not new ones.
- Filing a second application to stay longer. In the UK, you cannot. In other systems it may not protect you if the first is refused. Get advice first.
- Missing the refusal deadline. UK review windows and Australian bridging visa end dates come fast.
When to stop doing it yourself
A simple, early extension is often fine to handle alone. Get regulated help if:
- Your application was refused, rejected as invalid, or returned.
- You have already passed your expiry date.
- You need to travel urgently while waiting.
- You hold a TRP in Canada, a BVC or BVE in Australia, or you have any US unlawful presence.
- You have a criminal record, a past refusal or a removal in your history.
- You are thinking of changing employer or visa type while waiting.
Use a regulated professional: a lawyer or licensed consultant (RCIC) in Canada, a solicitor or IAA-registered adviser in the UK, a registered migration agent or lawyer in Australia, or an attorney in the US. If you have been refused, or think you may be, our guide on whether to appeal, reapply or change country sets out the options.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep working if my work permit expires while I wait?
Usually yes, if you applied in time to continue the same work. Canada and the UK keep your old conditions, and Australian work rights depend on your bridging visa. In the US, some workers can continue with the same employer for up to 240 days after a timely extension.
Can I travel while my extension is pending?
It is risky. UK 3C leave and an Australian BVA both end when you leave, and Canadian workers are told to stay in Canada. In the US, travel abandons a pending change of status. In Australia, get a BVB before you go.
What if I applied one day late?
You usually lose this protection. In Canada, you may apply to restore status within 90 days. In the US, USCIS can excuse lateness only in limited extraordinary situations. Get regulated advice quickly.
What happens if my application is refused?
Your protection usually ends on the decision or after a short window. UK 3C leave continues while you can seek review or appeal. An Australian BVA or BVB usually ends 35 days after refusal.
Is a bridging visa the same as a visa extension?
No. An Australian bridging visa is a separate temporary visa that keeps you lawful until your main application is decided. It does not extend your old visa, and it cannot itself be extended.
The one rule to remember
You cannot make the queue move faster. You can control the parts that matter: apply before expiry, keep your proof, stay put unless you are sure travel is safe, and know your next step if the answer is no.
Not sure which route fits your next step? Take our free migration assessment. You can also compare fees with our visa costs tool.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules change often. Always confirm with the official government source or a regulated adviser before you act.
