Don’t trust everything you read……even in an official IRCC letter.
I had a consultation recently that I wish more temporary residents could hear about.
My client stopped working for about 3 weeks while waiting for her PGWP.
Not because she wanted to. Not because her employer wanted her to,
Because she was trying to comply. She was trying to do things right.
She applied for PGWP from inside Canada, received a maintained status/work authorization letter that included an expiry date.
She assumed IRCC knows what they’re writing in official documents… so she stopped working.
Later she learned the hard truth:
Your authority to work isn’t based on a template letter.
It’s based on the Regulations (R186(w), in this case).
And in situations like this, a no line on a letter can change what the law allows. If you meet the requirements of R186(w), you are authorized to continue working past that (bogus) “expiry date”, until you receive the decision (provided you do not leave Canada).
Immigration isn’t hard because people aren’t smart or because they want to cheat the system
It’s hard because small details have big consequences.
Now that 3-week gap affects her PR strategy.
Bottom line: when in doubt, confirm with a professional before you act.
It’s almost always cheaper than fixing a preventable mess later.
