How To Activate Your IEC Work Permit Without Flagpoling

We asked our in-house Registered Canadian Immigration Consultant Rebecca Major for some guidance. This post will walk you through your options.  

Key Takeaways 

• Flagpoling is banned, effective 11:59pm ET on December 23, 2024.  

• This change impacts those IEC workers who are currently in Canada working and need to leave Canada to activate their next IEC work permit.  
• On February 19, 2025, IRCC updated its guidance to note that “You may not be able to activate your work permit if you re-enter from the US or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.”

What Is Flagpoling?  

Flagpoling was a relatively common practice that involved heading to the closest US land border, crossing to the US, and then coming immediately back to Canada to activate a work permit from ‘outside Canada’. The practice is defined by IRCC as follows:  

Flagpoling occurs when foreign nationals who hold temporary resident status in Canada, leave Canada and, after a visit to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, re-enter to access immigration services at a port of entry. 

Unfortunately, this practice put a significant strain on the US border officials and due to political tensions over the issue, Canada has banned flagpoling.  

If you’re wondering how significant the strain was, the CBSA processed over 69,000 flagpolers between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024 (so, one year). 

What Does The IRCC Website Say on the Matter? 

As of February 2025, the IRCC website now says that “You may not be able to activate your work permit if you re-enter from the US or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon”.

As it stands, the only way an IEC applicant who is in Canada can activate their new status is to leave and activate their new status on re-entry into Canada.  

Options For Activating an IEC Work Permit From Inside Canada 

IRCC has not yet announced any means for those holding an IEC POE to activate it from inside Canada. This means that, unfortunately, anyone who is currently inside Canada will be required to leave to activate the work permit.   

To make things more confusing, Canada introduced a requirement for people who are ‘in Canada’ to apply for a work permit online instead of at a port of entry. Many of these people will be able to apply online and then receive the work permit by mail in Canada. But, IEC work permit holders in Canada who have received a POE are not currently allowed to do this. This complicates the matter of activating your IEC work permit significantly.  

So with flagpoling and at the border applications banned, we’ve outlined three options for activating your IEC work permit, from the least risky to most risky. Feel free to pick between them, based on your risk tolerance.  

Option 1 (Most Risky): ‘Flagpole’, But Stay Outside Canada For More Than 24 Hours 

IRCC’s definition of flagpoling means that if you leave Canada by a land border and stay in the US for more than 24 hours, you aren’t technically flagpoling. However, this is not how the law is being applied by Canada’s Border Services Agency and IRCC seems to have aligned with how the CBSA is enforcing the updated policy. 

In other words, it’s highly risky to cross from Canada to the US to try to activate your IEC work permit.

Why? Because the news release ending flagpoling offered an alternative definition of flagpoling which removed reference to the 24-hour time period. There would also be further complications if you are currently considered to have ‘status’ in Canada – in other words, if your existing work permit is still ‘live’.  

Tip: If you’re considering this option, you should have a plan B that involves re-entering Canada by an international airport after your existing status in Canada expires.  

Option 2 (Medium-High Risk): Fly From The USA  

This option involves leaving Canada and then flying from the USA to an international airport in Canada. You could leave Canada by bus or car before your status expires and then fly back from the US or get a return ticket after your status in Canada expires. You could also try to activate your IEC work permit before your existing status expires, but you may face rejection.  

This option is less risky than leaving Canada by a land border, but more risky than flying internationally beyond the USA. This is because the news release covering the flagpoling ban defines flagpoling as ‘Flagpoling occurs when foreign nationals who hold temporary resident status in Canada, leave Canada and, after a visit to the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon, re-enter to access immigration services at a port of entry.’ 

If you choose to try this option, it will be less risky if you leave Canada and remain in the US for at least 24 hours, ideally your status would expire while you are outside of Canada.  

Option 3: (Least Risky): Fly Internationally Outside of the USA 

The final (and best) option, and the least risky, is to fly internationally beyond the USA. Think a quick trip home, a short Eurotrip, or a sunny long weekend vacation to South America.  

This option is the least risky (in fact, it’s the only option that’s likely to work), but likely the most expensive. Activating your work permit this way at an international airport would be like activating it if you’d come directly from your home country for your first IEC activation.  

We strongly encourage those who have received a POE and are currently in Canada to consider this option. We suggest leaving before your status expires and considering flying back into an international airport for your best chance of success.  

We hope that the IRCC will introduce an option for those who are in Canada with an IEC POE to receive it by mail.  

Remember, when activating your POE letter at the border, you must provide proof of sufficient funds and adequate health insurance, even if you have provincial medical coverage. Our partner, BestQuote Travel Insurance, offers comprehensive plans tailored for IEC participants in Canada. Get your quote from BestQuote today!